Kyle’s behaviour has spiralled since the murder (Picture: ITV)
Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) is currently languishing in prison in Emmerdale after pleading guilty to shooting and killing Al Chapman (Michael Wildman).
But viewers know that Cain is innocent of the crime. He lured Al to a barn and threatened him with a gun, but then laid the gun aside so the two men could finally air their grievances against each other with their fists, as Cain reacted violently to the discovery that Al and Chas (Lucy Pargeter) had been carrying on a secret affair.
When Cain’s son Kyle (Huey Quinn) saw Al apparently attacking his dad, he grabbed the gun that Cain had set aside and fired it at Al, killing him. Cain knew he couldn’t let his son take the punishment for that, and quickly took the blame.
According to Jeff Hordley, this turn of events in the storyline came as a relief.
Speaking of when the storyline was revealed to him, along with the news that William Ash would be joining the show as Cain’s brother Caleb, Jeff told us, ’They said “So we’re bringing in your younger brother,” and you’re like “Why?” “So anyway, you shoot Al.”
Jeff said his first thought was, ‘Oh, I’ve finally killed someone.’ But when the producers told him that, in a twist, it was Kyle who was the killer, his reaction was, ‘Thank you! But Kyle’s alright, isn’t he?’
The young lad has struggled in the aftermath (Picture: ITV)
This is because of the unspoken rule in soaps that killers always get punished. ‘There’s only a few characters in the soap world who have killed people and are still there because that’s the nature of soap, you have to get your comeuppance,’ Jeff observed.
This means that an actor who commits a murder can often be facing a limited time-span in the show as killers usually either end up in prison or being killed themselves, unless a way can be found to rehabilitate the character. So for Jeff, finding out that Kyle was the killer – though he acted out of fear – was the best outcome.
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Meanwhile the return of his brother into his life gives Cain one more thing to worry about.
‘He’s got too much going on with what’s going on with Kyle and all the rest of it,’ Jeff said. ‘It’s not the right time. He’s like “Why are you coming into my life now? this is the worst time for me.”’
‘There’s only a few characters in the soap world who have killed people and are still there because that’s the nature of soap – you have to get your comeuppance’.
