11 Best Cain Dingle moments in Emmerdale – brushes with death, family feuds and a lot of lovers!

Cain Dingle has been at the heart of the action in Emmerdale for nearly quarter of a century. Next year, will mark the character’s 25th anniversary in the Yorkshire based soap, and what an incredible journey he’s had.

One of the show’s all time greats, Cain Dingle has seen and done it all. He’s schemed and cheated, spent time in prison, survived countless attempts on his life, and seduced a lot of ladies into bed.

Now he’s moved into a new chapter in his life as the new head of the Dingle clan, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. As we prepare for the wild ride ahead we thought we’d look back on some of his biggest moments.

So here are Cain Dingle‘s best bits – the good, bad and ugly…

Best Cain Dingle moments in Emmerdale: Discovering Zak was his real dad

Cain arrived in Emmerdale on March 30, 2000 for the funeral of his cousin, Butch. Being the designated black sheep of the family, Cain had grown up believing his father was Shadrach. But in fact, he was the fruit of his Uncle Zak’s loins.

On Valentine’s Day 1974, Zak had a one-night stand with his sister-in-law, and Cain’s mother, Faith, which resulted in her falling pregnant. Nine months later Cain was born, and it was assumed he was Shadrach’s son.

The truth came out in 2001 during a heated exchange between Zak and Cain. The angry duo were about to come blows when Cain uttered those familiar words: “You can’t tell me what to do”. Zak’s wife Lisa, who was trying to pull them apart cried, “Tell him”, and with that Zak revealed he was Cain’s real father. Cain did not take the news well and branded Zak a ‘dirty liar’. He eventually came round and accepted Zak as his dad, with the pair even becoming close.

With Zak’s sad passing in October 2024, Cain has now assumed his role as head of the Dingle family.

Seducing a police officer

Cain’s weakness for married women was explored early on when he began an affair with PC Angie Reynolds.

He’d had his eye on Angie for months, and it was clear her ‘disdain’ for him was masking a secret desire. So when Angie found out her husband Sean had cheated she decided to do the same.

Bedding the local criminal gave Angie a real thrill, but the excitement soon wore off. Cain got pied and was devastated. But instead of fighting for the woman he’d grown to love, Cain went down the seedy route and slept with Angie’s teenage daughter, Ollie, in revenge.

Sickened by Cain’s actions, Angie decided to frame him for a robbery, but the plan went disastrously wrong. Angie was fatally injured in a car chase and died in Cain’s arms as he pleaded with her to tell him she loved him.

These emotional, raw scenes proved Cain was capable of loving someone other than himself.

His escapades with Charity

Cain’s closet is full of skeletons, so it came as little surprise to the viewers when it was discovered he’d had a fling with his second cousin, Charity.

The pair’s explosive romance was a huge part of Cain’s early years in the village. Charity was undoubtedly his first love and together they created one of Emmerdale’s strongest ever partnerships. But it’s not all been hearts and flowers – Cain and Charity have loved and hated each other in equal measures.

It all started as a dalliance when they were underage teens, but the spark was still there as adults. After being reunited with their daughter Debbie Dingle, Cain and Charity resumed their affair.  Fans couldn’t get enough of the couple’s antics. Not only were Cain and Charity compatible in the bedroom, they also made formidable partners in crime. With their penchant for illegal scams, these two became the Dales’ answer to Bonnie and Clyde.

In 2009, Cain decided he wanted to make an honest woman out of Charity. He popped the question with a plastic engagement ring – who said romance was dead?

They almost made it down the aisle, but then Charity decided she wasn’t ready for marriage. She and Cain split shortly afterwards.

In the years since, there have been a few steamy liaisons, as well as a brief affair in 2016. But whether they’ll ever get it on again is anyone’s guess!

Best Cain moments in Emmerdale: Scheming with Sadie King

Cain always works best when he’s teamed up with a strong woman, who will give him as good as she’s got.

Scheming Sadie King (Jimmy’s first wife) enlisted his services to prevent Charity from marrying her millionaire father-in-law, Tom King. Sadie, who was already sleeping with Cain, asked her lover to seduce Charity and take photos.

He did as he was told and Sadie stopped the wedding by showing Tom the incriminating snaps. He jilted Charity at the altar and Sadie was victorious.

Having no further purpose for Cain, Sadie dumped him. And how did he respond? By killing her beloved pet dog, Damon, that’s how!

But Cain wasn’t done there. After pretending to shoot Sadie – which was all part of a scam to extort money from the Kings – Cain made off with the money and left Sadie with nothing!

Fathering four kids

Less of a moment, but more of a journey. Cain’s development from selfish singleton to devoted dad has been an interesting one to watch.

Cain is a four by four – meaning he’s got four kids with as many women.

First up is Debbie, his only daughter, who was the product of his teenage fling with Charity. Debbie came back into Cain’s life when she was a preteen and over the years they were able to establish a close bond.

Cain’s next child was Nate Robinson. He came to the village out for revenge on the man who abandoned him, and set about seducing Cain’s wife, Moira. When the affair and Nate’s true identity was revealed it turned out Cain never even knew of Nate’s existence. Nate is now living in Shetland, and he and Cain aren’t on speaking terms.

His other two lads are Kyle Winchester, who was conceived after Cain seduced a young Amy Wyatt, and Isaac, from his marriage to Moira.

The magic of Coira

Cain and Moira’s affair was pure fire and one of the best in Emmerdale history.

At the time their fling started, Moira was married to farmer John Barton. But if there’s one thing that gets Cain going then it’s the thrill of the chase. Passions first ignited in Cain’s garage, then the lusty duo couldn’t keep their hands off one another.

Moira dumped Cain after he outed their betrayal to John, and the fans were gutted. They wanted more, and their wish was granted when Coira resumed their romance after John’s death in 2012.

They became husband and wife in 2014, but thankfully Cain and Moira haven’t turned into a boring married couple. Their ten-year union has been littered with betrayals (on both sides), and full of drama.

Now they’re facing their toughest challenge yet as Moira has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. And while she was on the operating table, Cain had a bunk-up with sister-in-law Ruby Fox-Miligan. Not his finest hour and the less said about that, the better.

Who Attacked Cain in Emmerdale?

Cain was the centre of a huge whodunnit (aka Judgement Day) when he was bludgeoned with a crowbar and left for dead.

The attack took place in December 2011, at a time where Cain had stacked up a rather large enemy count. Those in the frame for the attack included Moira and her husband John, Cain’s 17-year old baby mumma Amy Wyatt, and Charity’s boyfriend, Jai Sharma.

But in the end it turned out the mystery assailant was Cain’s own dad, Zak. He’d grown tired of his son’s continual bad behaviour and felt Cain needed to be taught a lesson for disgracing the Dingle family name.

Zak finally ‘fessed up after realising Cain’s love rival Jai had been charged with the crime.

Cain was horrified, but eventually forgave his dad and went on to make a full recovery.

His other brushes with death

Cain is Emmerdale’s own Lazarus – seriously, the guy is indestructible!

He survived having his skull smashed in by Zak, but that’s not the only time Cain has cheated death.

In revenge for destroying his parent’s marriage, Adam Barton set fire to Cain’s garage with him inside – but he somehow live to tell the tell. A couple of years later, Cain was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and nearly drowned in a freezing river after refusing to have it operated on.

What else? Well. Cain survived an explosion after trying to have Nate killed for sleeping with Moira. He suffered a near-fatal brain injury during a violent punch up with nephew Aaron, and most recently he cheated death rescuing Moira from a burning burn.

How does he do it?!

Best Cain moments in Emmerdale: An unlikely romance with Harriet

What’s the one about the local bad boy seducing the village vicar?

Cain started a scandalous affair with police-officer-turned-clergywoman, Harriet Finch in 2017 after he and Moira temporarily split. After enjoying secret romps in the church vestry, Harriet, like many women before her, found herself falling for Cain.

Breaking all codes of conduct, Harriet joined Cain on the dark side, getting mixed up with drug dealers and the like.

While things were good, Cain and Harriet made an exciting couple. But deep down Harriet, and everyone else, knew Cain was still in madly love with Moira.

Their relationship eventually fizzled and Cain went back to his wife.

Losing Faith

One of Cain’s most heartbreaking and human moments came in 2022 with the death of his mum, Faith.

The pair had a complicated history due Faith walking out on Cain when he was 12-years-old. Faith turned up in Emmerdale in 2017 to make amends, but Cain wasn’t interested in getting to know her.

They eventually made their peace after Faith was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Deciding she wanted to die on her own terms, Faith planned to end her own life with an overdose of morphine.

Cain was by Faith’s side in her final moments. Cradling his mum in his arms, Cain apologised for his past behaviour and told Faith he loved her – three words that she’d longed to hear.

These highly emotional scenes won praise amongst viewers and showed a tender side to Cain we rarely see.

Taking the rap for Kyle

Family loyalty is everything to Cain and he proved it when he made the ultimate sacrifice for his son, Kyle.

Al Chapman’s murder was one of those great OMG moments in Emmerdale. At first, it seemed Cain had killed his nemesis in revenge for his affair with Chas. But it turned out Al was gunned down by timid 10-year-old, Kyle.

In the aftermath of the shocking crime, Cain vowed to protect his son. He ‘confessed’ and was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He’d still be there if Kyle hadn’t done the right thing by owning up.

Cain reunited with Caleb in Emmerdale

Imagine a slightly younger Cain, but with all the same bad boy traits. Well, that’s his younger brother, Caleb Miligan.

Despite their similarities, the Dingle brothers did not grow up together. While Cain was raised by his family, Caleb was brought up in the care system and had a miserable time.

His arrival to the Dales in Christmas 2022 came as a huge shock for Cain. It had been three decades since they’d crossed paths and it turned out Cain had lied to Caleb by telling him Faith had died years previously.

After a rocky start, the pair finally started to get along. It’s been up and down, but Cain and Caleb have forged a strong bond. We think he’s going to prove a useful ally in the future.