Emmerdale's Jeff Hordley
Soaps

Emmerdale’s Jeff Hordley reveals relative is ‘trapped’ on coronavirus hit cruise

A member of his family has been directly affected

Emmerdale’s Jeff Hordley has revealed that his relative has been on a coronavirus ravaged cruise.

The ITV star, 50, shared a snap of the coronavirus-hit Ruby Princess cruise on Twitter.

Read more: James Jordan reveals his dad has coronavirus 

The picture shows crew members stranded in their cabins.

A the caption reads: “What if these people were your family?

Jeff Hordley emmerdale cain dingle
Jeff – pictured here with his fellow ITV stars – says a relative has been on the ill-fated cruise (Image credit: SplashNews.com)

“140 Ruby Princess crew are sick and 1000 still need testing.

“Support the crew, please share.”

Directly affected

Jeff tweeted along with the image: “Having a family member onboard puts our lockdown into perspective.”

Fans of the star, who plays Cain Dingle on the hit ITV soap, rushed to send their well wishes.

Read more: Paul O’Grady talks coronavirus recovery 

One wrote: “Oh no I do hope they are ok..hopefully won’t be long until they are home.

“Absolutely pisses me off people moaning about lockdown when there are people in far worst situations.”

Another user tweeted: “Nightmare, hope they are well and safe.”

And a third posted: “Horrifying. I am so sorry for them and you who love them and worry.. Keep strong. I pray they will be OK..”

The cruise ship is currently docked in Port Kembla near Wollagong in the south of Sydney, Australia. It still has around 1,000 crew members on board in quarantine.

Read more: First Dates waitress Laura Tott tests positive for coronavirus

At least 700 passengers and crew tested positive for coronavirus and eighteen passengers died.

Deaths and an investigation

Passengers were allowed to leave the ship on March 19 and disembarked at Australia.

A spokesperson for the cruise stated: “Our onboard medical team was rigorous in its treatment of some guests who reported flu-like symptoms, and these guests were isolated.

The ship reported these cases to NSW Health, which in turn requested swabs to be provided following the ship’s arrival in Sydney, some of which subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.

Jeff Hordley Emmerdale Cain Dingle
Jeff plays Cain Dingle on ITV’s soap Emmerdale (Image credit: ITV)

A criminal investigation is underway regarding how Carnival Cruises handled the entire debacle.

A spokesperson also responded to the criminal investigation: “We have seen the Police Commissioner’s announcement.

“In addition to willingly participating in the investigation, Carnival Australia will vigorously respond to any allegations of which there must now be full disclosure and the basis for them.”

It remains unknown which family member Jeff is referring to ED!  has contacted Jeff’s representatives for comment.

What do you think of this story? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix