Jeff Hordley Cain Dingle Emmerdale
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Jeff Hordley: Emmerdale’s Cain Dingle actor’s age, marriage, and height details

Emmerdale wasn't the first soap Jeff appeared in!

Jeff Hordley has played Cain Dingle in Emmerdale for many years, but when did he join the soap? How many kids does he have with his co-star wife and how old is he?

Here is everything you need to know about Jeff.

When did Jeff Hordley join Emmerdale?

Jeff Hordley joined the cast of Emmerdale back in 2000 as Cain Dingle.

He made his first appearance on March 30 2000 when he arrived in the village with his cousin Charity for their cousin Butch’s funeral.

Emmerdale Mon 3 Jan Cain forces Marlon to evict Ellis from Tall Trees
Jeff has played Cain for nearly 22 years (Credit: ITV)

However Cain didn’t know that Butch was actually his half-brother.

It was later revealed Cain was son of Zak Dingle as his mother Faith cheated on her husband Shadrach (Zak’s brother).

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How old is Jeff Hordley?

Jeff Hordley was born March 7 1970 making him 51 years old.

Read more: Who is Gemma Oaten? Who did she plan in Emmerdale?

How long as Jeff been married to Zoe Henry and do they have kids?

Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley on the red carpet at the British Soap Awards
Zoe and Jeff are very happily married (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Jeff is married to his Emmerdale co-star Zoe Henry.

The two met on the set of Emmerdale in 2001 when Zoe first began playing Rhona Goskirk.

The couple then went on to get married in 2003 and now have two children together.

Their oldest child Violet was born in 2005 and their son Stan was born in 2008.

Jeff and Zoe also have two dogs named Rita and Ronald.

Jeff Hordley and his dog Ronald (Credit: ITV)

How tall is Jeff Hordley?

It has been reported that Jeff is 1.83 metres tall making him approximately 6 ft.

Jeff Hordley’s illness

Jeff Hordley was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when he was 26 years old. However he began experiencing symptoms from the age of 20.

In 2009, he spoke about his experience with Express.co.uk claiming he wanted to raise awareness of the disease.

Jeff has spoke about being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease (Credit: Nick Banks/Flynetpictures.com/SplashNews.com)

Doctors had initially put his symptoms down to irritable bowel syndrome, but Jeff continued to feel unwell.

“Even though I tried to avoid foods that upset my digestive system, such as coffee and Chinese takeaways, I was still sick and tired and I kept losing weight,” he said.

His symptoms became so severe they began to interfere with his studies, and exhaustion meant he couldn’t make it to class.

“I was a drama student in Manchester and sometimes I had to miss lectures because I was too tired,” he said.

“I even had to drop out of my final year plays.”

Symptoms include diarrhoea, stomach aches and cramps, blood in poo, tiredness and weight loss, although some people don’t have all of these symptoms.

It’s a life-long condition that can’t be cured, but can be managed.

Jeff takes a mixture of probiotics and supplements as well as making huge changes to his diet. He also keeps active and goes running.

Jeff and Zoe’s allotment

Fans of Jeff and Zoe will know the two run their own allotment and Zoe often shares updates on their veg on her social media.

The couple got an allotment in part because of Jeff’s Crohn’s Disease. He was advised to stop eating processed food.

They have wowed fans with their produce and even shared the spoils of their labour with co-stars!

Zoe and Jeff have decided to grow through the winter months this year, and last year even made the cover of the National Vegetable Society quarterly magazine!

Who did Jeff play in Coronation Street?

Before landing the role of Cain Dingle, Jeff had not one, but TWO roles in Coronation Street.

He played a night club manager in 1997 and in 1998 he played a character called Wayne, who was a musical director.

Jeff played Wayne who was in a scene with Roy and Hayley back in 1998 (Credit: ITV)

In the scene Roy Cropper chose to audition for a part in Wayne’s production.

He was encouraged by his wife Hayley to do the audition and performed Singin’ in the Rain.

Roy tried to get through the performance, despite his stage fright. Hayley became furious when Wayne took a phone call mid song.

Is Jeff friends with co-star Charley Webb?

Charley Webb has played Cain’s daughter Debbie Dingle in Emmerdale since 2002.

It was recently reported that Charley has quit Emmerdale.

Charley is also married to an Emmerdale co-star, Matthew Wolfenden, who plays David Metcalfe.

Charley and Jeff appear to have a good friendship off-screen.

Read more: Who was Dave Glover in Emmerdale? Where is actor Ian Kelsey now?

On his 50th birthday in 2020 Charley shared a picture of Jeff calling him ‘her right arm.’

In 2020, Charley revealed that she got her vegetables for her roast dinner from Jeff and Zoe’s allotment.

Want more spoilers from Emmerdale? Entertainment Daily has a dedicated Emmerdale spoilers section for you to get your fix before the latest episodes air.

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.

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Charlotte Rodrigues
Soap Contributor
Charlotte Rodrigues joined Entertainment Daily in April 2018, as Audience Engagement Executive. A huge soap fan, Charlotte then became Senior Soap Writer, delivering the latest storylines and spoilers to our followers.