The Dingles are currently a family at war with each other in Emmerdale after Samson Dingle (Sam Hall) accused Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) of stabbing him.

Viewers know that Matty is entirely innocent – he was just trying to deal with Samson and his friend Josh (Osian Morgan), who were causing trouble at the Hide. Josh pushed Samson towards Matty, who happened to be holding a knife, and Samson was accidentally stabbed.

Josh and Samson have stuck to the story that Matty attacked them, Matty has been arrested and battle lines have been drawn between Matty’s supporters – Moira (Natalie J. Robb), Amy (Natalie Ann Jamieson), Kerry (Laura Norton) and Cain (Jeff Hordley) – on one side and Sam (James Hooton) and Lydia (Karen Blick) sticking up for Samson on the other side.

‘She senses he’s not doing enough to back her up,’ the actress told us. ‘When he went to prison for Kyle (Huey Quinn) she was there and she stuck by him and she doesn’t feel the same is coming back in return and that’s when the problems and the cracks start to appear. You can hardly blame her.’

This puts their marriage under strain, with Cain thinking Moira is going too far in her support of her son and Moira thinking Cain is not being supportive enough. Things come to a head when Cain returns home very drunk.

‘It’s a very powerful scene and actually Jeff Hordley is a very good drunk – he plays a very good drunk,’ Natalie said, and described the shocking events that happen next.

‘He comes into the scene and he’s drunk and Moira doesn’t have the time for it and she tries to goad him and she tries to push him to the point of showing some sort of reaction to what’s going on, to make him angry, to provoke him to try and do something and back her up,’ she explained.

‘It ends up that we come face to face and he nearly hits her. It’s a bit of a face off between them both but kind of a very uncomfortable moment. People who’ve seen the video and the rushes said they felt very uncomfortable even though they knew both of the characters, so that’s really good, and that’s what happens in real marriages.’

Natalie suggested that this incident, and the events leading up to it, would be very difficult for Moira to get past.

‘I don’t think this is something Moira would ever forget, especially from Samson Dingle’s point of view because they’re backing him and protecting him and defending him all the way through it and not even considering the options of Matty’s point of view of it,’ she insisted.

‘So this won’t be something that she would forget. It may be different with Cain if things start to change, maybe not, but she won’t forget this and it’s not something she would forgive. She’s fiercely protective of her children. She’s already lost one child and now she faces the possibility of losing a second. She’s absolutely desperate.

‘She feels it’s unforgivable what’s happening, what Samson’s doing and the fact they’re supporting him.’

Could this be the end of Moira and Cain’s marriage?