Emmerdale star Jeff Hordley has broken his silence regarding the big shake-up on the ITV soap, which saw Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle be granted control of Butler’s Farm following a bitter war between two rival families.

Over the past few months, various developments meant that Moira was left with little choice but to sell the farm, with the scheming Tates doing their best to get a favourable deal for the property.

Moira, who is currently behind bars, eventually concluded negotiations with Kim, with Joe subsequently giving control to Robert and Aaron. Though the storyline is far from over, the farm is entering a new era.

Of course, Hordley’s Cain wasn’t best pleased with the outcome despite the fact he has more pressing personal issues, and upcoming scenes will see the beloved character attempt to set up a rival farm.

“He’s pushed into this situation, because he knows how important the farm is to Moira,” explained Hordley. “The star of this show has always been and always will be the farming setting, so for us to bring it back to its roots as a rural soap can only be a positive thing.”

Though Cain is in the process of battling prostate cancer, the character is hellbent on creating ‘Dingle Farm’, and goes to great lengths to achieve his goal despite some resistance from other figures.

“Cain persuades Matty to stay on at the farm, because he says, ‘your mum wouldn’t want you not working, so you might as well take this opportunity’,” shared Hordley, who added that Cain would view Matty as an “extra pair of eyes and ears”.

“That’s how Cain works. I think he’s most definitely throwing himself into all of this is a distraction from his own worries… He can shelve his woes and his thoughts so that the cancer doesn’t consume him.”

Though Robert and Aaron have been handed control of Emmerdale Farm, Joe will still be up to his old tricks as he sells Moira’s herd of cows from under their nose, but some figures in the village will take matters into their own hands as a heist takes place.

It remains to be seen if Cain will be involved, but Hordley did tease that his character could have a “little plan up his sleeve”. Either way, it seems certain that the farm wars won’t be over for a while yet.