Emmerdale star Jeff Hordley has said he thinks his character Cain Dingle has “met his match”, although he is still in the dark about whether show bosses plan to kill him off.
The 50-year-old, who made his debut as bad-boy Cain in 2000, said he had not read the scripts so he could not say whether ITV planned to call time on his part.
Recent episodes have seen Cain become embroiled in a violent feud with corrupt police officer DI Malone, played by Mark Womack.
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Hordley said: “Mark and myself have just been really enjoying these sparring matches. But I do think he’s met his match – maybe on both counts. As the story will play out, we’ll find out.”
Asked whether their upcoming confrontation would be fatal, he replied: “I don’t know. I’ve not read the scripts, so I don’t know whether that involves me or not.
“Or if the story then pushes forward with other characters or whether I carry on with it. They don’t tell us much, believe it or not.”
Hordley said Emmerdale writer Jane Pearson was careful not to reveal details to the cast.
He said: “Jane is quite – and quite rightfully – secretive about where stories are going, because she knows if she tells one member of the cast, it’s soon Chinese whispers around the rest. And I think that’s a savvy thing to do.”
Hordley said he would be sad to leave the long-running soap as his character had been “a huge part of my career and of my life”.
He added: “I’m very close to him and very protective over him, but inevitably there will be a day that comes where the scriptwriters or the producers will go, ‘OK, it’s the end of the line’.”
ITV has said Emmerdale and Coronation Street will continue to be broadcast during the coronavirus outbreak.
New episodes will be made but shoots will feature fewer cast members and less filming on location.