Emmerdale's Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain Dingle, has spoken out about Charley Webb's absence from the soap in her role as Debbie Dingle.

Just recently, Jeff's, 56, character Cain has received a diagnosis of aggressive yet localised prostate cancer and is preparing to face surgery, something he is finding deeply difficult to come to terms with.

Speaking about the hard-hitting storyline at a recent Emmerdale press event, including Daily Express, Jeff, 56, discussed how his character has drawn strength from granddaughter Sarah Sugden, portrayed by Katie Hill.

Sarah is the daughter of Debbie Dingle, played by Charley Webb, and Andy Sugden, portrayed by Kelvin Fletcher. However, Kelvin, 42, departed the ITV soap back in 2016 after two decades in the role of Andy.

Meanwhile, Charley, 38, announced she had quit the ITV soap in 2021 following 19 years of portraying Debbie, with her final appearance on screen in February 2021. Debbie is the daughter of Cain and Charity Dingle, played by Emma Atkins.

Reflecting on Cain's connection with granddaughter Sarah and the absence of on-screen daughter Debbie, Jeff spoke warmly of the "lovely scenes" shared between Cain and Sarah: "Katie [Hill, who plays Sarah] has just been... that episode where the camera was on Cain and the pair of us came into view at the end, she was just amazing throughout that and throughout all of the stories, she's just such a good young actress. She's been a joy to work with.

"I kind of feel... you know, we've sadly not got Charley Webb anymore but I think she really steps into those shoes really well.

"It's a slightly different dynamic but it's kind of quite similar as well and she's a character that can also get Cain to talk - Moira, Sarah and Charity."

Co-star Natalie J Robb, who portrays Cain's wife Moira Dingle, responded with a laugh: "Surrounded by strong women!" prompting Jeff to quip: "I am!"

This comes as Sarah's portrayer, Katie, 23, previously spoke openly about her character's solitary situation in the village and whether she would welcome the return of on-screen parents Debbie and Andy.

Katie said enthusiastically at the time: "Oh 100%, funnily enough I never met Kelvin Fletcher who plays my dad in the show. I've never actually met him in real life."

She went on hopefully: "Obviously it would be great if he came back and we got a chance to explore their relationship, and again Charley [Webb, who plays mum Debbie], she was my person here for so many years.

"She really took me under her wing when I joined the show so it would be so nice to work with them both. I'd like that."

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV and ITV X.