Cain Zachariah Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Jeff Hordley, and made his first appearance on 30 March 2000. Initially Cain was only in the show for a few episodes but returned full-time in early 2001. In 2006, Cain was written out of the series when Hordley left the show; however, the door was left open for a return, which occurred when Hordley returned to the cast in February 2009. Cain's storylines have focused on his relationships with his cousin Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) and others. Other storylines include discovering he is the father of Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb), and more recently, being attacked in a whodunit storyline where his assailant was eventually revealed to be his father, Zak (Steve Halliwell). In March 2014, he