Emmerdale: Moira Dingle's history with alcohol

In recent weeks, Emmerdale fans have watched as Moira has started drinking again and showing signs of volatile and worrying behaviour.

She’s struggled with alcohol for several years, and since son Matty’s wrongful incarceration earlier this year, alcohol has once again become her friend.

Despite Matty being released, Moira’s erratic behaviour has continued. Here’s all you need to know about the farmer’s history with booze.

Moira looks incredulous as she takes a sip of coffee in Emmerdale — Moira has her family worried again (Credit: ITV)

Emmerdale: Why did Moira start drinking?

Back in 2019, Moira started an affair with Nate after she felt neglected by husband Cain. However, it turned out that Nate was Cain’s secret son – because of course he was, this is SoapLand after all.

When the affair came to light, Moira struggled to cope with everyone judging her. She hit rock bottom and hit the bottle.

The drinking continued and she found herself even more ostracized by her family.

Emmerdale's Nate and Moira are in bed — Nate and Moira had an affair (Photo by ITV/Shutterstock (10415996p))

Why the drinking was so bad

Moira’s drinking almost caused her to lose everything and everybody she loved. Her marriage to Cain was at breaking point (no thanks to her affair with Cain’s son Nate) before they managed to salvage it. But even worse, Moira put her children in danger.

On one occasion, she was supposed to be looking after her young son Isaac.

Instead of being a doting mother, she passed out drunk on the sofa and ignored the youngster’s calls for help during the night.

It was down to Moira’s friend Vanessa to take Isaac to the doctor the following day when it was clear he was unwell and Moira was in no state to do it herself.

Other scenes saw her ruin deals with suppliers after being aggressive and getting on the booze in the morning. She also abandoned her children to go on alcohol runs, even risking getting behind the wheel.

On another occasion she passed out drunk in a ditch after narrowly avoiding being hit by a car.

Moira looks furious (Credit: ITV) — Will Moira go back to her old ways? (Credit: ITV)

Has Moira relapsed?

Moira relapsed back in 2022 following the killing of Al Chapman. Moira struggled to cope after Cain took the blame and hid the truth that the real culprit was actually his son Kyle.

The relapse was short-lived, but recent weeks have seen Moira once again acting volatile towards those around her, with Cain worrying when he discovered she’d been hiding booze.

Her son Matty’s wrongful arrest for stabbing Samson was the trigger. But despite Matty being released, Moira has struggled to forgive the Dingle family for not standing by her innocent son.

Moira has also argued with those closest to her – including Matty and Cain, exchanging some particularly harsh words.

Matty and Cain came together in an attempt to get Moira to see a doctor after Matty caught his mum sleeping on the sofa during the day. But Moira opted to grab a bottle of alcohol and go off drinking alone.

Will Moira go back to her old ways? And if so, will her marriage to Cain survive it again?