Jeff Hordley shares how he adapted his home and lifestyle for Crohn’s disease
York: Emmerdale actor Jeff Hordley has made some big changes at home due to his chronic illness. He plays Cain Dingle on the show and lives with Crohn’s disease. After getting diagnosed, he switched up his diet based on a nutritionist’s advice. He cut out alcohol, sugar, meat, wheat, and dairy to help manage his condition.
To make things easier, Jeff and his wife, Zoe Henry, who also stars in Emmerdale, created an allotment at their countryside home. They now cook everything from scratch. Zoe mentioned on Loose Women that Jeff’s diagnosis really “changed [their] lives.”
Jeff was initially worried that his health issues might derail his acting dreams. As an ambassador for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, he reassured others facing similar struggles, saying, “You are not alone if you are suffering from Crohn’s or Colitis.”
He pointed out that there are around 300,000 people in the UK with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and he’s one of them. At first, he thought his symptoms were just irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). But when he started feeling too exhausted to attend university lectures, he realized it was something more serious.
“I was scared it would stop my acting career from taking off,” Jeff shared. Even after trying to avoid trigger foods like coffee and takeaways, he still felt unwell and lost weight.
Looking ahead, 2025 is shaping up to be a dramatic year for Emmerdale. Flashforward scenes hint at plenty of action, with characters like Kim Tate and Mark Charnock taking center stage in the fictional Yorkshire village, according to Liverpool Echo.
