Emmerdale Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Emmerdale Wiki
Advertisement
Register
Emmerdale Wiki
Emmerdale Wiki
17,376
pages
in: Families

Cairns family

Sign in to edit

The Cairns family lived in Emmerdale between 1997 and 1999.

Storylines[]

The Cairns family consisting of Becky Cairns, her husband, Tony and their children, Charlie, Will and Emma, moved to Emmerdale in February 1997, initially living at the Holiday Village. 

The family were almost immediately caught up in drama when a baby was found abandoned in the village, and 13-year-old Emma was soon revealed as the mother. With the support of Linda Fowler, Emma was reunited with her baby, who she named Geri, and decided she wanted to keep her. Whilst Becky and Charlie proved to be supportive of Emma's decision, believing that it was only right that Geri should remain with the family, Tony was completely against the idea, and insisted that he would move out if Geri came home. However, he eventually came round, and there was relief all round when social services agreed that Emma could keep Geri.

With a new member of the family around, Tony realised they would need somewhere more suitable to live. Tony was interested when he heard that Jack Sugden was looking for a buyer for Woodside Farm and put in an offer. However, the Sugden's had failed to mention that the farm was currently uninhabitable, and the repairs looked set to set the Cairn's back 1000s of pounds. The family later moved into Annie's Cottage.

Meanwhile, Emma found herself struggling to settle back into school and she was bullied by fellow pupil, Lyn Hutchinson, until Will scared her off. Dean Adlington also defended Emma against Lyn's taunts, however, his true colours were revealed when he attempted to force himself on Emma, leading to Tony attacking him. Dean's Father, Ken Adlington, went to the police and threatened to press charges, although he was eventually persuaded to back down.

Attentions soon shifted to Charlie's upcoming 18th birthday and Tony, Becky and Charlie's friend, Mandy Dingle, arranged a party, with Mandy even inviting Charlie's on-off boyfriend, Greg Cox. Whilst Charlie was delighted to see Greg, it was clear that Emma was uncomfortable with his presence and she made her excuses to leave the party early. As Emma left with Geri, Greg spotted the baby, and questioned Charlie about who she was, initially assuming that she was Tony and Becky's. Once the party was over, Greg and Charlie headed back to Annie's Cottage and when everyone was in bed, Greg confronted Emma over Geri. Having heard voices downstairs, Charlie snuck down, and was horrified to realise that Greg was Geri's father.

Charlie was furious about the revelation, but agreed not to tell Tony and Becky, however, the animosity between Charlie and Emma did not go unnoticed. Charlie particularly struggled around baby Geri, and things came to a head when Becky left Geri in Charlie's care whilst she and Emma went to check on work being carried out at the new farm. Charlie became overwhelmed when Geri wouldn't stop crying and placed her on the kitchen table before leaving the house. Luckily, Mandy realised what Charlie had done and went to the house before any harm was done. When Mandy pointed out that Charlie's actions could have resulted in Geri's death, Charlie realised she had to get away, and left the village for Gibraltar. 

The family soon faced more drama when Emma allowed 6 year old Neighbour, Alice Bates, to take Geri for a walk, resulting in Alice being abducted by her Father's former girlfriend, Karen Johnson, and Geri being left in an shed. Although Geri was quickly found by Zak Dingle, and Alice eventually turned up the following day, social services got involved, and arrived at the Cairns's to discuss Emma's ability to care for Geri. Despite Tony and Becky insisting that they could manage, Emma shocked her family by announcing that she wanted Geri to be put up for adoption. Becky in particular struggled to accept Emma's decision and persisted with visiting Geri at her foster parent's home, even brining her back with her on one occasion in an attempt to encourage Emma into motherhood. However, Emma was adamant that she wanted Geri to be adopted, and Becky eventually came to respect her decision.

When the rest of the family went on holiday, Will was left home alone, and decided to throw a party. It was during the party that he met Fiona Mallender, and the pair instantly hit it off. However, Fiona's sinister intentions were revealed when she kidnapped Will and held him hostage before trying to murder him in a grain silo. Tony and Becky worked out what was happening and were able to save Will just in time. The pair demanded answers from Fiona, who revealed that her Father, Tommy, had worked with Tony during his time in army. Tommy had been killed during a training exercise and Fiona blamed Tony for his death. Fiona eventually accepted Tony's explanation of the event and left the village.

In early 1998, Tony set up his own outdoor pursuits centre but getting the project off the ground took up a considerable amount of his time, and Becky began to feel neglected. She turned to Zoe Tate for support, and the pair ended up kissing. Whilst Becky was interested in pursing a relationship with Zoe, Zoe was less keen, and told Becky that things should go no further. A short time later, Tony excitedly revealed that he'd been head hunted for a new job in Germany. Unfortunately, Becky did not share his enthusiasm and, furious that Tony was once again trying to uproot the family, told him that she'd been having an affair with Zoe. Following the revelation, Tony left for Germany alone, and Becky lied to Will and Emma about where and why he'd gone. A few days later, Tony returned to visit the kids, and offered them a home in Germany with him. It was during this visit that Tony and Becky patched things up, and she agreed to return to Germany with him. However, Will and Emma were not so keen on the idea, with both wanting to remain in Emmerdale. With Will almost 18, it was agreed that he could stay on in the village, moving in with Biff Fowler and Marlon Dingle at Annie's cottage. However, there was no such luck for Emma, and she reluctantly left the village with her parents. However, a few days later, Emma turned up on Will's doorstep, announcing that she'd run away from her parents and wasn't going back to Germany. Becky soon followed and after much debate, it was agreed that Emma could stay with Jack and Sarah Sugden and their children, with Sarah theorising that Emma would soon get bored and want to return to her parents.

Emma was delighted at being allowed to remain in Emmerdale and set about preparing to re-enrol at school, which unsettled Jack and Sarah, who had never agreed to the teenager becoming a permanent fixture in their home. Eventually, in consultation with Tony and Becky, it was agreed that Emma could remain in Emmerdale to see out the summer term at school, after which she would have to return to Germany, which she did. Meanwhile, Will was relishing his new-found freedom but got into bother with Jack and Sarah when his boozy nights with Marlon and Biff caused him to miss school and an important rugby match. Jack and Sarah agreed not to tell Tony and Becky on the condition that Will settled down. By the end of 1998, Will was the last member of the family to live in the village.

In January 1999, Will received a phone call informing him that Tony had been injured in a climbing accident. Will left the village to be with his family and never returned. After this, no more Cairns family members lived in the village ever again.

Family Members[]

Key Dates[]

Births[]

Marriages[]

Deaths[]

None.

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement