Moira Dingle (née Boyd; previously Barton) is the mother of Holly, Adam and Matty Barton as well as Isaac Dingle, the sister of Mackenzie Boyd, the widow of John Barton and the wife of Cain Dingle.
Biography[]
1971-2009: Early life, marriage and motherhood[]
John and Moira recreate their first date for their twentieth wedding anniversary.
Moira Boyd was born in Scotland on 25th April 1971. She and her younger brother Mackenzie, who is about twelve years her junior, grew up in an abusive home and their father would regularly be violent towards their mother. In 1989, Moira's father discovered his wife was having an affair with his best friend Tony after finding Tony's watch in their bathroom. In a rage, he confronted his wife over dinner. Moira feared her father would kill her mother so she claimed she was the one sleeping with Tony to protect her. After being shunned by her family, Moira fled to England where she met farmer's son John Barton. After a whirlwind romance, Moira married John on 6th January 1990 and within a year she was pregnant. Moira and John welcomed their first child, a daughter whom they named Holly, in May 1991. Being first time parents took its toll on Moira and John's relationship, and when Holly was a few months old, Moira slept with John's brother, James, whilst drunk. Nine months later, Moira gave birth to her son, Adam. Moira put all doubts regarding her Adam's paternity to the back of her mind as she believed in her heart that John was his father. Two years later, Moira and John expanded their family again when their second daughter, Hannah, was born.
2009-2011: Arriving in the village[]
The Bartons move into Butlers Farm.
In July 2009, Moira and her family moved into Butlers Farm, Emmerdale. On their first day on the farm, the Bartons came face to face with former tenant farmer, Andy Sugden, who was suffering a breakdown at the time and believed he still lived at the farm. John assured Andy that the farm was in good hands and Andy's step-mother Diane Sugden was called to collect him. A few days later, John enlisted Andy's help when a dozen sheep went missing and subsequently offered him a job despite Moira's misgivings. Andy was even allowed to stay in a caravan at the farm during the busy times. Moira was concerned when Hannah started developing a crush on Andy as the locals had filled her in on Andy's chequered past, which included being responsible for the death of his adoptive mother and abusing his second wife. Upon witnessing distressed Hannah running from Andy's caravan, Moira fired Andy on the spot and ordered him off the farm. After speaking to embarrassed Hannah, Moira realised she had jumped to the wrong conclusions so she apologised to Andy and offered him his job back.
Diane hired Moira as a barmaid in The Woolpack in late August. She was an instant hit with the regulars, although not with chef, Marlon Dingle, as Moira had critisized his food. Marlon's nose was put further out of joint when Moira took over the kitchen when he was unavalible and her tempoary menu went down well with the regulars. Diane became fed up of the atmosphere between Marlon and Moira so she deicded to get Moira to help out Marlon in the kitchen, hoping this would resolve their issues but this only made things worse. Things got so bad that Moira decided to quit which Marlon was made to feel guilty about. Marlon called round at Butlers Farm to apologise to Moira and managed to persuade her to return to work. Moira and Marlon's relationship began to improve and they became friends. Moira supported Marlon as he divorced his estranged wife Donna Windsor-Dingle which lead Marlon to develop a crush on Moira which she soon picked up on. Marlon admitted to Moira that he was falling in love with her. Moira was flattered but explained nothing was going to happen between them.
Moira continued to work in the Woolpack, making more friends as time went on and becoming a great staff member and confident to landlady Diane Sugden. Soon though, Moira’s daughter Hannah exposed the wicked torture she had been enduring from Diane’s step-daughter, Victoria Sugden and her friend Kayleigh, as Hannah confronted Victoria in the pub where the two families were having a meal together. This caused a rift between Moira and Diane as Moira wanted Victoria punished for her actions. After Victoria turned on Kayleigh, Moira made up with Diane and they continued to be good friends, as Hannah and Victoria also built bridges in their friendship.
When Edna Birch's granddaughter, Eve Jenson, arrived in the village and started working for the Bartons as their farmhand, Eve's constant flirting with John made Moira suspicious, but Eve reassured her that nothing was going on, even finding it amusing. Although Moira began to dislike her new farmhand, she put Eve's flirting down to her personality and thought her husband couldn't cheat. John, however, kissed Eve in the back of his car and was spotted by Cain Dingle. Cain visited Moira in The Woolpack and told her what he had seen, but Moira refused to believe him and went home to confront John. When she got home she told John what Cain had told her and John confessed that he and Eve had kissed but said there was nothing to it and he loved Moira. Moira, however, told John if he could kiss her he might as well have slept with her and she told him to get out of the house. After that, however, they reconciled and continued to battle their eldest daughter, Holly's continual drug problem. A little later, Moira could not bear to see Holly suffering, so she bought heroin and supplied her daughter with it. She was caught and cautioned by the police.
Moira finds out about her son, Adam's affair with his girlfriend's mother, Ella Hart, and she demands Adam to finish with Ella, but they decide to carry on with the affair. After this, Moira gives Ella a number of dirty looks and tells her to back off from Adam. Ella's estranged husband Declan Macey discovers the affair and goes mad, Adam comes back home to John and Moira. After this, Moira makes Adam tell John about the affair. John's not happy about this because it could affect the deal he has with Declan about the farm, but Adam ensures them both that the farm will be safe.
John and Moira's relationship becomes strained over the following weeks as they worry about the farms finances. Moira then makes a deal with Cain Dingle to pay him in instalments for a Land Rover without telling John. However, Cain takes pleasure in telling John about Moira going behind his back, causing him to argue with Moira. Later, Moira goes to the garage to confront Cain, but their arguing turns to kissing and she ends up having sex with him. Despite her guilt, Moira and Cain then begin a passionate affair and have sex on multiple different occasions. Soon, Moira tells Diane she is having an affair with someone she hates and Diane works out it is with Cain because of the way Moira acted around him. Moira begs Cain not to tell John about the affair, however, he then taunts John about a ‘heart shaped’ birthmark on her thigh, revealing the affair, and John throws Moira out. She leaves to stay with her mother but later returns and then goes to stay with Marlon Dingle. She is desperate to make amends with John and her children however they refuse to speak to her. John allows her to come to the farm to help with the finances for the business.
2011-2013: John's death[]
Moira and John's car crashes off a cliff
Moira is concerned when John is arrested for Cain's brutal attack in December 2011 and temporally moves back into the farm to support her children. Over Christmas, Adam and Moira start to bond again as he begins to forgive her. Moira is devastated when John then bans her from spending Christmas with them, so she puts their presents in the barn. Adam, Hannah and Holly eventually forgive her and try to help her reconcile with John.
However, Moira is devastated when John starts flirting with her friend and boss Chas Dingle and goes on a date with her. On Chas' return, they argue and Moira slaps Chas. Chas then blurts out that John couldn't go through it as he really loves Moira. Later, Moira tells John that she will agree to a divorce if that is what he wants, but John tells her it is not. Moira and John reconcile and their children book a night at a hotel for them. While driving, John loses control of the car as he hits some black ice and the car falls down a hill. Moira manages to free herself from the car with help from John and Declan. However, Moira cannot free John and the vehicle falls over a cliff. John is rescued and rushed to hospital, where he undergoes surgery. Shortly after Moira tells John that she loves him, he dies.
Moira is devastated by John's death and the children try to help her around the farm. Hannah struggles with her studies, while Holly blames Moira for John's death. After turning to drugs again, Holly begins seeing a counsellor and is later offered a job in London. Hannah announces that she is bored of village life and wants to go with her. Moira initially refuses to let her go, but later relents. Her farmhand, Alex Moss comes to stay at the farm, after his house floods. Moira and Alex begin an affair and try to conceal it from Adam who is best friends with Alex. However, when Alex’s girlfriend, Victoria confronts Alex about who he has been seeing, Moira reveals that it was her. Victoria later reveals the affair to the rest of the village.
Cain makes a deal with Moira that if Alex works at the garage then his father, Zak can have Alex's old job at the farm. Moira sees Cain's vulnerable side, starting to fall for him once again. The couple begin seeing each other in late 2012 however they have to deal with a very disgusted Adam who blames Cain for John's death. However, they temporarily split when Cain goes on holiday without telling her and she realises he isn't responsible. She then goes on a date with Dominic Andrews, thus pleasing Adam. However, Cain 'kidnaps' Moira after stealing Dom's motorbike and pretending to be Dom. Moira is at first fuming with Cain for doing so, however, her hate soon turns into passion and they sleep together starting their relationship up again.
2013-2016: Relationship with Cain Dingle, Adam’s paternity[]
Moira and Cain's New Years kiss
On New Year's Eve, they decide to announce their relationship by passionately sharing a kiss in the Woolpack. Adam instantly disproves of the relationship and starts giving Moira serious grief about it. In April, Moira learns that she is pregnant with Cain's baby leaving her with a huge decision to make. Much to Moiras surprise Cain tells her he wants them to keep the baby so that they can be a family together. They agree that they are going to continue with the pregnancy and are both happy with this idea. However soon after this she miscarries leaving them both devastated. Cain then moves in with Moira after his daughter Debbie becomes too difficult to handle.
Adam, still angry at Cain and Moira's relationship, tries to set Cain up and pays a girl called Natalie to sleep with Cain but Cain realises what Adam is up to and pushes Adam against a wall and threatens him. The following day Adam finds out about Moira's miscarriage and tells Cain he's glad Moira lost the baby, causing Cain to punch him. Later Adam then shows his mum his black eye as he tries to persuade Moira to leave Cain and though Moira is angry with Cain she takes his side, telling him that she is still trying to get over the fact that they lost their baby and due to this Adam leaves the farm.
In late 2013, Ross Barton, son of John's brother James Barton interrupted Cain proposing to Moira at the farmhouse after he arrived to avoid the wrath of gangster drug dealers who had shot him in the shoulder. Realising his family connection, Moira offered Ross a place to stay for a few days until he was able to move on. This put her at odds with some of the villagers, especially Laurel Thomas, who Ross had car jacked a few weeks earlier. In December 2013, Moira visited James and his other son Pete Barton, who along with Ross, would become temporary longterm tenants at Butler's Farm after losing their own farm.
Soon afterwards, the Bartons went into business together and Cain became suspicious of James's motives for staying at the farm. His suspicions were soon proved to be correct when on the evening of a big business deal at a hotel, James admitted to Moira that he still had feelings for her as he had done in the past. Moira turned him down, reiterating that she loves Cain and later Moira confessed to Cain that James had admitted to her that he had feelings for her. Assuring him that she did not feel the same way, Moira proposed to Cain on 10th February 2014 and he accepted. Cain later surprises Moira with their wedding date at her hen party and then a week later on 15th May, they got married in the barn on the same day as Charity and Declan. However during the wedding Moira is worried as James believes Adam might be his son as when Moira had slept with James and then 9 months later had Adam.
She insisted that Adam was John’s but James did a DNA test and found out Adam was biologically his son. He confronted Moira and she pleads with him to keep quiet for Adam’s sake and is relieved when he agrees not to tell Adam but insists that she should. Unfortunately, in June 2014, James’s youngest son, Finn finds some home videos that reveal Moira and James’s affair in . After seeing this, Adam punches James and berates Moira before storming out of the pub. Cain also storms off, angry over Moira’s lies, so Moira chases after Cain and confesses that Adam is James’s son and Cain comforts her.
Moira is then forced to tell Adam that James is his father and this news devastates Adam. He goes on a downward spiral as he stops coming to the farm and pushes his girlfriend, Katie away. Cain then tells Moira that Adam went after James with a gun and she is shocked to see him on the farm the next day. He continues to clash with James and after he drunkenly injures Andy Sugden, Moira sacks him. Moira and Adam continue to argue over the next few weeks, but in September 2014, when she hears that he is in hospital after taking drugs, she goes to see him. He initially refuses but Moira then offers to pay his rent in exchange for him listening to her. She takes him to the house where Holly used to go for drugs to show him where he will end up, but Adam refuses to listen and Moira is left disappointed. Moira finds Adam drinking with Robbie Lawson later that day and is furious with him for drinking after just getting out of the hospital. Their confrontation turns violent as Adam pushes her and she falls, leading to Robbie having a go at him and Adam storming off. This is the last straw for Moira and she disowns Adam the next morning.
In August 2014, Moira is surprised to hear that Adam confessed to arson after causing the garage fire years earlier. She sees that he is trying to improve himself and so she agrees to give him his job back and gifts him shares in the farm. However, while Adam is in prison, Moira finds herself being blackmailed by Maxine, the mother of his cell mate, who says her son will hurt Adam unless Moira pays her. She refuses and so Maxine has her son beat Adam up. A guilty Moira visits Adam and he tells her to let Cain take care of it and so she asks Cain to warn Maxine off. After Cain and his family intimidate her, steal her dogs and almost kill her, Maxine agrees to back off, much to Moira’s relief.
In October 2014, Moira is unhappy when Cain’s ex, Charity Dingle moves into Butlers while awaiting trial. Moira is glad when Adam is released in December and welcomes him home, all previous animosity forgotten. Later that month, Moira worries as Cain is taken to hospital after he collapsed and was found by Charity. He is diagnosed with a brain aneurysm caused by the head injury he sustained in 2011 and Moira is frustrated by his reluctance to be treated. In January 2015, Charity is sent to prison and Moira agrees to let her young son Noah, stay on the farm as both she and Cain like having him around.
Later that year, Moira learns that Adam is the father of Vanessa Woodfield’s baby following a one night stand. She is unhappy when Adam says he won’t be involved in the baby’s life and then gets engaged to Victoria Sugden. She disapproves of the engagement, as does Victoria’s family, but the couple are adamant. After Victoria and Adam almost elope, Moira is forced to accept that Adam is marrying her and that she will not be a part of her grandchild’s life.
In August 2015, Moira attends her step-daughter, Debbie’s wedding to Pete Barton. The day was ruined when a helicopter crashed into the reception, though Moira and Cain got out safely. However, Cain learned that his estranged son, Kyle, was trapped inside and ran in, despite Moira screaming for him to stay. She briefly believed he had died when the building collapsed but then saw him coming back carrying Kyle and was hugely relieved.
In September 2015, Vanessa goes into premature labour and gives birth to a son who she named Johnny. Moira is happy when Adam goes to see his son after he is born. Soon, it becomes clear that Adam cannot stay away and so he steps up to be the baby’s father, to Moira’s delight. In December 2015, Debbie departs the village with her children and leaves her baby half-brother Moses with Moira. She vows to take care of him but is later forced to give him to his father, Ross Barton, as she has no legal right to keep him.
Further sadness followed in January 2016, as it is revealed that Johnny is not Adam’s son after Vanessa does a second DNA test. They soon find out that Rakesh Kotecha faked the DNA test so that his son, Kirin wouldn’t be tied down to a baby as he is Johnny’s father. Moira is saddened by the news that she isn’t Johnny’s grandmother and supports Adam through his devastation.
In March 2016, the police inform Moira and Cain that there is a stolen Ferrari in the village. When they were driving home that day, a flock of sheep scattered onto the road. When Cain and Moira tried to get the sheep back into the field, Moira spots the Ferrari. Unexpectedly, it was Charity Dingle that got out of the car. Cain quickly fixed the damage to the car and got Charity's clothes and belongings out the boot of the. Once the Ferrari was fixed, Moira got in the Ferrari in order to take it back to the dealership. That was just moments before the police arrived on the scene. Moira was unhappy when Charity took her son Noah to live with her, as she had bonded with Noah. He didn’t want to go with Charity and continued coming up to the farm to see Moira, which Moira enjoyed.
2016: Holly's return, splitting from Cain and Holly's death[]
About a fortnight after Charity returned from prison, somebody stole Cain's car. Moira helped search and they saw his car speeding right by. The driver swerved into the middle of a field and tried to do a runner but Cain caught up with them and Moira was stunned to see that it was Holly. She said that she had returned from London and stole Cain's car to sell it, so that she could pay £2,000 to a gang of thugs who followed her home. The following day, Moira finds out from Charity that she planned to rob the Woolpack safe with Holly. Moira follows her and stops Holly as she is trying to get money from the safe.
They argued and Holly stormed off, then bought drugs from Simon McManus, her drug dealer. She collapsed unconscious and was found in the Cemetery later on that day by Ross and Pete. After this, Moira was at the point of sending Holly to rehab, but they said she can't get in for at least four weeks. Moira then found out that Cain deleted a message on her phone when Holly was calling for help. They had an argument and Cain walked away from Moira because she had chosen Holly over him. Cain then went on a trip to France to see his daughter.
Moira and Holly argue
Later, Holly agreed to do a drug test and Moira said if the test comes back as negative, it will be the last test the Holly does. She is relieved when the test is negative, not knowing that Holly faked the result using urine from Cain’s young son, Kyle.
About one month later, Holly got involved with Simon again and he robbed Victoria’s Diddy Diner van while Victoria was in it. A few days later, Holly didn't return home, so Moira and Adam went out looking for her. Adam found her with the Diner van and brought her home, and Moira was happy to see her. Later, Moira was proud of Holly when she used her day off to go into Hotten and bought some stuff for Victoria, thinking it might make her feel safer after the break in. When Victoria almost attacks Finn Barton due to her paranoia after the robbery, Holly suddenly confessed all to Moira. She confessed that it was Simon that attacked Victoria and that she used Kyle to forge the drug tests, as well as admitting that she is still taking heroin. A stunned Moira pretends to forgive her, but then locked her in her bedroom and says she is staying in there until she has gone through withdrawal. James heard her screaming for help and wanted to let her out, but Moira said not to until all the drugs were out of her system. Eventually they did free her but Holly was furious with Moira, though Moira explained that she did it because Holly was out of control.
At the end of July 2016, Holly didn't return home, so James and Moira barged into Simon's house, thinking that she might be there. Moira ignores Simon’s attempts to get them out of his house, despite him repeatedly saying that Holly isn't there. A furious Moira then reaches out to punch Simon, but Simon manages to push her back, making her fall onto the carpet. She is stabbed in the back of her elbow with a used heroin needle. As James pins Simon up against the wall, Moira pulls the needle from her elbow, in severe pain. Afterwards, James insists that she go to the doctor, where she finds out that she has been diagnosed with a contracted HIV condition. Moira is terrified by the thought of having HIV and confronts Holly when she finds her back at Butlers, but doesn’t mention the HIV.
A few days later, Moira starts taking her first lot of her HIV medication. Holly apologises to Moira and she agrees with Holly that if she stops taking meth and heroin, things can be great for them both. However, Moira is still scared about her condition as she hides it from everyone except James. She then gets a phone call from Cain, telling her that he will be returning home from his visit with his daughter Debbie Dingle and her kids Sarah and Jack, which made her feel a little bit better.
When Cain returns home, he finds the medication and assumes that Holly is back on drugs. Moira tells him that they are her medication, revealing to Cain, Holly and Adam that she has been diagnosed with a contracted HIV condition. She was saddened when Cain couldn’t handle this and went out that night and kissed Charity. That night, she was relieved when Cain returned home and took her to bed, but he then confessed all, causing a heartbroken Moira to kick him out for the night. After this, Moira said she couldn’t get past what he had done so he moved back into Wishing Well Cottage with Lisa Dingle, his other sister Belle Dingle and her boyfriend Jermaine Bailey.
Moira eventually finds out she doesn't have HIV, with an enduring Holly by her side. Cain then returns to the village after running away with Charity. They go to the farm to get some things and Charity mocks Moira, calling her a boring farmers wife, so Moira head butts her and kicks both her and Cain out. Following this, Moira files for divorce from Cain, even though she still loves him, but his recent behaviour pushed her too far. Their divorce is finalized in September 2016 and Moira then makes the decision to sell Butler's, finding that having lived in Emmerdale for seven years, it's brought her nothing but suffering. James puts in an offer for the farm, but later opts to buy Wylie's Farm upon his wife Emma's insistence. Later that month, Moira and James drive to a farming convention together in Ross’s taxi. They start kissing and almost have sex but stop and they agree they should just be friends. However, Moira leaves her bra in the taxi, which is later discovered by Ross. He covers for them and agrees to keep silent about it, but Moira feels guilty as she sees she has come between Ross and James.
At the end of September, Moira was confident that a new dawn was in sight for her, despite Holly and Adam's protests about her selling up. However, while she appears to be on cloud nine, Moira is soon struck with a sudden and inexplicable tragedy. Holly comes in early in the morning after a night out with friends. As the morning goes on, Moira continues to shout at Holly to get up, even leaving a cup of tea by her bed without even checking if she's there. Eventually, Moira goes to wake Holly up herself, only to fail, and then discovers that she is cold, and has blue lips. Checking for a non-existent pulse, Moira is left absolutely distraught as she comes to the horrifying realization that Holly has died, and she finds what appears to be a heroin wrapper on the floor, and so Moira concludes that Holly had a relapse, one which would end her life. Moira is found by Chas and Diane, and an ambulance is called. Adam and Victoria are both informed, and so Adam spreads the news to the rest of the village, including Cain who is shaken by the tragic turn of events. When the private ambulance takes Holly's body away, a distraught Moira chases after it until Cain appears, he scoops her from up the floor and holds her as Moira completely breaks down in his arms.
After losing Holly, Moira pushes everyone away, including Charity’s son, Noah, who she had grown close to as he stayed on the farm. Holly's funeral takes place two weeks later and Moira asks Cain to stay away but she can't help looking out for him as the service goes underway. She also invites Holly’s boyfriend, Jai Sharma after finding out about their secret relationship. Adam supports her as they say their final goodbyes to Holly. Moira doesn't see that an emotional Cain is watching on from a discreet distance. The following week, Moira is devastated by James' death after he succumbed to his injuries following a motorway collision caused by Emma, though Emma told people it was suicide.
A few weeks after Holly’s death, Moira meets Jai’s new girlfriend, Nell, who she sees as similar to Holly. When she finds out Nell also lost a daughter, she becomes even more attached to her and is pleased when Jai says he is in love with her. However, Nell comes to Moira a few days later, telling her that she and Jai are over and that he was violent with her after she miscarried their child. Moira is initially furious with Jai and allows Nell to move in, but Jai soon proves that Nell lied about everything because she was obsessed with him. Moira confronts Nell and calls her a bitch as she throws her out of Butlers in a fury.
In December 2016, Moira starts drinking heavily as a means of coping with her grief over the loss of Holly and James. She ends up sleeping with James’s son Pete in her vulnerable state. The next day, she nearly runs over Jacob Gallagher as she is distracted while driving, but Cain takes the blame for the accident. She then admits to Cain that she had a one-night stand with Pete the night before. Cain is devastated and angry over this and they then have an intense and bitter row. After this Moira bandages Cains hand but as Cain gets up to leave the house, Moira declares that she needs him, so they then sleep together. However, Cain says that it was a one time thing and Moira agrees to leave it there.
2017-2018: Birth of Isaac, reuniting with Cain[]
In 2017, Moira and Ross set up a chop shop at Butlers as a means to raise money to keep the farm afloat as well as for Sarah's cancer fund.
Moira and newborn Isaac
In October 2017 Moira shockingly went into labour during a barn fire at Butlers, without even realising she was pregnant, after a fight between her and Emma. A small explosion inside the barn caused crates to fall on Moira which trapped her. Emma didn't believe that Moira was in labour and was prepared to leave her there before Moira blurted out that Emma's son Pete was the father of her unborn child. Emma helped Moira escape from the burning barn and assisted in the delivery of Moira's baby boy. After giving birth, Moira haemorrhaged and fell unconscious. When she came around in hospital, Moira was surprised to learn that she had given birth but was alarmed to learn that unstable Emma had snatched her newborn. Moira let herself out of the hospital and went searching for her son. He was eventually found in the church by vicar Harriet Finch.
Once the baby was returned to the hospital, Pete asked Moira if the baby could be given Finn as a middle name after his recently deceased brother but Moira devastates Pete when she admits that he may not be the father. Pete angrily informs Cain that he may be the father as he comes to visit Moira. Meanwhile, Emma had been pushed off the Hotten Viaduct, falling to her death, and Moira subsequently became a suspect in her murder. Afterwards, Moira was acting suspicious and struggled to bond with her son. On 10th October 2017, a DNA test proved that Cain was the baby's father, although Cain initially didn't want anything to do with his son, so Moira was left alone to take care of him. She later became concerned that he wouldn't stop crying and so she took him to the hospital. Deciding motherhood was too much to bear, she left the baby at the hospital and returned home. When Cain's mother Faith Dingle discovered what Moira had done, she took Moira to the hospital and made up a story to cover Moira's back. Faith also told the nurse that the baby's name was Isaac. Moira then opened up to Faith about her fears that she would mess this baby up like she thought she did with Holly, whose death she felt responsible for. Moira continued to struggle to bond with Isaac and palmed him off at any opportunity. Things came to a head after Isaac's christening in November 2017, when distressed Moira crashed her son Adam and his wife Victoria's meeting with an adoption agency and handed Isaac over to them to raise as their own. After a heart-to-heart with his mother Faith, Cain stepped up and became a proper father to Isaac. He promised Moira he'd take care of their son and love him enough for the both of them until she's ready to be his mum.
On 14th December 2017 a series of flashbacks showed that Moira was the one who killed Emma. As Moira was driving, she noticed Emma on the viaduct and heads up to confront her for stealing her baby. Emma starts talking about and insulting her daughter Holly, saying she would still be alive if had Moira done more to stop her heroin addiction, forcing a reaction from Moira, who pushes her off the viaduct. Casting back to present day, Moira explains that she cannot undo her actions because it was impossible and confesses to Cain that she killed Emma, causing them to grow closer as he comforts her, telling her that she is no longer alone in this and they’re in it together from now on and Moira is comforted by this. On 21st December 2017, Moira confesses to the police that she killed Emma. However, when Adam discovers this, he makes a false confession. Adam is taken back to his cell and Moira is released. On 2nd January 2018, Cain and Aaron break Adam out of a prison van and flee the country, upsetting Moira who wanted to clear her son's name.
Ross and Pete are furious about this as they want their mother’s killer to face justice. Moira tries to talk them down, but ends up confessing that she was the one who killed Emma. Both of them shout at her for being a liar and a murderer, with Ross pinning her against a wall in his anger. However, the next day they return to the farm and promise Moira that they will put it behind them, much to her relief.
Cain and Moira reunite
As Moira and Cain grow closer, Cain's girlfriend Harriet becomes jealous of the amount of time Cain has been spending with her. On 16th January 2018, Cain tells Moira he's a better man because of her, that she was the one that showed him how to parent and how to love and declared she's a beautiful, perfect, impossible woman and that he loves her. Moira leans in for a kiss and soon she and Cain are getting passionate on the sofa. They spend the night together but the next morning Moira dismisses it as the heat of the moment however an intense look at each other leads shows that isn’t in fact true. Cain tells Harriet that he's finishing with her and that he will never love her the same way that he loves Moira.
In February 2018, Cain informs Moira that he and Harriet are over but she still appears apprehensive towards giving their relationship another shot. They share an intense moment together, holding hands for a little while, however, Moria insists that he leaves so he reluctantly does so. Soon after, Cain helps redecorate Holly's old room, to make it a nursery for Isaac and while there, Moira overhears Faith telling Cain he belongs at the farm with Moira and his sons. However, Moira decides she's leaving the farm and leaving the village as she can't raise Isaac around all of the ghosts. Cain returns to the farm where he begs Moira not to go, telling her he wants her to stay and make things work between them so they can be a family. Moira reiterates she can't be here right now and Cain informs Moira he'll be at the footbridge at 5pm - if she isn't there, he'll know she doesn't feel the same way about him as he does her. Moira tells him she won't be there so this is goodbye so Cain walks out and Moria tearfully watches him walking away. Later, Charity manages to talk Moira out of leaving and takes her to the footbridge, where Cain is waiting as the church bells strike five o'clock. Moira then appears a minute late and tells Cain she loves him so much that it hurts and they then kiss. This marks their relationship getting back on track.
2018 to 2019: Meeting Matty, affair with Nate and drinking problem[]
In June 2018, Moira is shocked to find that her daughter Hannah has returned, but has transitioned to a man called Matty. She is initially unsupportive of this and tells him to leave. Later, she badmouths Matty to Cain, unaware that he and Victoria overheard them, which leads to Matty deciding to leave. Moira finds out about this and manages to make amends with him, accepting his new identity and he agrees to stay. A few weeks later, Moira is forced to tell Matty and Victoria the truth about Emma’s death. They are both horrified by the revelation and Victoria calls Moira the devil for letting her son be punished for her crime.
In December, Moira finds out that Matty was attacked by a man called Isaac Nuttall because he is trans. Matty tells her not to worry about it and that stuff like that has happened before, but Moira can’t stand seeing her son hurt and asks Cain to sort out the people who hurt Matty. In January 2019, Isaac and his friends attack Cain after he warned them off Matty, making Moira even more worried for them.
In April 2019, Matty has his top surgery, despite Moira advising him against it due to the risks. She worries that she may lose another child but the operation is a success and she sees how happy it makes her son. That same month, Cain is arrested for killing Joe Tate and Moira is left to take care of Kyle and Isaac. This leads to Kyle’s mother, Amy Wyatt, returning to the village and trying to get Kyle back. Moira and the rest of the family try to keep her away from Kyle but she promises that she will get custody. In May, Moira goes to see Victoria after hearing that she hasn’t left the house in a while. Moira refuses to be brushed off and Vic ends up breaking down and saying that she was raped. Moira comforts Victoria and encourages her to tell her family, who are equally supportive of her.
In July 2019, Moira became attracted to the new farmhand, Nate Robinson after starting to feel neglected by Cain. She initially resisted these feelings, even as Nate seemed to reciprocate. He kissed her in the barn and she kissed him back, but then pushed him away, stating that she was married. However, Cain then announced that he was going on a trip to Scotland and Moira began an affair with Nate while he was away. Not long after, Pete discovered the affair but Moira insisted he keep quiet about it.
In October, Cain returned and quickly found out about the affair, so he took them both on a boat trip as part of his revenge plot. Moira was below deck and heard the two of them fighting, so she rushed upstairs to see what was going on, accidentally knocking over the paraffin for the stove causing a fire. She then learned that Nate was Cain’s secret son as he called Cain dad. There is then an explosion on the boat which threw all three of them into the water. Moira gets trapped at the bottom of the lake and Cain luckily swims down to rescue his wife. Although he had just found out what her and Nate had been getting up to, he couldn’t let his wife and mother of his child drown.
After this, the whole of the family proceeded to find out that Moira and Nate had been having an affair and are all angry with her. Moira has truly hit rock bottom and turns to drink. Over the next few weeks, Moira continues relying on drinking, and this problem becomes worse as one evening she drinks so much that she passes out on the sofa. As she was passed out, Isaac was shouting out for his mum as he was unwell and needed her to come but she couldn’t hear him, leaving Isaac distressed throughout the whole evening. The next morning, Vanessa came over to the farm and offered to take Isaac to the doctors as Moira was too hungover and was throwing up, meaning she was too unwell to take her son herself. Soon enough, news travelled throughout the village and Cain finds out that Vanessa took Isaac to the doctors rather than his own mother. Cain storms over to the farm asking questions of Moira and decides that she is not fit to be looking after their son and takes Isaac with him. This leaves Moira to drink more and more as she thinks she has nothing left.
2020: Reunion with Cain, meeting Mackenzie[]
In January 2020, Moira believed that Nate’s continued presence was keeping Cain from moving past the affair and so she called his mother, Cara Robinson, in the hopes that she would convince Nate to leave. Later, she almost gets hit by a car after she wandered home drunk and passed out on the side of the road. The driver stops and takes Moira to the hospital but things become awkward when she is revealed to be Cara. After this, Moira decides she would rather not lose her kids because of her drinking and so she tells Cain that she is going to stay with Nana Barton while she recovers. She leaves the village but is hurt when Cain tells her that he doesn’t care.
Moira returns to the village in February and receives a cold welcome from Cain as she says she is ready to be a mother to the boys again. On 14th February 2020, Moira was pleased when Cain asked to talk that night. She is surprised when he gives her divorce papers and demands that she sign them. After trying to protest, Moira decides to just get it over with and sign them instead of dragging it out any longer. Cain then leaves Moira alone and she is devastated by the end of her marriage. In March, Moira’s farm was targeted by rustlers and she told Nate that they had been known to attack farmers. Cain then found out and tried to protect her and the boys by secretly patrolling the farm with a gun, but ended up shooting Nate, who was also watching for rustlers. Moira helped cover this up by lying that the rustlers had shot Nate.
In July 2020, Moira is the victim of a hit and run which results in severe injuries that require surgery. After she gets out of surgery she is lying unconscious, when Cain visits her in hospital and talks to her, telling her how worried he was for her. Moira opens her eyes after he is gone, having heard it all. A few weeks later, Andrea Tate tells Moira and Cain that her estranged husband, Jamie Tate, is the one who ran her over. Moira is furious and later finds out that Cain had attacked Jamie with a baseball bat for what he did. However, Jamie was quick to pin the blame on his girlfriend, Belle, and Nate, leading to them being charged with the crime.
In October 2020, Moira was surprised to find her brother Mackenzie had arrived in the village and he revealed that he had kidnapped Cain. Moira asked him why but they were interrupted by Cain, who had escaped the boot of the car and he attacked Mackenzie. Moira got Cain off him and he moodily stormed out, leaving her to talk with her brother. Mackenzie bitterly told her that their parents were dead and Moira was saddened by the fact that she had never got to make up with her mother, but Mackenzie snapped at her for abandoning them with their father. Moira then explained what happened with their Uncle Tony and Mackenzie reluctantly believed her. She convinced him to stay the night and tries to get him to stay with her as she wants them to reconnect, but he insists on heading back to Scotland for a couple of days before returning in November.
Moira is annoyed as Mackenzie proves to be troublesome when he moves to the village, staying on Home Farm land after befriending Jamie Tate. She tries to keep Mackenzie’s illegal activities under control, but he stubbornly continues, even after Cain threatens him. During an open conversation after being locked in one of the barns by Mackenzie, Moira opens up to Cain about her full family history allowing them to become a little closer. She explained to him how she took the wrap for her mother’s affair back when she was a teen causing her to have to leave her family behind. After opening up to Cain, Moira states that she knows they can’t get back to exactly where they were but she would really like to try to start again from a new place, without them denying the affect her affair with Nate had on them as a couple as well as their family-mainly their children. Moira confesses to Cain that she heard him in the hospital when he thought she was asleep after her surgery. She says she heard him saying that he wouldn’t know what he’d do if he lost her. Cain attempts to brush this off as his concern for what their boys would do if they lost her however Moira knows that is not the only reason he wouldn’t know what to do. Moira says to Cain that she never stopped loving him and that she cannot stand being without him and the thought of being like that for her whole life terrifies her. She explains that she will do absolutely anything if he gives her another chance because she really loves him. She asks Cain to look her in the eye and tell her that he doesn’t love her back. He remains silent and ignores the question. After a while Cain tells Moira that there is nothing she can do or say can take back what she has done to their marriage and that she broke his heart. Moira then declares that she will leave him alone but if there is no chance for them making things work then she will put the farm on the market and move away from the village, which surprised and saddened Cain, changing his attitude slightly. Just then, Mackenzie opens up the barn door again and Cain leaves.
Later that day, whilst Moira was in the tractor in the field she sees Cain walking towards her. She gets out of the tractor, walks towards him and he then proceeds to tell her ‘of course I love you woman’. The next day it is revealed that they have slept together, however, Moira wakes up and Cain is no longer by her side leaving her questioning his true intentions. Later that same day, Moira went over to where Cain was living at the time, asking him to be honest about how he was feeling and whether he just said he loved her to get her into bed. He says that he didn’t say it to get her into bed, that he meant it at the time and after a few minutes he finally admits that he has to forgive her as it’s the only way, he says that he cannot lose her again and wants to give it another go. Moira then asks what this means for them in terms of the divorce and after a brief discussion they both agree to call of the divorce so they can really try to fix their marriage. Cain then asks if this means that he can move back in with her in the family home and she says that there is nothing she would love more than for them to be back together as a family.
2021 to 2023: Mackenzie’s schemes, Faith’s cancer, Cain’s arrest and Caleb[]
In February 2021, Moira finds out that Jamie Tate had tried to burn down her barn after Kyle saw him. She goes to Home Farm with a shotgun and threatens him but they are interrupted by Kim. Moira says that she will kill them if they go near her family again and shoots a vase before leaving. After this she convinces Mackenzie to move into Butlers so they can be closer, which causes problems with Cain as he doesn’t get on with Mack. On 25th February, Moira sees a hearse pull into the village and Cain’s mother Faith gets out. She asks Moira not to tell Cain but she doesn’t listen and lets Cain know that his mother has returned, infuriating him.
Mackenzie soon starts using the farm as a base for his illegal activities, which annoys Moira. In March, he tells her that their mother was still alive when he first arrived in the village and that she had asked to see Moira but he stopped them from meeting. This devastates Moira as she had wanted a chance to talk to her mother and she is furious with Mack for lying to her. Moira becomes less tolerant of his antics and works hard to put a stop to his dodgy deals. In April, she interferes in a sale with a thug called Kev and Mack is furious with her. When he steals a brooch from Eric Pollard’s house and lets Aaron Dingle take the blame, she threatens to throw him out unless he confesses. Mack does get Aaron out of trouble but Moira is still unhappy with him.
In July, Faith tells Moira, Cain and Chas that she may have cancer. She tries to comfort Cain but he refuses to deal with it and cuts himself off from Faith. Eventually she talks him around by confiding in him about her regrets over her own mother. Later in the year, Moira discovers that Mackenzie is seeing Charity Dingle. She disapproves of this and tries to talk Mackenzie into ending it, causing problems between her and Charity, but they come to a truce.
In January 2022, Moira worries for Kyle after he is left out all night and developed hypothermia. She sits at his hospital and is annoyed when Cain tries to get revenge on Al Chapman for what happened. Moira takes care of Kyle and has to stop Cain from further harassing Al.
In May, Moira plans to use the farm as a venue for events and works with Leyla Harding’s wedding planning business, Take a Vow. Later in the month, Moira learns that Faith’s cancer has returned but Faith forces her to keep it a secret. Moira does her best but wants to tell Cain the truth as she thinks he deserves to know. She accompanies Faith to appointments and supports her through her illness. In June, Faith finally tells Cain and his sister Chas but he is angry with Moira for lying to him.
In July 2022, Moira is shocked to learn that Leyla’s business partner, Suzy Merton, knew Holly. Suzy’s girlfriend Vanessa, reveals that Suzy told her that she provided Holly with money and sent her to a dealer on the night she died. Moira is furious and confronts Suzy, blaming her for Holly’s death then announces that Suzy is a drug dealer to the whole village. Moira and Matty then set out to force Suzy to leave the village. Eventually, Moira decides to leave Suzy alone, but Matty is determined to get revenge. In August 2022, Mackenzie announces that his girlfriend Charity is pregnant and Moira is happy for him, gifting him a set of her kids old toys. However, Charity loses the baby and Moira tries to support her and Mack through this.
In October, Faith tells Moira that she plans to end her life before the cancer does. Moira wants to tell Cain but Faith swears her to secrecy. After Faith went through with it, Moira told him that she had known and he was angry, believing she should have stopped her. Later in the month, armed police came to the farm to arrest Cain for killing Al Chapman and Moira was furious with him for destroying their family over a stupid rivalry. She told him that she hated him for what he had done and she wouldn’t wait for him if he went to prison.
The next month, Moira became even more angry when he plead guilty to the crime and visited him to tell him how stupid he was being, but he shocked her by revealing that Kyle had shot Al not him. Moira questioned whether Kyle should confess to what he did, but Cain was adamant that he wouldn’t let Kyle go to prison. Moira tried to live her life as normal, but ended up telling Mackenzie the truth about what happened. In December 2022, Kyle told Amy that he killed Al and Moira tried to talk her down as she panicked over this. However, Amy then took Kyle and ran away to Belfast, so Moira was forced to follow with Isaac. She soon found Amy and convinced her to return to the village as Kyle needed stability. They tried to help Kyle but he was traumatised by what happened. He wanted to confess to Al’s murder so that Cain would come home, but Moira respected Cain’s wishes and stopped him.
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Butlers Farm | 17th July 2009 to 1st December 2011 |
| Tall Trees Cottage | 1st December 2011 to 16th February 2012 |
| Butlers Farm | 16th February 2012 to present |
Background information[]
Creation & casting[]
In May 2009, series producer Gavin Blyth announced he would be introducing a new family, the Bartons. Being asked about the introduction of the family, Blyth said, "I don't want to make Emmerdale a show about teenagers and young people, it's about family values. The Bartons are sexy, modern and contemporary. They're almost happy - and in soapland that's quite strange!". Former The Bill actress Natalie J. Robb was cast as mother, Moira. Robb's agent was called, asking her to audition for the role of Moira, and she later found out she'd won the role, which Robb mentions to be one of the best bits of her job, and that she was looking forward to joining the Emmerdale team as they were genuine and lovely. She also added "[the] cast and crew have been very welcoming and that always helps. There’s nothing better than being able to really look forward to going into work."
Other appearances[]
Moira appears in the 2011 spin-off DVD Paddy and Marlon's Big Night In. The DVD centers around the characters of Paddy Kirk and Marlon Dingle who have a "not-so-quiet night in the country, and a morning after anybody would want to forget." The script was written by Paul Roundell and directed by Emmerdale assistant producer Tony Hammond. Filming took place over September and October and the DVD was released on 14 November 2011.
Reception[]
For her portrayal of Moira, Robb was nominated for "Best Newcomer" at the 2010 Inside Soap Awards. The following year, Robb was shortlisted for "Best Serial Drama Performance" at the 16th National Television Awards.
Other information[]
- John Barton and Moira married on 6th January 1990.
- Moira said her maiden name was "Woodall" in September 2016, but this was later changed to "Boyd" when her brother Mackenzie Boyd joined the programme in October 2020.
Quotes[]
"Hi, I'm Moira." - First line, to Andy Sugden.
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"A gift from Glasgow." - to Charity Dingle after headbutting her.
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"Get out of my daughter's clothes, and get out of my house, you manipulative little bitch!" - To Nell Fairfax, for conning her.
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"Emma, please come down." - To Emma Barton, before pushing her off the Hotten Viaduct.
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"I let her make me a murderer." - to Cain Dingle, after confessing to him that she killed Emma.