Emmerdale: Emma Atkins and Jeff Hordley

Dec 21 2009 By Diana Pilkington

Emmerdale's fiery Charity Tate will give sparring partner Cain Dingle the shock of his life this Christmas when she pops the question - and he accepts. We talk to Emma Atkins and Jeff Hordley about their returns to the soap after several years away, and what the future holds for the volatile screen couple.

But while its rivals dish up tales of murder, infidelity and illness over the festive period, the rural soap is offering a hearty helping of seasonal cheer in the form of a surprise engagement.

On Christmas Day, Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) will get the shock of his life when his long-term sparring partner Charity Tate (Emma Atkins) pops the question - and he accepts.

Atkins explains: "It comes out of an entirely bizarre, unplanned, hysterical afternoon where Charity and Cain are suddenly faced with the idea of a future together with no money."

The trouble begins when, sick of their feuding, their daughter Debbie (Charley Webb) engineers a family Christmas dinner at the Dingles' house.

But the pair struggle to be civil to each other, and all hell breaks loose after Charity accidentally sprays beer onto Cain's shirt.

With her parents at each other's throats, Debbie storms out, heads to the garage and sets fire to her father's stash of cash, which she blames for their recent rows.

Charity and Cain look on in a mixture of horror and bemusement as the notes go up in flames.

As they later come to terms with the realisation that the money is gone, Charity takes matters into her own hands and proposes to Cain on bended knee.

Atkins says: "Everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong and throughout the evening it slowly dawns on them both that they don't really have much else beyond each other.

"The impromptu 'shotgun' proposal Charity has faced Cain with is a real shocker and yet on the other hand, it seems like the most natural obvious thing in the world."

Although anything is possible with this volatile pairing, the stars hope to take part in the long-held tradition that is the soap wedding next year.

"I've never done one so it'll be really interesting. I've been to many a soap wedding but never my own," Hordley says.

Atkins adds: "I do hope they have a big wedding. I was doing a scene the other day where Charity was booking the register office and I was secretly gutted. Of course Debbie's burnt the money so they'd have to think of a few scams before they can have a big wedding."

For fans it will come as a treat to see these two Emmerdale favourites finally trying to make a go of it as a bona fide couple.

And Atkins and Hordley, who both returned to the soap this year after several years away, have relished the chance to play opposite each other again.

"We were both very eager to work with one another again and do the stuff we were doing when we first started," says Atkins.

"We were doing fabulous storylines together and causing trouble in the village, but not just that - we had a great chemistry."

The actors credit their good friendship off-set for their sizzling spark on screen.

"We trust each other so can make errors together, and we know each other so well we can fall flat on our faces," Hordley says.

"And laughing helps - we have an awful lot of fun on set together and that's key. If you're having fun and enjoying work, you'll be at your best."

Not surprisingly, the pair consulted each other before making the move back to the soap.

"We had little phone calls going 'Are you going back?' 'Well, are you going back?' 'I'll go back if you do'," says Atkins.

And their similar experiences, both in the show and out of it, have helped them bond again on set.

"It really helps that we've almost followed the same path," Hordley says."We joined the show at the same time. We went through exactly the same journey together, dealing with the job and dealing with getting recognised. We've both gone out and done other work and come back to it."

After leaving the show in 2006, Hordley's work included several stage roles.

Atkins had parts in TV shows including Doctors, Heartbeat, Casualty and Dalziel and Pascoe after she left in 2005.

They say they have brought their experience in other jobs back to their roles on Emmerdale.

She says: "My confidence has grown a bit more, certainly from being in the real world, so to speak. Having had a five years break from Emmerdale, I've really got to know what being a jobbing actor is about.

"That's made me really appreciate my work now. The luxury of having a job like this, you can never ever take it for granted. I appreciated it then but I appreciate it even more now."

And the actress can look forward to plenty more screen time as Charity, having recently extended her six-month initial contract to a year.

But whether Charity and Cain can go the distance as a couple remains to be seen.

Atkins says: "As long as the stimulating banter never stops and they maintain their genius knack of turning almost anything into an argument. That's the true dynamic of Charity and Cain. They'd be lost without their volatility."

Extra time: Emma Atkins and Jeff Hordley

:: Hordley has appeared in two episodes of rival soap Coronation Street.

:: Both actors plan to sit down with their families to watch their Christmas Day episode of Emmerdale, even though neither is a fan of seeing themselves on screen. "It's the grossest thing in the world to see yourself on a big telly, and my mum and dad have a big TV so it'll be hideous," Atkins says.

:: Hordley proposed to college sweetheart Zoe Henry on the day she won a theatre award. They married in 2003, and have two children, Violet and Stan.

:: Over the years, Atkins's relationship with 21-year-old Charley Webb, who plays her daughter Debbie, has transformed. She says: "When she first came in at 14 I was her sister/mother figure. I looked after her and she came to mine for tea. And now it's the other way round. It's like she's the big sister and I'm the little kid. She talks to me like I'm 15 years her junior!"