Nate Robinson is Cain Dingle's son! 5 questions after huge Emmerdale twist

• Next week’s Emmerdale spoilers: 21-25 October 2019
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After Moira admitted her hubby's neglect drove her into another man's arms, cocky Nate turned nasty when his love rival attacked him and angrily announced Cain was his father - just as Moira was knocked overboard into the lake as a storm gathered. There's a lot to digest, and we have some questions…

1. Did Cain know he had a secret son somewhere out there?

Judging by his stunned expression we'd say no, but as the revelation came right at the cliffhanger it's hard to say for sure. Goading Nate commented Cain somehow knew his son would find him eventually, implying this bombshell is not a complete surprise. Which leads us to our next question…

2. Who is Nate's mum?

Cain didn't appear in Emmerdale until 2000 so his backstory before then is totally up for grabs. He's grown more respectable over the years but the character's past is best described as 'shady', so an abandoned love child born sometime in the mid-to-late 1990s (Nate must be aged between 19 and his early 20s, right?) is perfectly plausible. Nate seems to have harboured this grudge his entire life and clearly came to the village to wreck his dad's life by bedding his missus as an act of revenge - did his mum pour poison in her son's ear about how the dastardly Dingle treated her? Are we going to meet her one of these days? Perhaps it's someone we already know…

3. Did Faith already know?

Cross cutting between the boat brawl scenes we saw Cain's mum Faith Dingle (Sally Dexter) back in Nate's caravan in the village rifling through his drawers and discovering a screwed-up photograph that stopped her in her tracks.

Dexter had previously hinted there would be a big twist surrounding Nate's identity, and that she would be leaving the soap as a result of the dramatic consequences of the storyline: "Coming up are some of the most harrowingly emotional scenes I have ever done," she said. Has Faith been keeping family secrets?

4. Could Nate be lying?

Creepy or keen? Nate's swagger has divided fans who have been uneasy with the pushy edge to his pursuit of Moira, but if he was Cain's offspring all along and was out to get one over on his father it all makes sense. However - could Mr Carter's obsession with Moira have spiralled out of control? Maybe he can't take her insistence they end the affair so he's made the whole thing up just to mess with her life? Twisted.

5. Is Moira dead?

Meanwhile, Moira's possibly drowning and the boat is covered in petrol so there are more pressing matters for the lads to tend to. Can they stop punching each other long enough to dive in and try to save her? The situation is about to get properly explosive as the boat goes up in flames on Wednesday 23rd October thanks to that pesky petrol spillage - who will survive?

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