Emmerdale is off air again tonight to make way for the football, meaning soap fans will have to wait until tomorrow to catch Cain Dingle’s highly-anticipated return from France.

Marking a change to regular scheduling, the soap won’t be airing during its usual slot at 7.30pm on ITV1 tonight, and an early release episode will not be available to stream via ITVX.

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Instead, ITV1 will be airing a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Latvia and England, which will be broadcast tonight between 7pm and 10pm. Emmerdale will be back tomorrow in its usual slot.

In Wednesday’s episode, Cain returns from France after unsuccessfully searching for the villain John Sugden to bring him to justice for the death of his son, Nate Robinson.

Speaking recently about the upcoming story, our insider said that Cain will return from France a changed and broken man.

“Cain finally comes back from his wild goose chase in France, but he’s an absolute mess,” our Emmerdale source said. “He didn’t find John, so he feels as though he’s failed his son Nate and hasn’t got justice for him.

“This feeling of fatherly shame fuels his self-destructive grief, and Cain turns to booze for comfort.”

After Moira attempts to quiz Cain on what happened when he was away, he bats away her questions. Moira reminds him that his family still needs him as the anniversary of his dad’s death approaches.

“Even though Cain still has a family who need him, he can only focus on the son that he lost,” our insider said. “After John’s cruel words in the woods, Cain fears that Nate died hating him, and he won’t rest until he makes it up to him – even though Nate would surely want him to find peace.”

“The Dingles are the village’s strongest family, and having each other’s backs is what they do best,” our source continued. “It’s usually Cain holding the family together as the oldest brother, but in this case, he seriously needs help from the rest of the clan.

“His vendetta to avenge Nate won’t help him in the way that he thinks – he needs to move forward with his surviving loved ones.”