Moira single-handedly brought chaos to Emmerdale this Monday as a scuffle with Ruby led her to set fire to a barn – but could a confession and a return stem from it all?

Emma Barton made a brief return to Emmerdale as Moira Dingle seemed to spiral and set fire to a barn in the village – leaving an unconscious Ruby Fox-Miligan in mortal danger.

Viewers of the ITV soap have grown increasingly concerned for Moira (portrayed by Natalie J Robb) as she recently lashed out against her husband Cain and suffered a seizure.

But while Emmerdale fans speculated that she could be diagnosed with early-onset dementia or a brain tumour, Moira’s behaviour has taken another troubling turn this Monday, September 9.

Confronted and goaded by Ruby (Beth Cordingly) in a barn after Caleb Miligan told Cain she’d kissed Nate, Moira appeared to lose her grip on reality as she was haunted by her memories of Emma Barton, who she murdered in 2017.

This Monday’s Emmerdale ended in a cliff-hanger as Moira and Ruby were trapper in a barn blaze

While Ruby was clearly taken aback by Moira’s attitude, nothing she could say could appease the fiery farmer and, soon enough, their encounter led her to knock her rival out before accidentally setting fire to the hay around them.

This Monday’s instalment of the Yorkshire-based drama ended on a cliff-hanger as Moira stood over Ruby’s unconscious body, desperately trying to wake her up while also suffering from some kind of mental health crisis. But could she be overwhelmed with guilt over Emma’s murder?

Moira’s flashbacks of Emma, who was played by Gillian Kearney, could be a hint to her feelings of guilt, months after she confessed to Charity Dingle she had killed the character, allowing her son Adam to take the fall for her, before being broken out of a prison van by Cain and Aaron Dingle.

Amid theories that Moira could be killed off in the barn fire, Emmerdale bosses could decide to spare her and have her, instead, face the consequences of killing Emma Barton. Moira could leave the barn unscathed and, in a crisis of conscience, decide to confess to the authorities.

This would, in turn, lead to actor Adam Thomas reprising his role as Adam Barton, with his character set to finally be freed of all suspicion. And with Moira in prison for murder, he could even make his permanent return to the Dales to support Cain and the rest of the Dingles.

While Moira’s son has not been in Emmerdale for several years, actor Adam Thomas has been starring in the revival of Waterloo Road. But in June, 2024, he appeared to tease a return to the eponymous village after failing to show up for the programme’s 50th anniversary in 2022.

“I’m lucky that I get to do this for a living. I’d like to go back one day, it’ll always hold a special place in my heart. I was a kid when I joined so I had some amazing memories there and I’d love to go back one day”, he told Metro.co.uk. Could it be in the wake of Moira’s confession?