The assault happened after Cain (played by Jeff Hordley) destroyed Moira’s (Natalie J. Robb) evidence which would have connected her to Emma Barton’s (Gillian Kearney) murder.
Although Cain confessed to doing it because he loved her and couldn’t bare to be without her, Moira wasn’t reciprocative of his feelings and repeatedly punched him until he was spitting blood.
The violent scenes have since been criticised by some fans of the show.
Taking to Twitter to complain about the graphic nature of the episode, one person wrote: “That was uncomfortable viewing, seeing Moira batter Cain. Domestic violence is unacceptable irrespective of the perpetrator being male or female. So p****d off at how Moira has been characterised recently.”
Another added: “The scene where Moira battered Cain made me sick to my stomach tbh #Emmerdale.” (sic)
“@emmerdale totally unacceptable to show Moira assaulting Cain in such a graphic way at 7.25pm! There is too much violence creeping in! Clean up your act!! #emmerdale #violence #watershed,” fumed a third.
Others defended the scene with one person tweeting: “Moira’s attack on Cain was a lot less violent than people made it out to be.”
Will Moira’s latest actions be the last straw for Cain? Will she come clean and admit she murdered Emma?
Express.co.uk has contacted Emmerdale for comment.
Anyone affected by the issues raised in the episode should contact Refuge (www.refuge.org.uk) or Women’s Aid (www.womensaid.org.uk). The charities run the 24-hour, freephone National Domestic Violence Helpline 0808 2000 247.