Debbie Dingle
Debbie Dingle | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||||||||||
Steve Frost | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Debbie Dingle (also Jones) is a fictional character from the
. Webb has taken maternity leave three times, with the first time being in 2010 and the second throughout 2016 with Debbie departing on 1 January 2016. She returned on 24 January 2017 and then went on maternity leave for a third time in 2019 as Debbie left for Scotland on 13 August 2019. She returned for a short stint on 25 December 2020 and made her final appearance on 11 February 2021.She was introduced as the foster child of
Development
Characterisation
Debbie is a self-sufficient Dingle and in many ways her mother's daughter. Despite a rocky start in life she's done well for herself, running her own business and acquiring custody of daughter Sarah. Like most of the Dingles she has been involved in lots of scams and money is important to her. Sometimes she feels like she ends up parenting Cain and Charity and she's not afraid to tell them what's what. She does have a more vulnerable side which comes out when she’s in a relationship.
Webb told Gemma Graham from TV Buzz that the reason she "loves" playing Debbie is that she has always been a fighter. "Nothing will knock her down and if it does she'll get back up again". Webb said that she would not pick a fight with Debbie because she would win "any day".[2]
In one storyline Debbie takes part in a jewellery heist with the help of
Temporary departure
In June 2015, Webb announced she was pregnant with her second child and took her maternity leave later that year.[4] Debbie departed on 1 January 2016 and it was confirmed in December 2016 that Webb will make her return in January 2017. Her return scenes aired on 24 January 2017.
Maternity leave and departure (2019, 2021)
In 2019, it was announced that Webb would be taking maternity leave for a third time; her return scenes aired in December 2020.[5] Her exit scenes aired in February 2021; Webb's husband Wolfenden has stated that she would only reprise her role once the COVID-19 pandemic protocols in place on the soap were retired, but confirmed that she had no plans to return.[6] Later that year, Wolfenden was accused of mimicking the accent of a mixed race actress on set. An investigation into the accusations was launched and Webb was reported to have sided with Wolfenden. Webb subsequently made the decision to leave Emmerdale permanently.[7]
Storylines
Upon arriving in Emmerdale in December 2002, Debbie was fostered by Paddy (Dominic Brunt) and Emily Kirk (Kate McGregor). When Debbie shows Sam Dingle (James Hooton) a photograph of her biological mother, he recognizes the young woman as his cousin, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins). They eventually meet and she gets close to her stepfather, Chris Tate (Peter Amory), but after meeting her biological father, Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), the trio become a family and Chris is sidelined. This affects him extremely, resulting in him cancelling plans to adopt Debbie.
Debbie, Charity and Cain move into Pear Tree Cottage and live together until Charity is found guilty of Chris's murder, so she and Cain move in with the Dingles. When the house becomes over-crowded, she and Cain move in with
Emily returns Sarah to Andy and Debbie tells Andy that she does not want to be a mother. Lisa Dingle (Jane Cox) deliberately asks Debbie to visit when Sarah is there, hoping to create a mother-daughter relationship. She's successful and Debbie asks Andy for access but he refuses. Debbie briefly dates Scott Windsor (Ben Freeman). Debbie gets Eli Dingle (Joe Gilgun) to pose as Scott so she can get a bank loan. Debbie, Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and Lexi King (Sally Oliver) decide to stage a jewellery scam at Home Farm so they can steal a valuable necklace and share the proceeds. Debbie wants more money so she gets Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) to help scam Chas and Lexi but Lexi discovers the truth and the pair fight in the street, accidentally dropping the necklace down a drain.
When Andy is sent to prison,
Debbie dates Michael Conway but he admits that he already has a girlfriend and they are due to marry within days. He insists that he loves Debbie so she tells him to call off his wedding but he cannot because his fiancée is pregnant. On attending the wedding, Debbie and Cain are shocked to discover that his bride is Charity. He calls the wedding off, wanting Debbie back, but she ignores him, choosing to build relationships with Charity and Noah instead until she catches Charity stealing Cain's money. Cain and Charity later reconcile but annoyed at their inability to get along, Debbie takes a job in Jersey. She returns months later and moves back in with her parents. Later she reveals that her boss tried to take advantage of her and she got revenge by humiliating him and stealing money. Debbie starts a new relationship with
Sarah is diagnosed with a blood disorder,
Debbie is angry when Cameron forgets to check on Sarah when she is ill because he is on the phone to Carl about the £30,000 Carl is blackmailing them for. Meanwhile, Debbie gets home from shopping with Charity to find that Sarah has collapsed. When rushed to hospital, Debbie, Cameron, Charity and Victoria discover Sarah is in a pre-leukaemic state. Debbie demands to be induced but is refused, as her son will be premature, and could die. Debbie gave birth to a boy called Jack. When Debbie returns from hospital, she is unaware that Cameron killed Carl King (Tom Lister) the night before. Debbie finds messages from Carl on her phone which reveal Chas and Cameron's affair so Debbie throws Cameron out before showing the pictures to Cain and Charity. Cameron begs Chas to leave but they are stopped by Charity, Cain, Debbie and Zak. Cameron stands by Chas and declared his love for her in front of Debbie. As revenge, Debbie set fire to his possessions and trashes his truck.
Debbie decides to set up a delivery firm, sleeping with newcomer
Cameron's murderous crimes are exposed by Debbie and Chas after finding Gennie's Dictaphone. Cameron holds Debbie hostage and threatens to have her killed but he is injured when he falls down the stairs. Debbie escapes while Cameron is arrested. A month later, he manages to escape for jail and Debbie, Chas and the other villagers panic. Cameron takes Sarah and locks her in a barn, assuring her he will get Debbie and Jack, and go away as a family. Debbie and other villagers are in The Woolpack when she learns Sarah has been found by Andy and Moira, but Cameron breaks into the Woolpack, taking everyone hostage. He knocks Marlon unconscious and leaves him in the cellar, where the flood water rises. Cameron lets the villagers out except Debbie and Chas. After being hit by Marlon after he regained consciousness, Debbie and Chas rush to the cellar, followed by Cameron. He insists that he and Debbie will drown together but Debbie and Chas manage to escape. Trying to pull Debbie back in, he fails but grabs a light bulb and electrocutes himself.
Debbie moves on from Cameron after a new employee at Dingle Automotives,
Debbie becomes guardian to Charity's baby son while Charity is in prison. The Dingles name the baby
In January 2017, Cain is watching the news and spots Debbie and her children on the run after stealing a car with 50,000 euros in it and committing a hit and run. Debbie returns to the village with French and English police looking for her. She tells Charity and Cain the hit and run wasn't her and must've happened before she stole the car. Two men then turn up at the Dingles, and after tying up Sam, they kidnap Sarah and Jack, and demand £50,000 by later that evening. Debbie, Cain, Charity, and Ross manage to acquire the money. The men get their money and return Sarah and Jack in a tense standoff. Debbie reveals she needs the money for Sarah's medical treatment as she has been diagnosed with cancer. Debbie tells everyone that she is taking Sarah to Prague for her treatment, which is met with her families doubt on whether she will make it out of the country without being arrested, so Sarah is taken by Charity.
Debbie later begins a relationship with businessman "
Reception
For her portrayal of Debbie, Webb won the "Best Young Actor" award at the 2005
Kris Green of Digital Spy said that he thought the jewellery heist storyline was inspired by the 2000 Millennium Diamond heist.[3] A writer from Holy Soap said "this tough cookie has had an eventful life, despite her tender years" and named Debbie's most "memorable moment" as being imprisoned for Shane's murder.[12] In 2011, Gemma Graham of TV Buzz said that Webb had spent ten years in British living rooms playing Debbie. They said she is a character that has received numerous blows because she is a Dingle – but always came back fighting. If anyone needed a character from Emmerdale to fight their battles, Graham said that Debbie would be their choice. Of her attitude Graham added, "There's barely a soul in the soap's village who hasn't received a tongue-lashing from our Debs at one time or other. Quite honestly, she even puts the fear of God into us."[2] Sarah Ellis of Inside Soap said that Debbie was not happy with Cameron nor Andy, "judging by the amount of time she spends looking miserable."[13] Roz Laws of the Sunday Mercury branded Debbie as an "ice queen".[14] In 2024, Roxanne Hughes from OK! called Debbie an "iconic Dingle favourite" and reported on how fans were speculating that Debbie would return for Zak's funeral.[15]
See also
- List of Emmerdale characters (2002)
- List of LGBT characters in soap operas
- List of soap opera villains
References
- ^ "Debbie Dingle". itv.com. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ^ a b Graham, Gemma (12–18 November 2011). "Emmerdale exclusive: She's a knockout". TV Buzz: 3, 8–10.
- ^ a b c d Green, Kris; Zendle, Miriam (28 August 2007). "Sally Oliver". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- OK Magazine. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- ^ Hegarty, Tasha (18 December 2020). "Emmerdale reveals shock Christmas return for Debbie Dingle". Digital Spy.
- ^ Hirons, Paul (6 July 2021). "Charley Webb has 'no current plans' to return to Emmerdale sources claim". Entertainment Daily. Digitalbox. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Emmerdale's Charley Webb 'quits ITV soap after 19 years' following husband's racism row". Daily Mirror. 23 December 2021.
- ^ Saney, Daniel (27 September 2005). "'EastEnders' named Best Soap at awards". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ^ Green, Kris (27 May 2007). "The British Soap Awards 2007: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ^ Green, Kris (3 July 2007). "Inside Soap Awards 2007: The Nominations". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (22 December 2012). "'EastEnders', Corrie, 'Hollyoaks' all win in Digital Spy's 2012 poll". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ "Debbie Dingle". Holy Soap. Northern & Shell. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ Ellis, Sarah (18–24 February 2012). "Soapbox". Inside Soap (7): 96.
- ^ Laws, Roz (27 January 2008). "TV & soaps". Sunday Mercury. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ^ Hughes, Roxanne (6 March 2024). "Emmerdale fans 'work out' Dingle icon is set to return after telling clue". OK!. Reach plc. Retrieved 23 April 2024.