Lisa Dingle
Lisa Dingle | |||||||||||||||||
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Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Jane Cox | ||||||||||||||||
Duration | 1996–2020, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
First appearance | Episode 2106 13 August 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
Last appearance | Episode 9917/18 15 February 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||||||||
Spin-off appearances |
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Lisa Dingle (also Clegg) is a fictional character from the
Storylines
Lisa meets
In 2001, tragedy hit again when Zak was diagnosed with
Lisa and Zak were shocked to discover that Zak's granddaughter
More tragedy was to hit the family when Zak's son,
Lisa was relieved when Belle's time at private school came to an end. She went there initially because Rosemary King (Linda Thorson) realised how intelligent Belle was and offered to pay the fees. Anything else, from the uniform to school trips, were to be funded by the Dingles. But when Rosemary left the village, she stopped paying the fees and it was a struggle for Zak and Lisa to pay them. They borrowed a lot of money from Debbie, leading her to get into trouble with Carl King (Tom Lister), who she borrowed the money from.
After Zak quit his job at Home Farm, following a row over breakages Matthew King (Matt Healy) insisted Zak pay for, Belle's friends found out that Zak hadn't paid the fees and teased her about it. So, recognising the problem, Zak and Lisa removed her from the private school and re-enrolled her into state school. In April 2009, Lisa's blind cousin, Lizzie Lakely (Kitty McGeever) arrived, and Lisa got her a job working at Sharma & Sharma alongside her. Lisa also managed to create a bond between Debbie and her daughter, Sarah. Andy agreed to let the Dingles see Sarah regularly, and by getting Debbie to visit at the same time as Sarah and play with her, a mother-daughter bond developed.
Towards Christmas 2009, Lisa started nude modelling as the Dingles needed the extra cash for Christmas in order to buy Belle a laptop and other presents for family. When Lisa told Zak how tight fisted she thought Nikhil Sharma (Rik Makarem) was, Zak grew suspicious as Lisa had said the money for Belle's laptop came from a work bonus. Lisa was forced to tell Zak the truth. He initially wasn't happy she kept it from him, but he came round. When Eli and Shadrach found out, they kept making wisecracks so Lisa decided to stop due to the lack of support from people round her, after admitting to Zak that she felt good about herself. Also towards Christmas, Lizzie was knocked down in the dark by Zak's great-nephew, Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller), as he was angry over his discovery that he was gay. She dropped her purse and Lisa was horrified, determined to know who it was. Soon after, Aaron returned Lizzie's purse to her, but refused a reward, as she didn't know who he really was. Later, Lisa accidentally punched a police officer, was arrested, and was sentenced to three months imprisonment.
Upon her release in late 2010,
In April 2012 Lisa began to notice some changes in Zak; he had been consumed in paranoia over his chickens, and while a vet confirmed they were fine, Zak had them all killed. Alarmed, the family put it down to Zak's cancer returning, but doctors later confirmed Zak was suffering a mental breakdown, and he was sectioned. While Zak was eventually reunited with his family, he still felt guilty over his acts.
A feud between the Dingles and the Andrews family ignited when Belle's boyfriend
Stress continued to pile on to Lisa throughout the months as Charity's life spiralled out of control when her husband
After months of Belle's increasingly wavey and disturbing behaviour, Zak and Lisa discovered she had been hearing Gemma's voice in her head after she almost ran over Zak. This was found to be fueled by a drug addiction introduced to Belle by local teen
Throughout the summer of 2015, Lisa had vacated Emmerdale to dote on Granny Clegg, who had suffered a fall and needed care. She returned in September to find out that a helicopter had crashed into the village hall during Debbie's failed wedding to
Lisa's self-esteem drops to an all-time low as a result of the impending dissolution of her marriage, despite the Dingles' especially Belle's, efforts to support her. She is then knocked for six after Cain informs the entire family of a devastating truth; Aaron was raped repeatedly from the age of 8 by his father,
Lisa is devastated to learn that Zak and Joanie are getting married. She later has to deal with a fresh family crisis when it's found out that Belle has been having an affair with a married man over twice her age,
Joanie asks Belle to be her bridesmaid and Lisa encourages an increasingly agitated Belle to do what she feels right, so she accepts Joanie's request, upsetting Lisa. However, Belle brings home the wrong dress from Joanie's hen night, and the day after, Joanie comes to pick it up and discovers it has a huge wine stain. Lisa owns up to it, and agrees to fix it for the wedding, secretly hoping to convince everyone she is fine with the wedding. Joanie has cold feet on her wedding day, but Lisa convinces Joanie that she should marry Zak, as he is in love with her. As Joanie and Zak say their wedding vows, Lisa looks on and is distraught that Zak has chosen to marry another woman. At an angina check up, the receptionist calls for "Mrs. Dingle" and both Lisa and Joanie answer, when it is Joanie the doctor is looking for. Lisa then makes the decision to change back to her maiden name. The other Dingles are upset by this, believing that Lisa no longer considers them family, and a Dingle meeting is called in The Woolpack. They convince Lisa to keep Dingle as her surname.
When Joanie is released from prison, after serving time for assault, Lisa picks her up in her van. When Joanie inquires as to why Lisa is picking her up, Lisa pulls the van over and they discuss Zak. Joanie goes into
Lisa summons Charity to Scotland and informs her that she is dying due to amyloidosis, and wants her to write a eulogy for her funeral even though doctors say Lisa still has ample time left. Zak is aware of Lisa's illness and is apparently not coping, so Lisa urges Charity to avoid informing the rest of the Dingles, including Belle, of her condition.
Zak asked Lisa to marry him and after only two days of planning they married on 23 May 2019 in the church. Before the wedding, the Dingle's pigs escaped from their pen and were rounded up by Cain, Belle and Lisa in their wedding outfits causing Lisa's dress to become covered in mud. After the wedding, celebrations were held in the pub and Lisa went home to get changed as she did not want her wedding photos to be of her covered in mud. Zak went to find her and found her asleep on the sofa but when he tried to wake her up he realized that she had died.
Casting
Lisa Clegg was first introduced by producer Mervyn Watson in 1996 who cast
Jane Cox really loved the idea to play Lisa Clegg in Emmerdale. In an interview shortly after landing the role of Lisa, Jane stated [...] 'I was told that Lisa was a big lady and most comfortable in wellington boots [...] . Jane Cox had originally auditioned for the role of Nellie Dingle. However Mervyn Watson gave the role to Sandra Gough, Cox was pleased she got the part of Lisa Clegg instead because she really enjoyed the character. [...] She's very practical and down to earth. I like the fact that she spends most of the time in a boiler suit but can be sassy.[...][1]
Departure and brief returns
On 8 March 2019, during a special episode to commemorate International Women's Day, the character returned after a temporary break and told Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) that she had been diagnosed with terminal heart condition amyloidosis. After the episode aired, Cox announced that she had quit Emmerdale after nearly 23 years,[2] and Lisa was killed off on 23 May 2019. Cox made a brief return for a voiceover on 6 June 2019, as each family member read a letter from Lisa.[3] Cox also returned for several voiceovers in 2020, as part of Belle Dingle's mental health storyline. The voiceovers were broadcast over the course of October and November 2020.[4] On 15 February 2024, Lisa was heard whilst Belle was reading her letter which Lisa wrote for Belle for her first wedding.
Reception
Cox was nominated in the category of "Best Actress" at the 2011
References
- ^ Emmerdale Org (16 September 2003). "Emmerdale's Lisa Dingle". Emmerdale Org. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (8 March 2019). "Emmerdale star Jane Cox confirms she's leaving after Lisa Dingle's tragic news". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ Davies, Megan (6 June 2019). "Emmerdale's Lisa Dingle makes a funeral cameo with heartbreaking letters". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ^ Westbrook, Caroline (15 October 2020). "Is Jane Cox returning to Emmerdale to voice Lisa Dingle?". Metro (British newspaper). UK. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (7 March 2011). "British Soap Awards 2011 voting opens". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2011.