Victoria Sugden
Victoria Sugden | |||||||||||
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Emmerdale character | |||||||||||
Portrayed by |
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Duration | 1994–present | ||||||||||
First appearance | Episode 1856 31 March 1994 | ||||||||||
Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||
Introduced by | Keith Richardson | ||||||||||
Hannah Midgley played Victoria from 1997 to 2006 | |||||||||||
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Victoria Sugden (also Barton) is a fictional character from the British soap opera .
Storylines
Victoria is first introduced on 31 March 1994 after being born to Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) and Sarah Connolly (then Madeleine Howard). When Victoria stops breathing due to a hole in her heart, she requires an operation, and later makes a full recovery. Andy Hopwood (Kelvin Fletcher) visits the farm with other children from a care home and becomes friends with Victoria's brother Robert (Christopher Smith), and the Sugdens eventually adopt him. The Sugdens struggle financially so Richie Carter (Glenn Lamont) becomes their new lodger; Sarah and Richie begin an affair and she left Jack for him, moving into Pear Tree Cottage together. Jack and Sarah (now Alyson Spiro) battle for custody of the children and Sarah wins custody of Victoria. Victoria collapses and is rushed to hospital, where she is diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. Times are difficult for the Sugdens but life is made easier by Jack's relationship with Woolpack landlady, Diane Blackstock (Elizabeth Estensen).
Victoria befriends
Victoria searches for the truth about Sarah Sugden's (Alyson Spiro) death, but nobody is willing to discuss it. Jack is evasive, but Jasmine Thomas (Jenna-Louise Coleman) shows her an article in the Hotten Courier about Sarah's death seven years earlier. She then investigates after Jack becomes more and more evasive. She tracks down Richie who tells her Jack was not responsible but she doesn't believe him and on her return to the village, she steals a can of petrol from the garage and douses the house with it, threatening to set the place alight unless the truth is told. Andy confesses but when Jack tries to clean Victoria's bloody head after a fall with water from the hot tap on a flannel, it makes the house explode. The Sugdens escape, assisted by Billy and Jonny Foster (Richard Grieve). Victoria is charged and placed in psychiatric care, which gets her bullied at school. Andy is arrested and jailed for three years but eventually freed. When Andy begins beating his ex-wife, Jo (Roxanne Pallett), Victoria refuses to have anything to do with him.
While messing around with other local teens, Victoria falls through the ice and nearly drowns. While under the water, Victoria finds a corpse which is later identified as missing police officer
Victoria later provides
Victoria is heartbroken to learn that Adam has slept with local vet
Victoria is scared to find a man had broken into her Diddy Diner truck, and even more so when the culprit knew her. She is shocked but pleased when the man turns out to be Hannah Barton, who had transitioned into a man and went by the name
Characterisation
On her character profile on the
Development
Rape
In 2019, producers of Emmerdale announced a special episode in which they planned to "experiment with non-linear storytelling and flashbacks",
Lee's mother Wendy arrives in the village to confront Victoria, as she believes that Victoria is lying. Hodgins explains that Victoria is "shocked and scared" due to Wendy's arrival, and that immediately after meeting her, "Victoria knows that Wendy is an enemy". Hodgins notes that Wendy "has got her son's interests at heart", but since her beliefs contradict Victoria's experience, she knows it will be difficult to interact with Wendy "from the off". Victoria receives defence from her friends and family, but is "left feeling a little bit shellshocked" and "crumbles" due to not expecting Wendy's confrontation. Wendy brings Lee with her, and since it is the first time she has seen him since the rape, she "feels genuine fear", especially since they know where she works and lives, and can show up at any time. Hodgins states that Victoria hates having "no control" over the situation, adding that the village being so small means that she is easy to find.[7] A "harrowing twist" and "new trauma" for Victoria was later confirmed when it was revealed that she would discover she is pregnant with Lee's baby.[8] Victoria decides to keep the baby, and feels that when it comes to informing Lee and Wendy, "it's none of their business". Hodgins states that Victoria is "more than happy" to raise the baby on her own, as she fears the pair will either "bully her into getting a termination", or that Lee may want to be involved.[7] When Wendy moves to the village, Hodgins states that her character will feel "exhausted" and "frustrated" due to Wendy not allowing her to move emotionally to "the next chapter of her life". She explains that Victoria tries not to be too stressed due to her pregnancy, but that "hating someone is exhausting". Wendy's house is vandalised due to her reputation as the mother and defender of a rapist, to which Victoria feels "a little bit guilty". Due to her confrontations with Wendy and Wendy's vandalism, Victoria feels like the pair of them are "being punished" for what Lee has done. Hodgins stated: "She thinks surely the best thing to happen would be for Wendy to leave and then they can both have a nice life."[9]
Becoming a mother
Following the decision to keep the baby, Victoria goes into labour in the episode transmitted on 31 December 2019, New Year's Eve. Prior to filming the scenes, Hodgins stated that she is finding it "nerve-wracking", accrediting her nerves to the fact she had never given birth in real life. She approached her sister, who has had two children, as well as Emmerdale co-star
Reception
The accident involving Victoria and Billy was nominated for "Spectacular Scene of the Year" at the 2007 British Soap Awards.[12] At the 2009 ceremony, Hodgins was nominated for Best Young Performance, and the scene of Victoria falling through the ice won the award for Most Spectacular Scene.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Victoria Barton". ITV. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ Lee, Jess (28 February 2019). "Emmerdale plans special flashback scenes for a life-changing night out involving multiple characters". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Lee, Jess (8 April 2019). "Emmerdale plans rape storyline for Victoria Barton during night out". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Warner, Sam (5 June 2019). "Emmerdale's Isabel Hodgins admits there was "massive" pressure to get Victoria's rape storyline right". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ "Emmerdale star Isabel Hodgins explains her new look and hints at Victoria's future". Digital Spy. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Earp, Catherine (4 July 2019). "Emmerdale's Isabel Hodgins opens up about filming "exposing" rape scenes". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (27 June 2019). "Emmerdale star Isabel Hodgins reveals new fears for Victoria as Lee storyline continues". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Hughes, Roxanne (30 June 2019). "Emmerdale spoilers: Victoria Sugden set for harrowing twist as Lee trauma takes awful turn". Daily Express. Reach plc. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Houghton, Rhianne (28 November 2019). "Emmerdale star Isabel Hodgins reveals Victoria's reaction to Wendy's shock move". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ a b Warner, Sam (28 November 2019). "Emmerdale star Isabel Hodgins admits nerves over Victoria Barton's labour scenes". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel; Dainty, Sophie (22 November 2019). "Emmerdale's Isabel Hodgins reveals more on Victoria Barton's "exhausting" labour scenes". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Green, Kris (27 May 2007). "The British Soap Awards 2007: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 April 2013.