Debbie Dingle

Debbie Dingle
Emmerdale character
Portrayed by	Charley Webb
Introduced by	Steve Frost
Duration	2002—
First appearance	24 December 2002
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Date of birth	26 October 1989
Home	Tug Ghyll
Occupation	Businesswoman Taxi driver Mechanic
Family Family Dingle Father Cain Dingle Mother Charity Tate Half brothers Noah Tate Kyle Wyatt Daughters Sarah Dingle Grandfathers Zak Dingle Obadiah Dingle Grandmothers Faith Dingle Uncles Nathan Dingle Ben Dingle Butch Dingle Sam Dingle Aunts Tina Dingle Belle Dingle Chas Dingle Cousins Aaron Livesy Samson Dingle

Deborah "Debbie" Dingle (previously Jones) is a fictional character in the British ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale. She is portrayed by Charley Webb. She first appeared during an episode airing on 24 December 2002 and remained as a regular till 12 March 2010, when Webb left for maternity leave and she returned on 12 November 2010 and has remained as a regular since.

Character development

“	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 getting 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.	”
—itv.com on Debbie..

Webb told Gemma Graham from TV Buzz that the reason she "loves" playing Debbie is the fact 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".

In one storyline Debbie takes part in a jewellery heist with the help of Chastity Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and Lexi Nicholls (Sally Oliver). Lexi is given a bracelet at a sale and pretends she has stolen it to impress Debbie. Oliver told Kris Green of Digital Spy that Debbie thinks that stealing jewellery must be easy. Debbie thinks of a "big master plan" and they attend a party at Home Farm. The three females "dress up-the-nines" in "camp costumes". Debbie gets Chas and Lexi to cause a diversion while she steals an expensive necklace. Oliver said that over the following episodes viewers found out what really happened with the necklace and what they plan to do with it. Debbie's attitude causes Lexi to become suspicious; Oliver said that Lexi "wants the necklace straight back, it's not the sort of thing she's going to take lightly." Debbie starts plotting to sell the necklace and keep the proceeds for herself. Oliver said Debbie swaps the necklace for a fake and makes Chas and Lexi think she has lost it. The production team did not use real diamonds in the storyline and opted for plastic glass. Oliver said that she did not think they would get away with the scam.

Storylines

Debbie arrives in the village as a new foster child for Paddy (Dominic Brunt) and Emily Kirk (Kate McGregor). When Debbie shows Sam Dingle (James Hooton) her only photo of her biological mother, he identifies her as Charity Tate (Emma Atkins). They eventually meet and she grows close to her step-father Chris Tate (Peter Amory). Debbie decides to find her biological father, Charity tells her it is Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) and they spend some time together excluding Chris. When Chris dies; Debbie, Charity and Cain move into Pear Tree Cottage while Charity is on bail for Chris's murder. Debbie is upset when Charity is found guilty and moves into the Dingle household. When the house becomes over crowded she moves in with Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) and Daz Eden (Luke Tittensor). Debbie starts wearing make-up and shows an interest in males. Daz becomes attracted to her but Debbie is more interested in his brother Andy and local curate Ethan Blake (Liam O'Brien). Ethan helps her with her school work and she kisses him. Ethan rejects Debbie so she starts sleeping with Andy. Charity and Cain discovers their relationship, Charity is accepting but Cain tries to split them up by blackmailing Andy.

Debbie discovers that she is pregnant and keeps it a secret. Debbie manages to hide her pregnancy and with Daz as her only friend in the know, she gives birth to the baby and names her Sarah. Debbie and Andy's relationship ends and she dates his brother Robert Sugden (Karl Davies), unaware that he is trying to hurt Andy by getting close to his daughter. He dumps her when his plan does not work out. Debbie decides that Sarah would be better off without her and asks Emily to care for her. Debbie moves in with Ashley Thomas (John Middleton) where she makes friends with Jasmine Thomas (Jenna-Louise Coleman). Debbie develops feelings for Jasmine and they begin a relationship. Cain decides to seduce Jasmine and they begin an affair. Cain reveals to the truth to Debbie to split them up, but Jasmine reveals that she is pregnant. Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) pays for Jasmine to have an abortion and Debbie tells Cain what they have done to hurt him. Cain kidnaps Sadie and Tom King (Ken Farrington) for ransom money to start a new life. Debbie tries to convince Cain to stay but he leaves and gives her some money.

Emily decides to give Sarah to Andy and Debbie tells Andy that she does not want to be a part of her life. He later sets up visits with Sarah and Lisa Dingle (Jane Cox), she hopes that Debbie will bond with Sarah. Debbie decides she wants access to Sarah but Andy refuses. Debbie starts a relationship with Scott Windsor (Ben Freeman) which later ends when Scott leaves. Debbie enlists the help of Eli Dingle (Joseph Gilgun) to pose as Scott so she could take out a bank loan. Debbie, Chas and Lexi decide to stage a jewellery scam at Home Farm and steal a valuable necklace and share the sale money. Debbie wants more money so gets Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) to help scam Chas and Lexi out of their money. Lexi discovers the truth and the pair fight in the street and accidentally drop the necklace down a drain. When Andy is sent to prison, his girlfriend Jo Stiles (Roxanne Pallett) asks Debbie to look after Sarah, which Debbie enjoys. Debbie discovers that Andy has been hitting Jo and worries for Sarah's safety. Debbie gives Jo money so she and Sarah can escape Andy. She later starts letting Andy have access to Sarah again which annoys Debbie.

Debbie's early appearance. (2002)

When Jasmine is attacked by her boyfriend Shane Doyle (Paul McEwan), Debbie tries to save her. Jasmine hits Shane repeatedly and kills him. Debbie gets Eli to help dump Shane's body in the lake at Home Farm. Shane is reported as missing and when Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) falls into the lake she discovers his body. Ross Kirk (Samuel Anderson) is originally charged with his murder because of a fued. Jasmine wants to confess but Debbie talks her out of it. They become close again and start a relationship once again. They decide to run away together but the police catch Debbie and arrest her. With Jasmine on the run; Debbie is left to take the blame for the murder. Eli enlists the help of his Danielle Hutch to beat Debbie up so she ends up in hospital. Debbie refuses to run away when Eli stages a break out attempt. At Debbie's court hearing, Jasmine arrives and admits to murdering Shane.

Debbie and Jasmine are found guilty on their charges. Debbie is released from prison because of time served. Debbie's time in prison has made her realize that she wants Sarah back. Natasha Wylde (Amanda Donohoe) pays for a solicitor to fight for custody. However, Natsha's daughter Maisie Wylde (Alice Coulthard) is dating Andy and does not approve. Maisie and Debbie have a fight and Debbie thinks that she has ruined her chances. Maisie ends her relationship with Andy to keep out of the situation. Cain decides to help her and asks Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller) to help. Aaron is dating Andy's sister, Victoria and he makes her truant from school and steal from local shops. Cain reports Andy to the social services informing them about Victoria's behaviour and his past of domestic abuse. Debbie is then awarded custody of Sarah.

Debbie starts dating Michael Conway but he later admits that he already has a girlfriend. He later admits that he is due to marry her within days. He tells Debbie that he loves her more and Debbie tells him to call off his wedding to prove it. He tells her that he cannot because his fiance is pregnant. Debbie and Cain attend his wedding and discover that his bride is in fact Charity. He calls the wedding off and attempts to win Debbie back but she ignores him to help get her relationship with Charity back on track. Debbie catches Charity stealing Cain's money and refuses to talk to her. They later get back together and Debbie wants her parents to get along. Debbie becomes annoyed with her parents constant arguments and decides to take a job in Jersey. Debbie returns a number of months later and moves back in with her parents. Debbie reveals that her boss tried to take advantage of her and that she gained revenge by humiliating him and stealing money. Debbie starts a relationship with Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) and discover that she is pregnant. Debbie miscarries and is annoyed that Cameron does not seem bothered.

Sarah is later diagnosed with a blood disorder, Fanconi Anaemia. Debbie and her family campaign to find a bone marrow donor. They find a suitable donor but they later decide to pull out. Debbie and Andy do not like the idea of the other treatments with bad side effects and decide they should have a child together to create a new donor. Cameron and Andy's girlfriend Alicia Gallagher (Natalie Anderson) are not comfortable with the idea. Debbie and Andy move in together and Cameron moves in with Alicia. They plan to fool the IVF clinic into thinking they are a couple. Debbie and Alicia argue about the situation and Debbie throws her christmas dinner over Alicia. When Debbie is refused IVF, she buys an artificial insemination kit online but it is unsuccessful. Debbie then hatches a plan to sleep with Andy but when it comes to the moment, she can't come through with it. Feeling as though she let Sarah down due to her personal discomfort, Debbie invites Andy to a hotel and they sleep together.

Debbie finds out she is pregnant. When it comes to it, Cameron decides he can't deal with it and leaves. Charity then convinces him to go after Debbie and they get back together. Andy then later shocks Cameron by saying he slept with Debbie to conceive her unborn child, not with the artificial insemination. When Debbie finds out Andy spilt the beans to Cameron, She rushes home to find Cameron has packed his bags and is making plans to return to Jersey. Debbie then begs Cameron to stay, for Sarah's sake as well as hers.

Reception

For her portrayal of Debbie, Webb won the "Best Young Actor" award at the 2005 Inside Soap Awards. In 2007, Webb was nominated for "Best Actress" at the British Soap Awards and the Inside Soap Awards.

Kris Green of Digital Spy said that he thought the jewellery heist storyline was inspired by the 2000 Millennium Diamond heist.

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." 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."

External links

• Debbie Dingle at itv.com
• Debbie Dingle at What's on TV