Victoria Sugden
| Victoria Sugden | |||||||||||||||
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| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Jessica Haywood (1994–98) Hannah Midgley (1998–2006) Isabel Hodgins (2006–) | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1994– | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 31 March 1994 | ||||||||||||||
| Created by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||||||
 Hannah Midgley who played Victoria Sugden from 1998-2006 | |||||||||||||||
| File:Victoria Sugden1997.jpg Jessica Haywood who played Victoria Sugden from 1994-1998 | |||||||||||||||
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Victoria Anne Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale originally played by Jessica Haywood, then Hannah Midgley and currently Isabel Hodgins.
Character's background
Victoria is the youngest of the Sugden children and the only daughter of Jack Sugden and Sarah Sugden.
Family ups and downs
In June 1994, Jack and Sarah married. Weeks later, Victoria stopped breathing due to a hole in her heart and nearly died. She had to have an operation and soon recovered. A couple of weeks later, Sarah left Jack for a nurse who had treated Victoria in hospital. Jack and Sarah eventually reconciled but their happiness didn't last.
In 1996, Robert brought home his new friend, Andy Hopwood. Andy was in a children's home following the death of his grandmother. They got on and Jack and Sarah, feeling sympathy for Andy, applied to be his foster parents. They were successful and later adopted him. It seemed the family was back on track until Sarah and Victoria nearly died when a truck crashed into the minibus going to the supermarket in March 2000.
In 1999, finances were tight so Richie Carter became the Sugdens' lodger. Richie and Sarah had an affair, despite him being much younger than her. Jack threw them out when he found out and they moved into the village. Jack stopped Sarah seeing the children so Sarah responded by suing Jack for custody. He sent Andy, Robert and Victoria to Spain and when they returned, Victoria moved in with Sarah and Richie but the boys stayed with Jack.
Death of Sarah Sugden
In 2000, finances hadn't improved and Andy overheard Jack say that they could use the insurance money if something caught fire and decided to set fire to a barn on 16 November 2000. Tragically, Sarah was inside with Richie. Richie escaped with minor burns but Sarah died. While in hospital, Richie made a statement to the police, thinking it was Jack he'd seen outside the barn. He and the police believed Jack started the fire deliberately in order to get Victoria back.
Despite his innocence, Jack was arrested for murder and remanded in custody. Whilst Jack was in prison, the children went to stay with Kathy Brookman and her niece Alice Bates. At his trial, Jack was found not guilty.
Growing up
In 2002, Victoria invented an imaginary friend called Walter Todd, who took up much of her time. She often refused to go out unless he could come too. Jack started worrying about Victoria but she grew out of it.
In 2003, Victoria collapsed with a ruptured appendix and was rushed to hospital. She was successfully treated.
These years were rocky for the Sugden family. Fortunately, a stabling influence came into their lives. Jack got engaged to Woolpack landlady, Diane Blackstock, who has been a fantastic step-mum to Victoria. When Diane was diagnosed with colon cancer, Victoria was her rock and delivered the news to the congregation at Jack and Diane's wedding.
Victoria was bridesmaid when Andy and Katie married in 2004. Shortly after the wedding, Victoria saw Katie in bed with Robert. She was confused but Robert insisted she keep quiet about what she'd seen. Unfortunately Victoria took Robert a little too seriously and refused to talk at all. Diane said it was probably a dare from one of her friends and not to worry about it but as time passed, Jack and Diane grew increasingly worried and took her to a doctor who dismissed it as a phase. In the end, Diane persuaded Victoria to tell her what had upset her. Diane told Jack and he punished Robert for scaring Victoria.
Robert and Katie didn't last, and Robert blamed Andy for telling Katie about his affair with Sadie King. In revenge, he began pursuing Debbie Dingle, mother of Andy's daughter, Sarah. Robert wanted to destroy Andy's life by leaving town with Debbie and Sarah but when Debbie arrived alone, he dumped her. He intended to leave with Max King but Andy stopped them, causing a skirmish which ended in Max's death. Robert left town in shame, greatly upsetting Victoria.
Victoria, the local tearaway
After a few months, Victoria became friends with school pal Kayleigh Crow. They worked together to get Kayleigh's dad, Martin, and Diane's best friend, Louise, together. Kayleigh and Victoria were proving quite a handful, gatecrashing Jamie's rave and starting a campaign of terror against pensioner Edna Birch. They also caused trouble for Chastity Dingle's 12 year old son Aaron when they told him about Carl's affair with Delilah Dingle. Aaron told his mum and left Emmerdale.
In 2006, Victoria went to visit her grandparents in Spain. Even then, she caused trouble. She was due back at the end of August but lost her passport, delaying her return until October. Jack went to the airport to collect Victoria but she wasn't there. When he returned alone, Diane thought it was a wind up but believed Jack when she saw how worried he was. Jack phoned his mother and she confirmed Victoria had been on the flight. Jack returned to the airport and Diane went home just in case she turned up there. When she arrived, she found Victoria talking to Daz as if she had done nothing wrong!
She worried Jack and Diane further when they heard she'd had a brief romance with a 14 year old boy named Enrique. Jack was appalled and phoned Annie but Annie knew nothing about it. Victoria confessed she'd made the whole thing up but later told Katie that she was telling the truth. Enrique was real but was 16 years old, not 14. She also told Katie about her tattoo and showed her it to her. Victoria asked her not to tell anyone but Katie told Andy.
In July 2007, Victoria and Kayleigh went on a school trip. The trip was run by a hunky instructor Christian Schwarz and the girls were determined to impress him. However, Victoria refused to get into a canoe, still being terrified of water after the truck crash, and hit Christian over the head with the canoe paddle when he tried to get her into the water. Victoria was suspended for 3 days and when she went back to school, everyone thought she was cool for hitting a teacher!
Truck Crash
On 2nd February 2007, Victoria and Kayleigh went to a youth disco. Victoria stole some vodka, got drunk and when Kayleigh went home, went to a nightclub. She got talking to an 18 year old boy in the queue and he quickly led her round the back of the building and started trying to kiss her. Relising she was out of he depth, she struggled to stop the lad when he wanted to take things further. Luckily Billy Hopwood was emptying bins nearby and scared the lad off. Billy offered Victoria a lift home in his truck. Victoria taunted Billy about the murder he committed years before and refused to settle down. Suddenly, the brakes failed and unable to steer the huge vehicle, crashed into a lake. Under water, Victoria was trapped and drowning but Billy, finding a pocket of air, breathed oxygen into her mouth as he worked to free her. Billy and Victoria got out just as Jack, Andy and Daz arrived on the scene. Jack was furious and accused Billy of abducting Victoria but Victoria admitted he'd saved her - twice.
Victoria's curiosity
As Victoria got older, she was curious about what had caused her mother's death. Unfortunately Sarah was not discussed.
Just before Mother's Day, 2007, Jack gave Victoria money so she could buy Diane a present but she put flowers on Sarah's grave instead. Jack was furious when Victoria didn't give Diane anything but Billy had seen Victoria at her mother's grave and told Daz. He told Jack and Jack apologised as he had not given her a chance to explain. He also tried to reassure her that Diane would never try to replace Sarah.
Victoria had questions she needed to ask but Jack refused to answer them. This upset Victoria and matters got worse when Diane also refused to talk about Sarah. Diane warned Jack about Victoria's curiosity but Jack refused to explain, not wanting to hurt her.
Andy and Victoria started talking about Sarah when he saw her looking at an old Mother's Day card she had made. Victoria asked him about Sarah's death but he changed the subject. Andy, Jack and Diane discussed what to tell Victoria without explaining everything. Victoria was frustrated, she knew they were hiding something and asked Emily about it. Emily was cagey too, making Victoria worse. Emily warned Jack that sooner or later Victoria would discover the truth and it would be better coming from him but he still refused to discuss it. Victoria started talking to Jasmine, knowing she worked for the local paper and was pleased when Jasmine promised to find out what she could.
On Victoria's 13th birthday, Jack gave Victoria a necklace that had belonged to her mother. He thought she was no longer interested in how her mother died. However, Jasmine, worried about what she'd found, showed Jack an article about him standing trial for Sarah's murder. She suggested he tell Victoria himself but Jack refused. He also made her promise she wouldn't tell Victoria. Unfortunately Victoria saw Jack and Jasmine talking and she became suspicious, deciding to try harder to find out about Sarah's death. Victoria went to the library and found the same article as Jasmine. She went home, demanding the truth and Jack was forced to confess he had spent time in prison for Sarah's murder although he didn't kill her.
Finding out about Diane and Billy
Victoria heard Diane and Billy discussing their affair and told Jack. He accused her of lying so she told him to ask Val. In his heart, Jack knew she was telling the truth and stormed off to the Woolpack. There, it was confirmed that Diane had had feelings for Billy.
Victoria's revenge
Back at the house, Jack told his children about Diane and Billy's affair. Victoria was distraught and blamed herself. She wished she’d never followed them and listened to their conversation. Victoria visited Billy and told him she blamed him for destroying her family. Angrily, he implied Jack was no saint and suggested he could be responsible for Sarah's death. He asked if she'd been told what happened.
After another row, Victoria got drunk. She had been looking at old newspaper clippings about the fire. One picture was of Sarah’s lover, Richie, who survived the fire. Victoria went to see Richie and insisted he tell her what happened. Richie told her Jack wasn't responsible but she didn't believe him.
Victoria returned to the village and saw Andy so she hid in the garage. Andy and Jack, unaware she was there, went looking for her. Inside the garage, Victoria spotted a petrol can and took it home, dousing the furniture with petrol. When Jack and Andy returned, they could smell the petrol and saw Victoria threatening to set the house on fire so Jack would die the way Sarah had.
Andy's confession
Andy couldn't lie anymore and confessed to being responsible for the fire. Shocked, Victoria ran upstairs but tripped and banged her head. She was lying on her bed, bleeding, when Jack and Andy got to her. Jack went to get a flannel to clean Victoria’s head and accidentally lit the petrol fumes when he turned on the hot tap. A massive explosion ripped through the house. Daz had been walking past and was thrown to the ground with the force of the blast.
Inside Annie’s Cottage, the lounge was an inferno, where Victoria had soaked everything in petrol. As the fire took hold, there was a second explosion. Andy and Victoria were in her bedroom so he smashed the window and dropped her down to Jonny Foster. Billy rescued Andy and Jack, ending up in hospital himself.
The aftermath
When Victoria was questioned, she told the police that she didn't start the fire and felt Andy should have told her sooner that he accidentally killed Sarah. After Andy was charged with manslaughter, Victoria was charged with threat to cause criminal damage by arson and was released on bail. She was told she would appear in a youth court in several weeks’ time. She was put under the care of a psychiatrist, who helped her come to terms with what she'd learned.
After completing her sessions with the psychiatrist, Victoria had a drink with Diane and revealed that she’d been bullied at school and called a “nutter”. Diane told her she was always there if Victoria needed her. Although it was Jo who made sure that Victoria wouldn't be bullied.
Andy was sentenced to three years in prison for Sarah's manslaughter but was released on appeal in March 2008. After Jack went to Spain in February 2008 to look after Annie, Victoria patched things up with Diane and moved into The Woolpack.
Andy's abuse of Jo
Still being a rowdy teenager, Victoria was completely shocked later in 2008 when the truth about Andy's abuse of Jo came to light. Being shocked, at first she refused to believe it but saw the abuse first hand, even becoming scared of him. When he moved in with her and Diane, her fear turned to anger and she refused to speak to him.
Diane visited her daughter, Bernice, in December 2008 so Victoria moved in with Val and Eric, playing them to her advantage. Unfortunately for her, Val was wise to her tricks and put a stop to them. Victoria soon became close to them.
When Diane returned, Victoria was still angry with Andy and refused to live with him. She stayed with Val and Eric for a while but is back with Diane now that Andy has returned to Butler's Farm.
Finding Shane and 2009
On Christmas Day 2008, Victoria tried to give Daz a gift but was too embarrassed to give it to him when she saw Scarlett had given him a more extravegant gift. She hid it it under a blanket but he later found it and wore it. They kissed but he ran off when Val walked in and caught them at it.
Later that day, Victoria took a bottle of vodka to the frozen lake where Jake and Aaron were messing around. Daz and Scarlett arrived too and Victoria was jealous. She ripped Scarlett's chain from Daz's neck and threw it across the ice. Jake, Aaron, Scarlett and Daz got angry with her and she gingerly walked across the ice to retrieve it. When she got to the chain, she picked it up and started shouting at Daz who shouted at her in response. In a rage, she threw the chain further across the ice and Daz walked across to retrieve it. When he got to it, he started to hear the ice crack. He yelled at Victoria to get off the ice but she tried to get to him. The ice cracked under Victoria and she fell into the lake where she discovered the body of Shane Doyle.
On Boxing Day 2008, Victoria confessed to Daz that she saw a body under the lake. The next day, Diane called her psychiatrist and Victoria was furious. She stormed off and later told Diane she made the body up.
On 30 December 2008, Daz and Victoria went back to the lake. Daz started poking about in the water with a stick but found nothing. As the pair were about to leave, they heard bubbling coming from the lake. They turned around and saw a hand poking out of the water. Victoria was terrified and screamed. The police were called and retrieved the body. Victoria was taken home by a policewoman who told Diane about the body. Donna Windsor-Dingle then identified the body as Shane Doyle.
On New Years Eve 2008, Victoria told Diane she was going to a sleepover at Kayleigh's but instead went to a party in Leeds with Aaron Livesy.
On 2nd January 2009, Diane's sister Val warned daz to maitian a brother-sister relationship with Victoria as she suspected the pair were getting too close.
It is rumored that, in 2009, Victoria will start a relationship with her foster brother, Daz.
Losing her father and Relationship with Daz
On 5th February 2009 Victoria found out that Andy was planning on selling the farm and hates him for it. She stormed off and went to visit her Mum's grave. Daz found her and she told him that everyone in her life had gone. Her Mum's dead and she didn't think her Dad wanted to come home and didn't want her even Robert's gone. Daz tolld her that he would always be there for her. He told her if she thought her dad didn't want her then maybe she should go to Spain to see him. She agreed. They went back to The Woolpack to tell Diane that she is planning to go to Spain. Diane tells her she can't. She then tells Victoria and Daz that Jack had a massive heart attack and the doctors did everything they could but he died that afternoon. All goes silent while the heartbreak sinks in. The family bury Jack on February 10th. On the day of Jack's funeral Victoria decides to leave Emmerdale for a new life with her grandmother Annie in spain. She tells Daz that she plans to leave. Later on Victoria ask Daz why it is worth her staying round the village. He replies 'because I can't imagine life around here without you'. Victoria later decided to stay in Emmerdale.