List of recurring and minor Emmerdale characters

Further information: [[:List of Emmerdale characters]]

Further information: [[:List of past recurring and minor Emmerdale characters]]

This page contains information on characters from the British soap opera Emmerdale, that appear on a recurring or minor basis. Some of these characters have appeared on and off over the years whereas in the case of others, namely babies, have been around for years but only appear every now and again and rarely, if ever, actually speak.

A

Adele Allfrey

Adele Allfrey is a worker at Eric Pollard's factory. She has appeared since 11 August 2008.

After his staff went on strike, Pollard placed an advert for more staff. After having an interview, Adele was given a job along with Leyla Harding. Adele got on well with the other workers and joined them in playing practical jokes on their harsh supervisor, Lexi Nicholls. One day, Adele did not show up for work, and Lexi told them she had fired Adele as a warning to everyone else to keep their focus on their job. The next day, they learned Adele had actually taken leave to help her sick mother, and she soon returned to work.

B

Peter Birch

Peter Birch is the son of flighty Lily Butterfield. For most of his life he believed Edna Birch was his mother, only to learn in October 2006 that she was his aunt and she had raised him because Lily had been incapable of taking care of a child. Peter was crushed.

In September 2008, Peter quietly reappeared in the village to see Lily. He confided in her that he was badly in debt and wanted her to sign over her house to help him with his business ventures. When she told him she did not own her home and she had no money, he berated her for how she had let him down once again. A few weeks later, Lily and her coworkers won a car worth £15,000 from a ticket bought by Lily. Lily told Peter he could have her share, worth £3,000. Peter asked for everything as he told her her share would be meaningless. Reluctantly, Lily gave him the ticket.

D

Samson Dingle

Samson Dingle was born on January 12, 2006. Samson is the baby son of Sam and Alice Dingle. Soon after Alice discovered she was pregnant she fell ill and tests confirmed that she had cancer but, in an effort to protect Sam from the horrible truth, Alice lied and said she’d received the all clear.

But the truth couldn't stay buried for long and after a few weeks Dr. Adam Forsythe forced her to come clean, devastating Sam. To make matters worse, Alice was advised to terminate her pregnancy so she could start an immediate course of chemotherapy to help her beat the disease.

However, Alice had no intention of getting rid of her precious baby. Against all advice she carried on and gave birth to baby Samson prematurely. The birth left Alice very depressed as Samson was rushed to intensive care before she got a chance to bond with him.

Alice was told by her doctor that the chemotherapy wasn't helping so Alice decided to stop. Several weeks of pain later, on July 31, 2006 Sam helped Alice to die by giving her an overdose of morphine. Cain Dingle confessed to the crime to spare his brother.

On January 15, 2008 Val Lambert knocked down Samson by reversing her car after not being able to see because of her cataracts. Samson soon recovered, but Sam went on the run with him after his arrest made him fear he'd lose custody. An arrangement was soon worked out, and things went back to normal.

Sarah Sugden

Sarah Sugden was born on June 6, 2005 to Debbie Dingle and Andy Sugden. Debbie concealed her pregnancy and had planned to abandon her baby at the hospital, following the birth. She planned to give birth in a shed in the woods but luckily her friend Daz found her in time to deliver the baby. She named her Sarah after Andy's adopted mother, Sarah Sugden. Sadly being only 15, Debbie decided she couldn't cope with being a teen mum and gave baby Sarah to her foster mum Emily. Emily ran off with baby Sarah, watched by Debbie and Daz. Debbie's family stopped speaking to her for some time after she gave Sarah away but they are now speaking again. Emily brought Sarah back to Emmerdale after meeting former Emmerdale curate Ethan. He convinced her it was only right to return Sarah to her father if Debbie didn't want her. When Debbie found out Sarah was living at Butler's Farm, she threatened to call Social Services and have her removed but her friend and boss Scott Windsor convinced her to let Andy have custody.

She now lives with Andy and Jo Stiles at Butler's Farm.

in July 2007, Sarah was at the centre of a disagreement between father Andy, Andy's girlfriend Jo Stiles and local shop assistant Emily Kirk, because Emily applied for a job at the local pre-school Sarah attends. Andy was furious when he found out that Emily was working there due to the fact that Emily took Sarah away when she was a few months old (the orders by mother Debbie Dingle). Emily withdrew her application. In the end, Emily began working at the preschool and Sarah attends, although under the very watchful eye of Andy.

In October 2007, Lisa tried to get Debbie to take some responsibility for her two-year-old daughter, however after spending the afternoon painting with Sarah (then played by Amber Child-Cavill) Debbie refused to take any care for the tot.

Sarah was to be adopted by stepmother Jo Stiles, after Debbie told Lisa she did not want to stop Jo adopting Sarah although when it came to it, Debbie couldn't bring herself to sign the adoption papers.

Shane Doyle

Template:Infobox Emmerdale character 2 Shane Doyle is a fellow police officer and colleague of Donna Windsor-Dingle and Ross Kirk. He has appeared since 4 January 2008.

He first appeared in January 2008 when he checks out the Dingle family after Zak, Shadrach and Eli Dingle are under suspicsion for pretending to be police officers and scamming people.

When Donna joined the Police, Shane took an immediate dislike to her and started to pick on her, particularly because of her in-laws. He was resentful of her being a police officer, due to him being looked over more than once for the promotion to sergeant. Shane took great delight in arresting Sam Dingle after he went on the run, but when he is released without charge, a furious Doyle blamed Donna. His outburst was witnessed by Charles Vaughan, their boss, and he reminds Shane that he needs to be an example to Donna. She, however, continued to have problems with him, although everyone else appeared to get on with him.

In spring 2008, Donna decided to put their past behind them and become friends with Shane. However, he mistook this for more than friendship and tried to force himself on her. She kneed him in the groin and fled. Before she could tell Vaughan, Doyle tells him that Donna tried to force herself on him. Donna chose not to file a complaint after Vaughan warns it could effect her career.

Shane did not appear for some months, before re-appearing in August 2008. He visited Donna in hospital after a car crash, and they get on better than they have before, with him being sympathetic to her condition. Shane also handles the investigation into her conduct, guaranteeing she does not receive a harsh punishment. However, Shane still seemed to have a trick up his sleeve, as he eavesdropped on her and Ross outside their hotel room as they were about to have sex.

Shane then turned his attention to young, attractive barmaid Jasmine Thomas. When her boyfriend Jake Doland tried to warn him off, Shane and a fellow officer dropped in on a party Jake was throwing. He made up reports of noise complaints and forced Jake to end the party early. He then lied to Jake that he'd had sex with Jasmine. A furious Jake lunged at him and gave Shane the opportunity to arrest him as well as end his relationship with Jasmine.

H

Cathy and Heath Hope

Played by Gabrielle Dowling / Ella Whitehouse Downes and Sebastian Dowling / Lilith Kitching respectively

Catherine "Cathy" Hope and Heathcliffe "Heath" Hope are the twin babies of Bob and Viv Hope. They were born on February 9, 2007 in a shed on the moors, hence their names, delivered by village veterinarian Paddy Kirk. Cathy is the older of the twins.

Soon after Bob and Viv remarried in February 2006 they announced that they were going to try for a baby. Viv didn't like that she was the only one of Bob's wives not to give him a child. However, getting pregnant proved difficult because of their age. All seemed lost when Dr. Adam Forsythe told Viv that she was going through the menopause. On the day of Dawn’s funeral Viv was feeling very unwell, for which Bob believed alcohol was the cause but when she collapsed, unbeknownst to Bob, daughter Donna took to the hospital and they found out that Viv was pregnant. Since Dawn died Bob declared that he didn’t want any more children, Viv felt she had no alternative but to have an abortion, but Bob found out just in time and they decided to keep the baby. When Viv went in for a routine scan she learned that she was carrying twins, which was a shock to both. Ten godparents where chosen for the twins: Terry Woods, Marlon Dingle, Paddy Kirk, Donna Windsor-Dingle, Jamie Hope, Roxy Lockhart, Emily Kirk, Eddie Hope, Kelly Windsor and Scott Windsor. The babies were christened in May 2007, with nine godparents, as Scott couldn't make it.

In July 2007, the twins were entered into the Cute Kids competition, much to the disagreement of father Bob, however when Heath won he seemed to lighten up a little!

M

John McNally

John McNally is a reporter for the Hotten Courier who appears when newsworthy events occur in the village. John cornered Pearl Ladderbanks over her rapist son Frank moving in with her after his parole, setting off a chain of events which led the entire village to find out. Later, Eric Pollard was running for re-election to the local council. He took great joy in catching Eric in embarrassing situations, one of which was Eric coming out the back of a van half naked with Val Lambert. McNally returned to village when Steph Forsythe was being investigated for the murder of her missing brother Terence. John appeared more often after Tom King's murder, and hired Jasmine Thomas due to her knowledge of the village.

John covered Viv Hope's arrest and trial for fraud, and knew about her daughter Donna's car accident even before most of the family did. When John began trying to question Viv on what her daughter was doing in the car, he nearly came to blows with Viv's husband Bob. John continued to hound Bob after Viv's imprisonment, and wrote an article "exposing" Bob's crimes. Bob had a breakdown and staged a one-man protest outside the Courier building. John was absent for this drama, as he was attending his ex-wife's wedding.

P

Bishop George Postlethwaite

Bishop George Postlethwaite is the Bishop of Skipdale. He first appeared in early 2000 with his most recent appearance being at the Emmerdale village show. When Ashley Thomas decided to marry Laurel Potts, Bishop George was against the idea as he believed that Ashley was rushing things and it would end badly, like it had with Bernice. Without the Bishops' approval Ashley and Laurel knew they couldn’t get married so they decided to prove to the Bishop that they were solid. After the Bishop kept on saying that he wouldn’t allow the wedding to go ahead Ashley decided to quit his job as a vicar, much to the shock of the Bishop. However it wasn’t long before Ashley withdrew his resignation. This only further increased the Bishop’s case, that Ashley was quick to make decisions without thinking. Eventually the Bishop relented and conducted the wedding November 2005. He also conducted the wedding of Tom King and Rosemary Sinclair on Christmas Day 2006, and baptised the Hope twins in May 2007. After the death of his housekeeper left George lonely, Laurel tried a spot of matchmaking between him and Emily Kirk, despite a large age difference. It seemed she had succeeded when the two began spending more time together; however, George was actually persuading Emily to become a vicar. Bishop George returned to judge desserts at the village fair in September 2008, and again in October to inform Ashley that his church was being closed.

S

Police Constable Mike Swirling

PC Michael "Mike" Swirling is a police officer who often appears in the village for minor events whenever the police are called. He was most recently seen on April 15, 2007 when Viv Hope called the police because Belle Dingle robbed a packet of sweets and insulted her in her apology. While calling the police Viv locked Belle and Lisa Dingle in to the shop. PC Swirling and his partner arrived and were unsympathetic to Viv and Lisa's claims and said they were acting like children before leaving and threatening them for wasting police time. It wasn't long before PC Swirling was back in the village, on April 17, Jo Stiles called the police when she believed that old flame Billy Hopwood had assaulted her boyfriend and his son, Andy Sugden. Even though Billy was blameless, as his son was drunk, Andy pressed charges and the ex con was arrested. He was back again on July 3 2007 after Eli staged a fake robbery at Tug Ghyll.

T

Arthur Thomas

Arthur Thomas (previously Doland) is the biological son of Ashley Thomas and Laurel Thomas.

Arthur was first seen being born to Laurel, only to be involved in a tragic baby swap that would see him be handed to Melanie Doland and husband Greg Doland. He was handed back in June 2008 but refused to eat, thus Mel was drafted in. Finally Laurel (whose son (or Melanie's) had died of cot death in February) bonded with Arthur and Mel and Greg left.

Gabby Thomas

Gabrielle "Gabby" Thomas is the daughter of village vicar Ashley Thomas and former Woolpack landlady Bernice Thomas. When Gabby was conceived her mother was having an affair with Woolpack chef Carlos Diaz. When Gabby was born on December 25, 2001 Ashley discovered that his wife was having an affair and that the paternity of Gabby was called in to question. After a DNA Ashley was revealed to be Gabby's biological father. Ashley decided to forgive Bernice for the affair and the family was back together. However, Bernice didn't take to motherhood well and decided to that the best thing for everyone was if she left the village. She sold her share of the pub to Louise Appleton and left Emmerdale, although Gabby does occasionally visit her. On November 6, 2005 Ashley remarried and Gabby had a new stepmother in the form of Laurel Thomas who adored Gabby.

When Laurel and Ashley had a baby boy (Daniel), Gabby initially resented him, but when he died in February 2008, Gabby was really upset. A few months later, Laurel and Ashley learned Daniel had not been their biological son, and the stress caused Gabby to wet her bed and get into a fight at school. Her grandfather Rodney Blackstock aware of what Gabby was going through took her to the circus to try and cheer her up and she had a great time with him. Gabby began leaning on Rodney as Laurel and Ashley went through a separation and reconciliation. When they were reunited with their biological son, Arthur Doland, Gabby resented him, going so far as to drop him off in front of the home of the Dolands. When Gabby confided her fears in Rodney, Rodney told Ashley and Laure, who took her to see a psychiatrist. Ashley and Laurel learned that she was afraid she'd also been switched at birth and would be replaced. They reassured her that would not happen, and in the July 4 episode, Gabby helped Arthur out of his pram when he was crying ans she also kissed him and told him he was her brother.

Rodney wrote and illustrated a children's book to cheer Gabby up, Rollercoaster Rod, based on his years working at fairgrounds. Gabby was delighted, and had a good laugh every time she saw her unpleasant aunt Nicola, who was the evil Trixie in Rodney's book.

W

Brenda Walker

Template:Infobox Emmerdale character 2 Brenda Walker is the adoptive mother of Genesis "Gennie" Walker. She has appeared since 2 April 2008.

Brenda first appears when she visits Gennie in hospital, after she was involved in a road accident when she was on the way to met her biological father Shadrach Dingle for the first time. When Gennie gets to know Shadrach and the Dingle family, Brenda is upset and after seeing Gennie involved with a noisy street protest, asks Gennie to return home with her. She refuses, and after finding some middle ground, Brenda returns home alone, and Gennie begins to live with the Dingles. Brenda's husband, and Gennie adoptive father, Brendan Walker, is dead.

Brenda makes another visit in July 2008 and is concerned by how much Gennie has changed since she has met the Dingles, and wants her to get a job. She lends Gennie some money to buy some hair dressing materials, but she spends it on a hot tub instead. When Gennie refuses to return home with Brenda, she says she will remain at the Dingles until she changes her mind. The following month, Gennie gets a job at Eric Pollard's factory, and Brenda gets a job at the Post Office in the village. Viv Hope, Brenda becomes supportive to Bob. Weeks after Viv's imprisonment, Bob agrees to move in with Jamie Hope and Terry Woods so he can rent out the flat above the Post Office to raise money for the legal bill. Brenda then decides to rent the flat.

TJ Woods

TJ Woods is the son of Terry Woods and Dawn Woods.

Before he was even a week old, a terrible event threw his world into chaos. Terry suffered a stroke and young mum Dawn was left with both a baby to care for and a dependent husband.

Before long, the illness took its toll and their marriage and Dawn and Terry split up, leaving TJ caught in the middle. For a time, Dawn was involved with local bad boy Scott Windsor but the romance fell apart thanks to his infidelity. Terry then became involved with Louise Appleton until her infidelity caused their break up.

Dawn's financial situation started to get much worse and when former flame Scott reported her benefit fraud she was sent to prison for a few weeks. While in prison Dawn's mother Jean Hope came home and ended up in a relationship with her son in-law and TJ's father, Terry. Dawn was furious to discover their affair.

Fed up with all the misery, Dawn decided to start a new life away from Emmerdale. Horrified at the prospect of losing his beloved little boy, Terry launched a custody battle. Fortunately, Jean talked him out of it and Dawn prepared to move to Cornwall.

However, a fresh tragedy was about to strike. Dawn, died as a result of the Kings River House explosion on July 13, 2006. TJ didn't understand where his mother was, and he kept asking for her.

Terry, T.J.'s grandfather Bob Hope and T.J.'s uncle Jamie were intent on getting revenge for Dawn's death, and Jean seemed to be the only one realising the affect this would have on T.J. She decided to accept the Kings' compensation money and go to Morocco. She told Terry she was taking T.J. to the Park. Luckily, she had told Jamie she was going away, and he and Terry drove to the airport to find them but it was too late. Terry spotted Jean and T.J. and started screaming at her not to take T.J. away. He was held back by the police as Jean and T.J. got on the flight and left.

On January 18, 2007, T.J. returned to the village with Terry.

Ashley held an informal memorial service for the victims of the house collapse, but TJ was confused as to why his mother wasn’t there. Duke told Terry he should try and explain that Dawn was gone forever, and later returned with a balloon for his grandson to release into the sky for Dawn.

In April 2008, T.J. was suddenly struck with the ecoli virus, but after a hospital stay he recovered.

Y

Freddie Yorke

Freddie Yorke met Viv Hope in late 2007 and persuaded her to work with Happy Smile Fund, his charity for children. One night, after she had too much to drink, he also kissed her. Viv worked hard raising money for the effort, but by early 2008, she realized the money was not actually going into the charity. She had to make up with her own money and tried to get in contact with Freddie, to no avail. By March 2008, Viv had been arrested for fraud, and she and her husband Bob found that their names had been put on all the incriminating paperwork.

In July 2008, a private investigator found Freddie, and got him on tape bragging about what he did to women. Viv went to a quiet outdoors location with her twin infants and paid for the tape. Unfortunately, Freddie had followed the PI and emerged after they were gone. He told Viv he had nothing against her personally, she was just another dupe, but he needed the tape. She tried to run, but he threatened the lives of her babies and after a tussle in the mud, he got the tape and ran off. He did leave a present for the police when they arrived -- some of the fraudulently-obtained money from the Happy Smile Fund, which further incriminated Viv in the eyes of the law when they found it in her baby bag.

In August 2008, the day before the trial started, Viv's policewoman daughter Donna Windsor and partner Ross Kirk were going through surveillance tapes when Donna caught a glimpse of Freddie. They soon found out where he lived and parked outside his home. The next morning, when they tried to talk to him, he fled. A car chase followed. Freddie got away, but Donna and Ross were nearly killed.