Category: Characters

The Sugdens are Emmerdale’s longest-running family and have been there since the very beginning.

Created by Kevin Laffan – the writer who dreamt up the idea of Emmerdale – the Sugdens were introduced during the first episode and quickly established themselves as the show’s central family.

In fact during the first two decades of Emmerdale being on air, the majority of storylines were focused around them.

The family was originally made up of widowed farmer Annie Sugden and her three grown up children, Jack Sugden, Peggy Skilbeck and Joe Sugden.

The clan came from a generation of agricultural workers. They resided in Emmerdale Farm, which was located on the outskirts of the village, then called Beckindale.

The size of the family has changed a lot since then. Now only three Sugdens remain in Emmerdale – Victoria, her son Harry and niece Sarah. However, John Sugden is on his way!

Here’s a look at the Sugdens past and present and the part they’ve played in village life.

Annie and Jacob Sugden – heads of the Sugden family in Emmerdale

Annie Sugden was Emmerdale’s first matriarch and branded by many as a ‘heroine’.
The popular character was played by actress Sheila Mercier. She remains the longest-serving female character in the soap’s history.

Annie was the long-suffering wife of farmer Jacob Sugden, who she married in 1945.
Jacob died in 1972 from liver failure, and his funeral took place in the first episode.

By all accounts Jacob was a neglectful alcoholic who’d left Annie to juggle the responsibilities of looking after the farm with raising a young family.

Annie and Jacob had three children – Jack, Peggy and Joe – and tragically, she outlived them all.

During her life Annie overcame financial woes, an addiction to painkillers, and was left in a coma for three months after being injured in the 1993 Emmerdale plane crash – which also claimed the life of her second husband, Leonard Kempinski.

In July 1994, Annie left the Dales to start a new life in Spain. The following year she married her old friend and former Woolpack landlord Amos Brearly.

Annie popped back several times over the years. She was last seen on screen in February 2009 when she attended the funeral of her son, Jack.

She remained living in Spain until her death in August 2020, aged 100.

Jack Sugden

John Jacob ‘Jack’ Sugden was the son of Annie and Jacob Sugden.

One of Emmerdale’s original characters, Jack was first played by actor Andrew Burt, before Clive Hornby took over the role in 1980.

Jack was the father of Jackie Merrick, Robert and Victoria Sugden and adoptive dad to Andy Sugden.

He was a valued member of the community, and probably best remembered for his love of plaid shirts and flat caps.

Growing up, Jack had little interest in following in his parents’ farming footsteps and moved to London to pursue a career as an author.

He returned on the day of his father’s funeral in October 1972 to claim his inheritance, but was met with opposition from his siblings, Joe and Peggy.

Jack’s return to the Sugden family in Emmerdale

Jack lived in Italy between 1976 and 1980 before returning to live permanently in the village.

In the years that followed he discovered he’d fathered a son – Jackie – with childhood sweetheart Ruth Harker, who went by the name of Pat.

Jack and Pat went on to marry and welcomed son Robert in April 1986. But tragedy struck four months later when she died in a car crash. Three years later, Jack was dealt another crushing loss when Jackie was killed in a shooting accident.

Jack eventually married librarian Sarah Connolly. They had a daughter, Victoria.
The couple adopted troubled youngster Andy Sugden and moved their family to a new farm, but affairs tore their marriage and family unit apart.

After Sarah died in a fire that was started by son Andy, Jack started a romance with Woolpack landlady, Diane Blackstock. The couple got hitched in 2004 and remained together until Jack’s sudden death.

Jack passed away in February 2009 while visiting mum Annie in Spain. His body was brought back to England and he was laid to rest in the village cemetery.

Peggy Skilbeck

Peggy Skilbeck (née Sugden) was the second eldest child and only daughter of Jacob and Annie Sugden.

She was played by Jo Kendall and the first character to speak a line of dialogue in Emmerdale.

Peggy worked as an accountant for her family’s farm, in which she also had shares.

She was married to labourer Matt Skilbeck, but had dreams of quitting the countryside for suburbia. Peggy fell pregnant in 1972 and gave birth to twins Sam and Sally in the April of the following year.

Sadly, just months after giving birth, Peggy collapsed and died from a brain haemorrhage. She was buried in the village churchyard next to her father, Jacob.

After Peggy’s death, Matt sent Sam and Sally to live with his aunt Beattie Dowton. But in January 1976, the children and Beattie were killed when a train struck their car on a level crossing.

Joe Sugden

Joseph Sugden was the youngest of Annie and Jacob Sugden’s children.
He was played by actor Frazer Hines and appeared in over 1500 episodes of the soap.

Despite an often tricky relationship with his brother Jack, Joe was incredibly loyal to the Sugdens and had worked tirelessly to keep Emmerdale Farm going when it fell on hard times as a result of Jacob’s alcoholism.

He was briefly married to Christine Sharp and then set up home with old friend, Kathy Gimbel – a move which was considered something of a scandal in 1977.

After a period living in France, Joe returned to Emmerdale in 1986 and beat local businessman Alan Turner to the post of regional manager for NY Estates.

In 1988, Joe became the co-owner of Home Farm with Alan, but the pair were conned out of the property by bent businessman Denis Rigg.

Joe went on to marry divorcee Kate Hughes, and took on her two teenagers Rachel and Mark as his own. The marriage turned sour in 1991 and Kate left, but Joe remained close to his stepchildren.

Mark’s death in a car crash broke Joe’s heart. He fled to Spain to see mum, Annie.
He was killed in a road traffic accident the following year.

The Sugden family in Emmerdale: Jack’s family

Pat Sugden

Jack’s first wife, Pat was also known by her middle name of Ruth. Her maiden name was Harker. Pat was Jack’s ex and he had no idea he was the father of her son, Jackie Merrick.

When Pat and Jack reconnected in 1972, she was married to alcoholic Tom Merrick. who was violent towards her. But as she grew closer to Jack again, she knew she had to leave and the Merrick family moved away.

But Pat and Tom divorced and in 1980 she and her children returned to Emmerdale. She and Jack were married and their relationship was fiery to say the least. Jack even had an affair with Karen Moore.

In real life Jack actor Clive Hornby married Pat actress Helen Weir and she fell pregnant. So they wrote the pregnancy into the storylines and Robert was born.

However Helen had a dispute with producers over her real-life son playing her on-screen son. She didn’t want to call him by another name, but as he was called Thomas, the name of her abusive ex, show bosses couldn’t agree. Helen decided to leave the show.

Pat was killed in a car accident when Robert was just four months old.

Jackie Merrick

John Jacob ‘Jackie’ Merrick was the son of Pat Merrick (originally Ruth Harker) and Jack Sugden.

He was played by Ian Sharrock and featured in over 700 episodes.

Jackie was the half-brother of Robert and Victoria Sugden.

Jackie had grown up believing his dad was Ruth’s husband Tom Merrick. He was 17 when he discovered Jack was actually his biological father. He didn’t take the news well and it was a good five years before Jackie acknowledged Jack as being part of his life.

Jackie moved back to the village with his mum Pat and sister Sandie in 1980 and took up a job as a farm labourer, before becoming a gamekeeper’s assistant. Jackie possessed a rebellious streak and set fire to a caravan, which put paid to his dream of pursuing a career in the army.

The character settled down in 1988 and married Kathy Bates, but the couple didn’t even make it to their first wedding anniversary.

Jackie died the following year in a freak accident when he accidentally shot himself with his own gun. The last mention of him was in 2005 when Jack remarked to Tom King about his dead son.

Robert Sugden

Robert Jacob Sugden is the son of the late Jack and Pat Sugden, adoptive son of Sarah Sugden, and brother of Jackie, Tommy and Sandie Merrick, Victoria Sugden and adoptive brother of Andy Sugden.

He’s also the estranged husband of Aaron Dingle and father of Sebastian White.
The character has been played by four different actors over the years, most recently Ryan Hawley.

Ruthless, charming, cunning and manipulative, Robert remains to this day one of Emmerdale’s most complex characters.

His upbringing was a largely happy one, but Robert grew to resent his adoptive brother Andy, who he never forgave for Sarah’s death. Robert set his sights on Andy’s fiancée Katy Addyman. They began a secret affair, which broke Andy’s heart.

The brothers’ feud resulted in the death of Max King. Robert fled the village to avoid being arrested.

Robert’s return to the Sugden family in Emmerdale

He returned five years later, engaged to wealthy Chrissie White, the heiress of Home Farm. Robert soon began an explosive affair with Aaron Dingle, and they were dubbed ‘Robron’ by their adoring fanbase.

All hell broke loose when the truth about Robron’s affair was exposed, and weeks later Robert was shot by Ross Barton (on the orders of Andy) – but survived.

In 2017, Robert and Aaron married in an unofficial ceremony before Aaron was sent to prison on a GBH charge. Whilst Aaron was behind bars, Robert cheated with Chrissie’s half-sister Rebecca White. She then fell pregnant with son Sebastian.

Aaron was devastated, but eventually forgave Robert and the couple legally wed in 2019.

However, their happy ever after wasn’t to be.

When Robert discovered his sister Victoria had been the victim of rape, he set out to get revenge on her attacker, Lee Posner. He killed him in a fit of rage. Robert pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Sarah Sugden

The second wife of Jack, mother to Victoria and adoptive mother of Robert and Andy Sugden, Sarah was played by Madeleine Howard from 1988-1994 and then Alyson Spiro from 1994 to 2000.

Librarian Sarah fell for Jack and eventually he decided he liked her to. By January 1994 Jack proposed to her and she gave birth to their daughter Victoria in March of the same year. They married in May.

Jack had an affair with Rachel Hughes and Sarah threw him out. But eventually she forgave him and they gave their marriage another shot.

Financial struggles caused problems between the pair with Sarah reluctant to work on the farm. Jack sold her car without her consent and when she was involved in a bus crash, it left her bed-bound for several weeks.

During this time she started to confide her marriage woes in lodger Richie Carter. They had an affair and eventually she left Jack and moved in with Richie. But they had problems as he wasn’t interested in her children, and money also became an issue.

She considered going back to Jack. When she and Richie were in a barn discussing their relationship, Andy set fire to it, in order to claim on the insurance. But he had no idea Sarah was in there.

Richie escaped, but Sarah was killed. Jack was arrested for her murder, but was found not guilty at the trial and was free to return to his family.

Victoria Sugden

Victoria Sugden is the only daughter of the late Jack and Sarah Sugden, and sister to Jackie Merrick, Robert Sugden and adoptive sister of Andy Sugden.

She is Emmerdale’s current on-screen longest-serving female character, having been part of the show since her birth in March 1994, and is played by actress Isobel Hodgins.

Victoria has been through a lot in her 30 years!

As a baby she had to undergo life-saving surgery when it was discovered she had a hole in her heart and dealt with the heartbreaking loss of her mum when she was just six years old.

Following Sarah’s untimely demise, Victoria was raised by dad Jack and his wife Diane, who Vic considered a mother figure.

The character’s other storylines include being bullied at school, a stint in psychiatric care, nearly drowning after falling through an icy lake, and causing a near-fatal explosion.

Victoria had a childhood romance with troublemaker Daz Eden. She then found love with famers’ son Adam Barton, who she married in 2015. Adam fled the country three years later after taking the rap for a murder he didn’t commit, which left Victoria completely distraught.

But worse was to come in April 2019 when Victoria became the victim of rape. Her horrific attack resulted in pregnancy. Victoria gave birth to her son Harry in 2020.

She’s currently juggling motherhood with her busy job at the HOP.

Love-life wise, Victoria recently raised a few eyebrows by embarking on a romance with Jacob Gallagher, who is the stepson of her former lover, David Metcalfe. However they split up when Vic realised Jacob was putting his life on hold for her.

Andy Sugden

Andrew ‘Andy’ Sugden (previously Hopwood) is the adoptive son of Jack and Sarah Sugden, adoptive brother of Robert and Victoria and half-brother of Darren ‘Daz’ Eden. He was played by actor Kelvin Fletcher from 1996 to 2016.

Andy’s upbringing was dysfunctional and difficult. His birth mum, Trisha died when he was little and he was placed in the care of his grandmother while his dad Billy was serving time in Strangeways Prison.

After his grandmother’s death, Andy was fostered – and later adopted in 2000 – by Jack and Sarah Sugden.

When his parents’ marriage and the family farm ran into trouble, Andy set fire to a barn to claim on the insurance. However, he accidentally killed Sarah in the blaze.

But that wasn’t the only time Andy committed manslaughter.

After discovering Robert had been having an affair with his wife, Katie, Andy plotted to have his revenge. He lay in wait with gun, but unwittingly pulled the trigger on Jack, almost killing him.

After his split from Katie, Andy moved on with Debbie Dingle, who fell pregnant with his daughter, Sarah. They went on to have another child, Jack, seven years later.

Andy’s crimes did finally catch up with him. He was sentenced to three years in prison for Sarah’s murder, but was released after only a few weeks.

He married second wife, Jo Stiles, but subjected her to terrible abuse and she eventually left him. After suffering a complete mental breakdown, Andy was forced to sell his beloved farm to the Barton family.

The beginning of the end for Andy

By 2014, Andy was back with his first love, Katie and the couple got married. Months later, Katie was accidentally killed by Robert after she threatened to expose his affair with Aaron. When Andy discovered the truth he arranged for Ross Barton to shoot Robert – but he lived to tell the tale.

Andy’s time in the village came to a dramatic end when he was framed for shooting Lawrence White. Forced to go on the run, Andy fled with the help of Robert and former flame Bernice Blackstock.

Still a fugitive, his whereabouts remain unknown.

Diane Sugden marries into the family in Emmerdale

Diane Sugden (née Lambert, previously Blackstock) is the widow of Jack Sugden and was a mother figure to his children, Robert, Victoria and Andy Sugden.

The character, played by Elizabeth Estensen, starred in over 2800 episodes of Emmerdale between 1999 and 2021, and was landlady of The Woolpack pub.

Diane was a tower of strength for Jack as she helped him come to terms with the death of his wife, Sarah. The pair’s friendship eventually blossomed into romance.

The couple married on September 21 2004. But a dark shadow loomed over their big day as Diane was diagnosed with cancer just weeks before.

She went on to make a full recovery. However, she found her new life as stepmum to Robert, Andy and Victoria was rather more demanding than she’d anticipated.

The strain of managing their rowdy brood led Diane and Jack to temporarily split up.
They reconciled, but tragedy struck in 2009 when Jack passed away while visiting his mum, Annie, in Spain.

Diane stayed living in the village for another 13 years and continued to play an important part in the Sugden kids’ lives.

She finally bid farewell to the Dales in October 2021 and has only popped back once since – for the show’s 50th anniversary episodes in 2022.

Sarah Sugden Jr

Sarah Sugden is the daughter of Andy Sugden and Debbie Dingle and the older sister of Jack Sugden.

Born in June 2005, she was named after Andy’s late adoptive mother, who had died five years earlier.

Debbie and Andy split up when she was only a month old, and struggled with the responsibility of parenthood, which meant Sarah spent the first few years of her life being pushed from pillar to post.

In 2009, Debbie was awarded full custody of her daughter and they moved to Jersey.
Two years later Sarah came home to the village and was diagnosed with Fanconi anemia – a rare genetic disorder which required a bone marrow transplant to save her life.

No one was a match so Debbie and Andy made the decision to conceive a saviour sibling for Sarah. Her baby brother Jack – who was thankfully a match – was born in October 2012, and Sarah underwent a successful bone marrow transplant the following month.

Four years later, Debbie made the decision to take Sarah and Jack to live with her in France. Whilst there, Sarah was diagnosed with throat cancer. She came back to the Dales and underwent surgery, chemotherapy, followed by a heart transplant.

When Debbie made the decision to move to Scotland, Sarah opted to stay behind in the village.

She’s been kept under the watchful eye of her grandparents Charity and Cain. But that hasn’t stopped Sarah rebelling, getting mixed up in the wrong crowd and dabbling in drugs.

With those difficult teenage years now behind her, Sarah seems to have finally settled down. She has just started working as Barton and Dingle Automotives new apprentice mechanic.

Jack Sugden Jr

Jack Sugden Jr is the son of Andy Sugden and Debbie Dingle and was named after his grandfather, the late Jack Sugden.

He was conceived as a saviour sibling for his sister Sarah, who was diagnosed with rare blood disease Fanconi anaemia and needed a bone marrow transplant.

Jack was born on October 17 2012 and was a match for Sarah, enabling doctors to harvest cells from his bone marrow and transplant them to Sarah.

The character, who was played by actor Seth Bell, was last seen in August 2019 when he left the village with Debbie to start a new life in Scotland.

Sebastian White

Robert’s child with Rebecca White, Sebastian was born as the result of an affair between the two while Aaron was in prison. Aaron accepted Sebastian and became like a father to him as well.

However, when Robert was sentenced to 14 years, Rebecca decided it would be better if Seb no longer saw Aaron. He was devastated.

Sebastian lives in Liverpool with mum Rebecca and her partner Ross Barton.

Harry Sugden – the newest member of the Sugden family in Emmerdale

Harry is Victoria’s son, conceived after she was raped in 2019. Despite the trauma of how she fell pregnant, Vic had always wanted to be a mum and decided to keep the baby.

So how does John fit into the Sugden family in Emmerdale?

Newcomer John was first seen on screen on Wednesday August 8. He met Aaron on a roadside where he had broken down. It turned out the two were actually supposed to be going on a date after meeting online.

It wasn’t long before they were ripping each other’s clothes off, but then John drove off with Aaron’s keys, wallet and hoodie. Aaron hadn’t even got his name, so had no idea he is John Sugden, half brother of his imprisoned husband!

Victoria meets John on Thursday August 8. She drives Eric Pollard to a funeral and ends up chatting to the son of the dead woman. He then introduces himself as John Sugden and Eric explains how the whole thing fits together.

So John is the son of Jack, who had a fling with his mum some years ago. It makes him the half-brother of Victoria, Robert and Jackie and adoptive half-brother of Andy.

When his van breaks down again, John will end up in the village. But something tells us he’s going to cause a whole lot more trouble!

Read more: John Sugden robs Aaron!

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.

Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.