Lydia Dingle in Emmerdale is the devoted, but no-nonsense wife of Sam, and the heart of the whole Dingle family.
But she’s been through a lot in her time in the village, most recently a brutal rape at the hands of her former boyfriend.
Here’s the lowdown on everything that happened.
Lydia’s childhood
Lydia grew up in a children’s home, where she met Craig Reed. Lydia – who at the time was called Jenny Finn – got pregnant by Craig. She gave birth alone in the bathroom to a stillborn baby boy. Lydia wrapped her son in a jumper and buried him on what would become the site of Hotten Academy.
More than 30 years later, Craig came back into Lydia’s life. They reconnected at a jobs fair in the Hide, and became friends. Lydia told Craig about their baby – who she’d named Toby – and took him to his final resting place to pay his respects.
Emmerdale: Lydia is sexually assaulted
After that, Lydia and Craig spent more time together and she even started working for him. But Craig was developing an unhealthy obsession with Lydia and had convinced himself she felt the same.
It all came to a head when one evening, in his office, Craig started to make a move on Lydia. When she turned him down, he pinned her down and raped her.
The aftermath
It took Lydia a few days to really process what Craig had done – she even went back to work. Her family realised she was acting oddly, but didn’t know why.
Craig continued to torment Lydia, telling her they could make a life together, while befriending her family. When Lydia snapped, she went to the police and told them she wanted to report a rape. But she ended up rushing away before she gave any details.
When Lydia told husband Sam and the rest of the Dingles what had happened to her, they supported her as she went to the police and Craig was arrested.
But when the case against him was dropped, Lydia was devastated.
Craig’s death
After the case was dropped, Craig was found dead in a field, and the shocked Dingles gathered to piece together who was to blame.
As it turned out, Kim inadvertently caused Craig’s death. She came across him when out riding and though she told him to stay away from her horse, he spooked the nag and got kicked in the head. Cain Dingle saw what happened and helped Kim cover up the crime by setting the horse free and concocting a story that it had escaped.
The killing really tested Lydia’s friendship with Kim, and her relationship with the whole Dingle family, but she’s back where she belongs now, at Wishing Well Cottage.
