What would Emmerdale be without Charity Dingle? The iconic Woolpack landlady is an irrepressible force of nature who’s been part of our lives for nearly 25 years.
Best known for her penchant for illegal scams, wealthy men and her tumultuous on/off romance with cousin Cain, Charity’s one of the strongest characters in the village. Played to perfection by the amazing Emma Atkins, Charity has evolved from a scheming money-hungry minx to a slightly more responsible mum and wife, determined to do anything to protect her brood.
In a life that’s had so many incredible moments, it’s almost impossible to narrow them down. But here are 11 of Charity’s best bits…
Emmerdale Charity Dingle’s best moments: Her entanglement with the Tates
Charity burst onto our screens on March 30, 2000. She came to the village for the funeral of her cousin, Butch, and from the word go was a force to be reckoned with.
Feisty and fearless, Charity oozed sex appeal and caught the eye of Home Farm owner Chris Tate. The millionaire was on the lookout for his next bride, but his sister Zoe Tate did not approve of Chris’s choice.
Zoe made out she had an issue with the fact Charity used to be a prostitute. But that wasn’t the problem. The truth of it was that Zoe harboured feelings for her future sister-in-law. Wily Charity soon figured this out for herself. She made a move on Zoe and the pair embarked on a lust-fueled lesbian affair.
Charity eventually came clean to Chris after Zoe turned all bunny boiler. And to her surprise he forgave the betrayal and went ahead with their wedding.
Reuniting with daughter Debbie
As Charity’s backstory began to be explored it was revealed she’d had a baby at 13, the result of a brief fling with her second cousin, Cain. Charity’s daughter, Debbie Dingle had been given up for adoption to a lady called Pat Jones. But fate brought them back together.
When Pat fell ill (and later died), Debbie was placed in the foster care of Paddy and Emily Kirk – who just so happened to live in the same village as her birth mum. What are they chances, eh?
After realising who Debbie was, Charity kept the discovery to herself. But when Debbie spilled the beans to Cain it was a secret no more. After a tricky start, Charity made up for lost time and bonded with the baby she’d been forced to give up.
Love affair with Cain
How could we talk about Charity’s best moments with including Cain? He’s her second cousin, former fiancé, baby daddy, and, in the opinion of many Emmerdale fans, true soulmate. Charity and Cain’s on/off romance has spanned two decades and they are still one of soap’s most shipped pairings.
Charity’s relationship with Cain goes way, way back. Aged 13 and 14 respectively, they had a fling, which resulted in pregnancy.
They were brought back together as adults, got engaged, and nearly made it down the altar. But Charity had last-minute doubts and decided she’d rather be Cain’s girlfriend than his wife.
With so many amazing moments, it’s hard to choose one that stands out from the rest. But we are big fans of Charity and Cain’s troublemaking schemes – whether it’s stealing flash motors or swindling folk out of money.
Emmerdale: Charity Dingle’s best moments – her prison births
Charity’s a woman who knows about giving birth in prison – she’s done it twice!
Her first stint behind bars was thanks to Chris Tate. He wanted revenge over Charity’s affair with Cain and the perfect opportunity presented itself when Chris discovered he was dying of a brain tumour. After plotting to take his own life, Chris lured Charity to Home Farm and made it look as if she’d deliberately poisoned him.
Charity was sent down while pregnant with Chris’s baby, and delivered son Noah in March 2004.
Fast forward 11 years and Charity was jailed for a second time after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice. Six months later, Debbie visited her mum on the inside and was shocked when Charity suddenly went into labour. She gave birth to little Moses, whose father later turned out to be village bad boy Ross Barton.
And sparks have been flying again between Charity and Ross after they shared a shock kiss behind her husband Mack’s back. Are they headed for another steamy affair?
Bitter rivalry with Sadie King
Once upon a time, Charity was engaged to marry multimillionaire Tom King (the late grandfather of Belle’s evil ex). Tom was decades older than Charity but worshipped the ground she walked on. And for someone who’d grown up with nothing, the idea of a life of luxury rather suited Charity. Her future looked bright. But Tom’s scheming daughter-in-law Sadie King had other ideas.
Fearful that her position in the King family tree was under threat, Sadie plotted to stop Charity and Tom’s wedding. In order to do this she paid Cain (who she was bedding) to make a move on Charity and photograph the clinch.
Cain did as he was told, and Sadie showed the incriminating snaps to Tom on his wedding day. Tom jilted Charity at the altar, leaving her feeling humiliated.
Sadie had underestimated who she was dealing with though. Charity got her payback by seducing Sadie’s husband, Jimmy, and recording him confessing to Sadie’s sins!
Charity and her disastrous marriage to Declan Macey in Emmerdale
After her tumultuous marriage to Jai Sharma ended in divorce, Charity made the near-fatal error of getting involved with Declan Macey. The pair became husband and wife, which meant Charity finally got the chance to be lady of Home Farm.
However, the union was littered with lies and betrayals. Charity fell pregnant but had an abortion behind Declan’s back. She then made out she’d suffered a miscarriage during an altercation with his sister, Megan.
When Declan found out the truth he decided to murder Charity. Events reached an explosive climax in the middle of a lake when Declan tried to shoot Charity with a flare gun. He accidentally shot and killed his nephew Robbie instead. Charity fought back and seemingly killed Declan, but he made a spectacular return.
As payback, he informed the police about all the criminal activities he had and Charity had got up to.
Emmerdale Charity’s best moments: Getting justice against Bails
Charity’s teenage years were traumatic and unstable. After giving birth to Debbie at 13 she ended up living – and working – on the streets as a prostitute. It was there Charity first met corrupt copper, Mark Bails.
He repeatedly abused and raped Charity, holding her hostage and pimping her out to his mates. Charity then fell pregnant. Aged 14, she gave birth to son Ryan, but fled the hospital after believing the baby was dead. She reported Bails for beating her up, which resulted in him losing out on a big work promotion. He never forgave Charity for ‘stalling’ his career.
Years later, their paths crossed again when DI Bails tried to have Charity convicted for insurance fraud. Realising she couldn’t allow him to harm any other vulnerable women, Charity found the courage to report Bails to the police.
She took him all the way to court, where Bails was found guilty on multiple counts and given 30 years in prison.
Reconnecting with Ryan
Charity’s past returned to surprise her in 2018 when she discovered her son Ryan was actually alive. He had been adopted by Irene Stocks, one of the nurses who worked in the hospital where he was born.
When mum and son finally met it was a difficult reunion. Ryan was heartbroken to learn he’d been the product of rape and that Charity hadn’t even told the Dingles of his existence.
But after a rocky start things smoothed themselves out and Charity welcomed Ryan into her family. She’s incredibly protective of her lad, who has cerebral palsy, and did not approve of Ryan’s relationship with Dawn Taylor.
Charity and Vanessa in Emmerdale
Charity has always identified as bisexual. Most of her relationships have been with men, but in 2017 she embarked on a romance with local vet Vanessa Woodfield.
Unlike her previous partners, Vanessa was kind and caring and showed Charity real love and support. Finally feeling safe, Charity’s barriers came down and she was able to truly be herself.
She proposed to Vanessa twice, and on the second time her girlfriend said yes. They remained happy for a while, Charity supported Vanessa through her battle against cancer and officially adopted her young son, Johnny. But as trust issues started to creep in, paranoid Charity ended up snogging a stranger she’d met on the side of the road. As you do.
When Vanessa found out about the betrayal, she dumped Charity and left the village. She later returned, but there was no going back for her and Charity as a couple. Which is a shame because we loved them together.
Charity Dingle’s best moments in Emmerdale: Becoming landlady of The Woolpack
Charity’s work ethic (or lack thereof) didn’t make her an obvious choice for landlady of The Woolpack. But eight years on she’s still running the show, so she must be doing something right.
She first came on board as co-owner to help cousin Chas run the village boozer. But Charity’s lazy antics drove Chas to despair and the landladies frequently clashed.
In 2021, the pub went up in flames after shady Al Chapman torched it in an insurance scam. Chas was broke, so The Woolie was put up for auction. And the highest bidders were Charity and her son Ryan.
Second time round, Charity seemed more at ease with being front of house. She recruited Chas to work as manager and Ryan deals with the financial side of the business, which is probably for the best.
Killing Damon Harris
Last Christmas Charity became a killer after she put a bullet in gangster Damon ‘Harry’ Harris.
Harry was holding Charity’s husband Mackenzie Boyd hostage. Mack had been having an affair with Harry’s daughter, Chloe, and when he chose Charity over her, Harry did not like it!
Charity tailed Harry to the derelict warehouse where he was keeping Mack and realised he was intending to kill him. She jumped in to protect her other half, there was a wrestle for the gun and it suddenly went off, killing Harry.
In the aftermath, Charity was haunted by nightmares over what she’d done to Harry as well as traumatic events from her past. In her confused and agitated state she almost ended up committing another murder after stabbing Mack. Thankfully he lived to tell the tale.
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Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
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