Debbie Dingle

Deborah "Debbie" Dingle (previously Jones) is the daughter of Charity Sharma and Cain Dingle, though she first arrived in the village as a foster child of Paddy and Emily Kirk.

2002
Debbie arrives in the village as a new foster child for Paddy and Emily Kirk after her adopted mother Pat Jones becomes ill. Debbie soon returns to Pat but Pat dies and Debbie goes back to live with Paddy and Emily.When Debbie shows Cain Dingle a photo of her biological mother, he recognises her as Charity Tate. Cain confronts Charity who is shocked to realise Debbie is her daughter. She tries to hide it from her husband Chris but when the truth comes out she lies and insits Debbie is not her daughter. Eventually Charity is forced to admitting to Chris that Debbie is her daughter. They eventually meet but Charity is a reluctant mother and tries to further herself from her daughter. They eventually bond and Debbie grows close to her step-father, Chris Tate, pleasing Charity. Debbie then moves in with Charity and Chris;Chris suggests they adopt Debbie. Charity reveals that her cousin Cain Dingle is Debbie's father and the trio's closeness strengthens and Chris is sidelined. This affects him extremely, resulting in him cancelling plans to adopt Debbie. Cain bonds with Debbie and she moves into the Dingle household after becoming sick of Chris' anger towards her. Charity and Cain begin an affair; Chris finds out and chucks Charity out, vowing for revenge. Chris commits suicide and frames Charity for his murder. On Chris's death; Debbie, Charity and Cain move into Pear Tree Cottage and live as a family until Charity is found guilty of Chris's murder.

Charity is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. She discovers she is pregnant and gives birth to a son, who she names Noah. Debbie starts to bond with her baby brother until Charity strikes a deal with Zoe - she will give her custody of Noah for £20,000 and the evidence that Chris committed suicide. Zoe agrees and Charity is released. Debbie is deeply upset with her mum and refuses to forgive her actions. Zoe is refused permission to adopt Noah and he is returned to Charity. Cain and Charity reconile and the trio live together. Charity becomes bored with Cain and dumps him, setting her sights on millionaire Tom King.

Debbie and Cain then move into the Dingle household. When the house becomes over-crowded, she and Cain move in with Andy Sugden and his younger brother Daz Eden. Debbie's behaviour becomes erratic as she shows an interest in glamour and boys, resulting in her capturing Daz's affections.

Debbie, though, prefers Andy and local curate, Ethan Blake however, he is engaged to Niamh O'Connor. Andy confesses his romantic crush and they start a secret relationship. Daz and Charity discover the relationship and attempt to hide the relationship from Cain. Cain becomes suspicious when he finds condoms in Debbie's pocket. He believes Ethan is taking advantage of his daughter and beats him up. Andy and Debbie eventually tell Cain of their romnace, resulting in Cain attacking Andy thus causing them to break-up.

Charity decides to leave Emmerdale after her failed wedding with Tom. Debbie decides to come with her but at the final moment decides she doesn't want to leave her father Cain. Charity and Debbie have an emotional farwell.

Debbie finds out she is pregnant and manages to conceal this from every-one; she plans to abandon the child at the hospital after the birth. However, she gives birth in a shed assisted Daz Eden – Sarah’s uncle – and names the child after Andy’s adoptive mother Sarah. Zak and Lisa help Debbie tell Cain about his granddaughter Sarah as she is worried about his reaction.

Debbie and Andy reunite briefly but it is short-lived and his brother, Robert Sugden, becomes romantically involved with Debbie instead. She, however, is unaware he has an ulterior motive and he ends the relationship when Debbie decides to leave baby Sarah with the Dingles while she and Robert go traveling but Robert reveals that he wanted Sarah, not her. Feeling Sarah would experience a better life without her and knowing that Emily is leaving the area, she asks her to take Sarah with her. The Dingles are horrified so she moves in with Ashley Thomas, where she makes friends with Jasmine Thomas. Debbie confesses her love for Jasmine and they begin a love affair until Jasmine cheats with Cain numerously. Wanting to hurt her, he ensures that Debbie sees them together, knowing that will culminate in a break-up. However, Debbie befriends Jasmine again upon Jasmine discovering her pregnancy. Sadie King, pitying Jasmine, pays for her abortion. Debbie, knowing that Cain wants another child, tells him about Jasmine's aborted baby to hurt him, leading him to kidnap Sadie and Tom King for financial gain to start a new life. Debbie attempts to convince Cain to stay but he leaves and gives her some money.

Emily returns Sarah to Andy and Debbie tells Andy that she does not want to be a mother. He later creates visits with Sarah and Lisa Dingle, who hopes that Debbie will bond with Sarah, which she does, and asks Andy for access but Andy refuses. Debbie starts dating Scott Windsor but that ends as Scott leaves. Debbie enlists the help of Eli Dingle to pose as Scott so she could take out a bank loan. Debbie, Chas and Lexi decide to stage a jewellery scam at Home Farm and steal a valuable necklace and share the sale money. Debbie wants more money so gets Eric Pollard to help scam Chas and Lexi out of their share. Lexi discovers the truth and the pair fight in the street, accidentally dropping the necklace down a drain.

When Andy is sent to prison, his girlfriend Jo Stiles asks Debbie to look after Sarah, which Debbie enjoys. Debbie discovers that there is a case of domestic violence between Andy and Jo and worries for Sarah's safety. Debbie gives Jo money so she and Sarah can flee Andy. She later starts letting Andy have access to Sarah again, which annoys Debbie.

When Jasmine is attacked by her boyfriend Shane Doyle, Debbie tries to save her. Jasmine assaults Shane repeatedly and kills him. Debbie gets Eli to help dump Shane's body in the lake at Home Farm and Shane is reported as missing, but Victoria Sugden finds his body. Ross Kirk is originally charged with his murder because of a feud. Jasmine wants to confess but Debbie talks her out of it. They become close again and start a relationship once again. They decide to run away together but the police catch Debbie and arrest her. With Jasmine on the run; Debbie is left to take the blame for the murder. Eli enlists the help of Danielle Hutch to harm Debbie, concluding in Debbie being hospitalised. Debbie refuses to run away as Eli stages a break-out attempt. At Debbie's court hearing, Jasmine arrives and admits to murdering Shane. Debbie and Jasmine are found guilty on their charges.

Debbie is released from prison because of time served and her time in prison has made her realize that she wants Sarah back. Natasha Wylde pays for a solicitor so she can fight for custody. However, Natsha's daughter Maisie Wylde is dating Andy and does not approve. Maisie and Debbie have a fight and Debbie thinks that she has ruined her chances but Maisie ends the relationship with Andy to keep out of the situation. Cain decides to help and asks Aaron Livesy to help. Aaron is dating Andy's sister, Victoria, and he persuades her to play truant from school and steal from local shops. Cain reports Andy to the social services, informing them about Victoria's behaviour and his past of domestic abuse. Debbie is awarded custody of Sarah.

Debbie dates Michael Conway but he later admits that he already has a girlfriend, that he is due to marry within days. He insists that he loves Debbie so she tells him to call off his wedding to prove it but he insists he cannot because his fiance is pregnant. On attending the wedding, Debbie and Cain are shocked to discover that his bride is Charity. He calls the wedding off, wanting Debbie back, but she chooses to build a relationship with Charity and Noah instead until she catches Charity stealing Cain's money. Cain and Charity later reconcile but annoyed at their inability to get along, Debbie takes a job in Jersey. She returns a number of months later and moves back in with her parents and later reveals that her boss tried to take advantage of her and she gained revenge by humiliating him and stealing money. Debbie starts a new relationship with Cameron Murray, a man she previously had an affair with in Jersey, and discovers she is pregnant. She suffers a miscarriage and is annoyed that Cameron doesn't seem bothered.

Sarah is later diagnosed with a blood disorder, Fanconi Anaemia. Debbie and her family campaign to find a bone marrow donor. They find a suitable donor but they pull out. Debbie and Andy do not like the idea of the other treatments with bad side effects and decide to have a child together to create a new donor. Cameron and Andy's girlfriend Alicia Gallagher are uncomfortable with the idea but Debbie and Andy go ahead regardless, emotionally blackmailing Cameron and Alicia into agreeing, by telling them that they'd commit the same if their child was seriously ill. When they are refused IVF and artificial insemination attempts are unsuccessful, Debbie sleeps with Andy and are overjoyed upon Debbie discovering her pregnancy'. Cameron decides he can't deal with this and leaves but Charity, thinking it was artificial insemination, persuades him to give Debbie another chance. Andy, however, tells Cameron that he bedded Debbie but on discovering Andy revealed the truth, Debbie begs Cameron to stay, for Sarah's sake as well as hers.

In March 2012, Andy and Debbie find out their baby is a match for Sarah after Debbie undergoes tests. Cameron and Debbie eventually reunite after Debbie admits he is the only person she has ever truly loved, Andy is hurt as he loves Debbie but she does not feel the same about him. Andy's jealousy continues. Debbie learns that she is expecting a baby boy; while Cameron starts an affair with Debbie's aunt, Chas Dingle. A few months into her pregnancy, Sarah reveals she wants to go to Paris with Debbie and Andy. Cameron wants to go but lets Andy take his ticket, much to Debbie's displeasure. He claims to go to Jersey to see his kids but sneaks off with Chas. Cain gets suspicious when Cameron's son rings and asks to speak to Cameron, who is supposed to be with him. A few weeks later, Debbie is shocked when Cain reveals his suspicions about Cameron to an unsuspecting Debbie and realises she has doubts herself. When Debbie and Cain confront Cameron, a heated Cameron lashes out at Cain and Debbie is knocked over, hitting her head and fears she may lose her unborn son. When rushed to hospital, tests show the baby is unharmed. Debbie is grateful as her son is a key to saving Sarah. Back home, Sarah asks if her brother still has "the magic potion" to save her and Debbie has tears as she realises how much Sarah wants her brother and how much it would hurt Sarah if Debbie didn't keep the baby totally safe. This, however, brings Cameron to his senses as he realised how much he loves Debbie, despite his affair with Chas.

Debbie is angry when Cameron forgets to check on Sarah when she ill because he is on the phone to Carl King about the £30,000 he and Chas owes for the picture of them together. Meanwhile, Debbie rushes home with Charity from shopping, to find Sarah collapsed. When rushed to hospital, Debbie, Cameron, Charity and Victoria discover Sarah is in a pre-lukaemic state, meaning she is fast developing Leukaemia. Debbie demands to be induced but is refused, as her son will be premature, and could die. She gave birth to a baby in October 2012, naming him Jack Sugden.

When Debbie returned from hospital, she was unaware that Cameron had killed Carl the night before when she was giving birth to Jack after a blackmail attempt. Debbie discovered six new messages from Carl on her phone. When she opened them, she found three pictures and three texts of Cameron sleeping with Chas. Cameron arrived back from putting Jack to sleep and Debbie told him to pack his bags and leave because she thought Cameron was with Chas the night before. Cameron left and Debbie shows the pictures to Cain and Charity. Cameron begged Chas to leave but they were stopped by Charity, Cain, Debbie and Zak. The police were called and Cain and Charity were arrested for breach of the peace. Chas confessed to Carl's murder unaware that Cameron actually delivered the killer blow and she too was arrested. Cain and Charity were released without charge but Chas was charged with the murder of Carl, even though she pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Cameron remained in the village to stand by Chas and declared his love for her in front of Debbie, as part of her revenge she set fire to his possessions and trashed his truck. Cameron then declared his love for Chas again in the pub in front of Dan and Charity. Charity and Cain then swore to get revenge for Debbie.

Debbie feels she needs to provide more for baby Jack and Sarah after Sarah begins her chemotherapy after her transplant. Debbie decides to set up a delivery firm and sleeps with new villager Dom Andrews to get his contracts. After it is revealed that Dom's boss Pete does drug work, Pete tries to get Debbie to do drugs runs for him and ends up threatening Sarah, leaving Debbie to terminate the contract.

Debbie hires Robbie Lawson as her assistant and they go into selling cheap vodka. Their biggest orders were from Eric and Val Pollard for the B&amp;B and Debbie even tries to rip off Chas in The Woolpack. When the seller's price goes up, Debbie and Robbie set up a meeting with one of Robbie's old mates Kirk, who becomes very interested in Debbie. Whilst Debbie is at the meeting with Kirk, Jack and Sarah are nearly killed by Andy's girlfriend Kerry Wyatt when she accidentally sets fire to Dale View. Kirk continues to be interested in Debbie even though Robbie reveals he is engaged to a woman named Charlene. Kirk states that Charlene will have him for the rest of their lives and he deserves to have Debbie while he can and kisses her. Debbie begins to get wary of him, thinking back on her previous times with engaged men, like with Michael.

Debbie starts to get close to Belle and is horrified when Belle drinks half a bottle of her dodgy vodka and is left with possible brain damage. The Dingles throw Debbie out of the family and she loses her kids to Andy. She stays with Zak and gets her life back on track and gets closer to Cameron when he comforts her. Cameron begins to feel sorry for Debbie when Andy takes Jack and Sarah away, leading to the pair sharing a brief and tender kiss. Cameron persuades Debbie not to flee the village with Jack and Sarah because everyone has turned against her. Cameron feels a strong vibe towards her and accidentally, the pair end up in bed together. Just after sleeping with Cameron, Debbie discovers from Cameron "that it felt right" in his opinion, and is horrified that he wants her to help him cheat on Chas, like he did to her. Debbie denies it and says that it was a stupid mistake and that all she cares about is her kids at that moment nobody else. She then tells Cameron to leave, but Debbie, knows that she still loves him.

In July 2013, Cameron continues to fight for Debbie and after she angrily confesses that she tried to kill Chas, Cameron realises that it took a lot for her to confess, so he thinks she still trusts him. He follows her home from the café, unaware that Gennie is hidden upstairs with a dictophone, taping their conversation. Cameron confesses that he killed Carl. Debbie says she still loves him and they can get through it together, as she believed that he was with Chas while she was giving birth to Jack, but finally realises that Cameron was "threatened" by Carl and killed him in "self-defence". Debbie and Cameron kiss and head to tell Chas they are back together and while kissing in the street, they notice Gennie sneak out of Tug Ghyll. The pair chase her, which leads to Gennie tossing her car down a ravine. Cameron pulls a hurt Gennie out of the car while Debbie calls an ambulance. When Debbie asks if Gennie will be alright, he nods to her. After she walks off to find the ambulance, Cameron places a hand over Gennie's face and suffocates her to death. Debbie runs down the ravine and throws herself at Cameron, saying that she killed her auntie Gennie. Cameron kisses her but doesn't tell her he did it. Later when the police arrive Debbie lies to them saying that she found Gennie after driving by. Jai arrives whilst looking for Gennie to see Debbie with the police and is told what had happened. Later Debbie, along with Jai and the police, arrive at The Woolpack and tell Brenda, Bob, Nikhill and Chas about Gennie's death.

In September 2013, When Cameron's murderous crimes are exposed by Debbie and Chas after gaining evidence from Gennie's Dictaphone, he is arrested and charged with the murders of Carl, Alex and Gennie. In October 2013, he manages to escape jail, gaining his passport and clothes. He then buys a ticket for a ferry, so people would assume he's left Yorkshire for good, however he doesn't attend the ferry. When Debbie, Chas and the other villagers are aware of his escape, they panic, with Debbie fearing the worst. Later on, Sarah is taken by Cameron, and locked in a barn, assuring her he will get Debbie and Jack, and go away as a family somewhere. She believes him, but when Zak and Moira are alerted of her disappearance they look for her. Debbie and other villagers including Chas are in the Woolpack she learns Sarah has been found by Andy and Moira, but learns Cameron is back and breaks into the Woolpack, taking everyone hostage also knocking Marlon unconscious and leaving him in the cellar, where the flood water rises. Cameron accidentally shoots Alicia Harding, and David Metcalfe begs Cameron to let her out, in need for medical assistance as she is dying. He lets David and Alicia out and the rest of the villagers, except Debbie and Chas Dingle. After being hit by Marlon as he gains consciousness, Debbie and Chas rush to the cellar as they are engulfed by the water rising to the top. Cameron manages to get to the cellar and insists on him and Debbie drowning together. They float to below the water. As Debbie struggles, she manages to get out of Cameron's reach with Chas in tact. As he gasps for breath, and trying to pull Debbie back in, he fails, as she is outside, safe. He grabs a bulb and because of the encounter with the water he is electrocuted, and is finally killed ending his wrath and getting his comeuppance. Debbie rushes to Zak, soaking wet and crying as he reassures her Cameron is where he belongs - in hell, ending the Woolpack siege and Cameron's life.