Alistair 'Al' Chapman was the ex-husband of Jessie Dingle and father of Ellis Chapman. He was also business partners with Kim Tate and former co-owner of The Woolpack.
Biography[]
Pre-2019: Early life[]
Alistair was born on the 23rd November 1973. Al was adopted but doesn't have a relationship with his birth parents or his adoptive parents. Al later met Jessie Grant and they had a son Ellis Chapman in 1997.
2019-2020: Arrival in Emmerdale[]
Al arrives in the village
Al turns up in the village in August 2019, after not seeing his son for over a year, masking himself as an investor, interested in Ellis' and brother Billy's personal training company. Ellis is enthusiastic when an investment company shows interest and organises a meeting but is shocked to discover who he is. Al accompanies Ellis to Tall Trees Cottage where he meets a shocked Jessie and Billy. Al insists he is genuinely interested in investing and explains he has been in Dubai running an outdoor pursuits business. Al and Ellis catch up in the pub and he apologises for not being there for him following his stabbing, insisting he had no idea. He reveals he's been following Ellis on social media and took the opportunity to reconnect with him when he saw his social media advert for an investor. However, Ellis resents Al for not being in contact but Al blames Billy for getting Ellis into trouble. Angered, Ellis tells Al to stuff his offer but Al tells Ellis and Billy that they better get used to having him around, as he's not intending to go anywhere.
In September 2019, Al and Jessie's new husband Marlon got off on the wrong foot as Al attempted to win back Jessie. After some flattery, Jessie ended up caving and slept with Al, despite really loving Marlon. She attempted to repair her marriage but Marlon decided it was over and she left the village for a job in Dubai that Al helped got her. Afterwards, Ellis fell out with Al when he and Billy declared that they were siding with Marlon and decided to keep staying with him despite Al's attempts to get them to find a new place.
In January 2020, Hawksford Outdoor Pursuits was finally set to open but Al had his focus elsewhere as he became involved in the murder of Graham Foster. Al had gotten himself involved with loan sharks who threatened to hurt his son unless he delivered the money the following day. Kim caught wind of his troubles and offered to pay him to kill Graham. He agreed and took the money but some else ended up getting to Graham before him. Despite never doing the job, he acted as if he did to Kim in order to get his money. However, when Ellis discovers his involvement in March he cuts him out of his life, wanting nothing to do with a person who is willing to kill for money despite Al insisting he wouldn't have been able to go though with it.
Al and Priya kiss
In April 2020, Al grows closer to his colleague, Priya Kotecha. They share a kiss but Priya is reluctant to start anything with him due to his feud with her brother, Jai Sharma who he co-owns HOP with and had been at odds with since day one. Al agrees to make an effort with Jai and Priya agrees to give their relationship a go but keep it from everyone else for now. However, in May Jai caught them together at Hawksford and they were forced to tell him the truth. Jai disapproved of their relationship but they decided to not let anyone else decide what they did.
In June 2020 Al lived at Jacob’s Fold during the lockdown. Later in the year, Al moved into Holdgate Farm at Priya’s request. Jai was still unhappy about the relationship but couldn’t stop it. In September 2020, Al believed Priya was cheating on him when she was seen talking with a young man outside the HIDE. When he confronted Priya she revealed that she was talking to her former step-son, Kirin Kotecha. In late 2020, Al proposed to Priya and she accepted much to Jai’s disappointment. Later in the year, Al blackmails his way into getting shares of the Woolpack by threatening to report Paddy Kirk to the veterinary board for doping Kim Tate’s horse.
2021 to 2022: Affair with Debbie, rivalry with Cain, affair with Chas and death.[]
Across the last few months of 2020, it was clear that Al was having an affair with a mystery woman. He continued to make secretive phone calls and arrange meetings in hotels, even as he and Priya planned their wedding. In December 2020, it was revealed that Al’s mistress was Debbie Dingle when they met at a hotel. They spent the afternoon together in the hotel room and it was clear that Debbie didn’t know about Al and Priya. She mentioned that they met when her mother, Charity, asked her to fix his car when he was in Scotland a few months previously. They then went their separate ways as Debbie returned to Scotland and Al went back to the village, but both promised to meet again soon.
In January 2021, Debbie returned to the village to help her daughter, Sarah Sugden. Al was shocked to see her and became panicked that she would reveal their relationship. Fortunately, Debbie asked him to keep their relationship a secret, so she could focus on her daughter. Debbie even asked for Al’s advice about Sarah’s antics. A few weeks later, Kim accused Al of stealing from the business, which he denied, but soon she found evidence he was behind it and fired him, telling him he was lucky she wasn’t calling the police. She told him to get out of the village or she would do worse and he listened.
Then Debbie and Priya confronted Al, revealing that they had framed him for the theft. He tried to talk his way out of it, but they both ended their relationships with him and he was kicked out of Holdgate by Priya, meaning he had to leave the village. Before he goes he manipulates a drunk Charity into confessing about the scheme on tape to prove his innocence and rejects her when she tries to kiss him. He then tells Debbie about the recording and that Kim will want revenge, adding that Debbie’s mother, Charity, kissed him to further hurt her. As he was about to drive out of the village, Debbie’s father, Cain Dingle, threatened Al to stay away from his family but Al taunted him and Ellis had to stop them from fighting. He then told Al to leave and ignored his attempts to explain.
Al did return to the village, despite Cain’s continued threats and Kim accepted him back when he proved that he hadn’t stolen the money. He then invested in Belle Dingle’s plan for a wellness centre and became co-owner. This annoyed her older brother, Cain but Al believed he could make money from her idea. He brought in Ellis as an employee in hopes that it would bring them closer together. Al was annoyed by Belle’s focus on mental health rather than turning a profit and started implementing money-making strategies which annoyed Belle. He started booking places for corporate business retreats to make more money and was annoyed when Belle said that he didn’t understand the business. Soon, he decided that he wasn’t interested in running the business and so left day to day operations to Belle and Ellis. In March 2021, Al learns that Ellis had slept with his ex-fiancé Priya. He confronts her and accuses her of manipulating Ellis to get revenge on him, which infuriates Ellis and he tells Al that he wants nothing to do with him. However, this does put an end to Ellis’s romance with Priya which Al is glad about.
In October, Al finds Chas Dingle crying and she explains that as she is struggling on the anniversary of her daughter’s death. He comforts Chas and spends the day with her as she deals with her grief. Her husband Paddy Dingle starts suspecting Al of trying it on with his wife but Chas sticks up for him. In late 2021, Al began a relationship with Kerry Wyatt but clearly only wanted her for a place to sleep.
On Christmas Day 2021, Al blew up the Woolpack in order to get the insurance money to pay off his debts. The explosion injured Meena Jutla and Manpreet Sharma, but Al didn’t get found out as everyone thought it was an accident. On 30th December, Al is called by Belle after she and her nephew Kyle are left stranded in a broken down car. Al doesn’t answer the phone as he is with Kerry, so Belle and Kyle are left there a night. They almost freeze to death before being found the next day and get taken to hospital.
When Cain finds out about this he is furious and as revenge he kidnaps Ellis, then leaves him out on the moors to freeze. The next day, Al is looking for his son and Cain tells him that they’re even, provoking Al as he demands to know where Ellis is. He grabs Cain and threatens him but Cain is unbothered, though he eventually tells him where he left Ellis. Al soon finds him unconscious on an hillside and gets him to the hospital. When Ellis recovers, Al explains the situation and blames it in Cain for being a violent thug. However, Ellis blames Al for having a feud with Cain in the first place and angrily tells him to drop or next time it would be worse. Al listens to his son and doesn’t retaliate, but isn’t happy with letting it go.
In February 2022, Ellis announces he is leaving to live with his mother in Dubai. Al tries to talk him out of this but Ellis says too much has gone wrong with them and insists on leaving. Later in the month, Al moves into Keepers Cottage with his girlfriend Kerry and Al becomes close with Kerry and her daughters, Amy Wyatt and Chloe Harris to keep Kerry happy. In March 2022, Al overhears Noah Dingle insulting Kerry’s step-daughter, Amelia Spencer outside the HIDE. Al furiously confronts Noah, and tells him he should be more respectful toward women and warns him to stay away from Amelia. Noah says that he’s not scared of Al, although he soon backs down when Al tells him that if he goes near her again, he will regret it.
In May 2022, Noah attacks Chloe after stalking her for months but she manages to get away and tells Al and Kerry everything. Kerry confronts Charity as Al heads over to the house to find Noah, only to find that he has done a runner with the laptop that contains evidence of his crime. He searches for Noah and soon finds him hiding in the Pavilion. Al warns Noah that he should give him the laptop, or else but Cain arrives to save Noah and says that if Al wants Noah, he has to go through him. Al backs off but tells Noah it isn’t over, as Cain won’t always be there to protect him.
A few days later, Amy Wyatt finds Charity in the pub to discuss what has happened. She sees the laptop and when Charity is distracted, she grabs it. She quickly gives it to Al, who drives off to the police station. This leads to Cain and Chas chasing after Al in Cain’s car, which Al sees and then confuses Cain by suddenly turning off. To catch him Cain does a hand break turn which causes him to crash and injures Chas. Al stops and saves both of them, but Cain still has to be taken to hospital as he injured his leg. Chas also manages to get the laptop back when Al isn’t looking, meaning he can’t report Noah.
In June 2022, it was revealed that Al’s adoptive father had died and that he attended his funeral alone. Kerry attempts to comfort him and get him to open up about his father but Al offers very little information about his past and brushes her off, which hurts Kerry. Later in 2022, Al becomes a confidant for Chas during her mother’s illness. He supports her and the two share a kiss in his car. Chas is initially horrified by this and tells Al it meant nothing as she is married. Al promises he won’t tell Paddy and reasons that what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, but Chas still leaves. However, she soon changes her mind as they end up kissing in the woods, with Chas saying she needs something other than misery in her life and Al volunteering to be that.
In August, Belle finds out about them and Chas wants to end it as it is too risky, but Al says he can’t stay away from her. The affair continues over the next couple of months with Al falling for Chas, despite her insisting it is only physical. Al says he wants to move away with Chas and despite her reluctance to commit to the idea, he begins looking at houses. Kerry sees this on his computer and assumes Al must be looking for a place for them, as she is still unaware of the affair. In October, Chas’s son, Aaron Dingle returns from Italy and learns of the affair. He demands they end it, but keeps quiet for the sake of his step-father, Paddy.
However, a few days later, Al and Chas go to a spa hotel together after Faith gifts Chas a voucher. Unbeknownst to them, this was because Faith didn’t want her daughter around when she took her own life. When Chas finds out about this she is distraught and lashes out at Al, telling him that they’re over. On 16th October, Al asks Chas to meet him at the Village hall, where he tells her he still wants to be with her. Before she can answer, Chas is hit by a door that flew off in the storm that had hit the village. Al takes Chas to the hospital, where she says she cares about him a lot as well. Unfortunately during the storm, Aaron’s sister, Liv Dingle is killed. Afterwards, Al and Chas both work to get Aaron to return to Italy, out of fear he might tell people about them as he is so broken by Liv’s death.
On 28th October 2022, Al and Chas make arrangements to leave the village after Faith’s funeral. Cain finds out about this by listening to a voicemail meant for Chas that Al had left and he lures Al to a barn on Butlers Farm by texting him from Chas’s phone. When he arrives, Al is shocked to see Cain, who threatens him with a shotgun. Al soon turns to mocking him, saying he won’t use the gun and this will end like every other time Cain has threatened him. Cain then puts the gun down, so he and Al can settle their feud man to man which Al is happy to do. They fight and Al begins to get the upper hand as he beats Cain. However, Cain's son Kyle Winchester, who had snuck into the barn, grabbed the gun and shot Al dead to protect his father. Al's funeral was offscreen and attended by his son Ellis Chapman and his ex-wife, Jessie Grant.
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Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Dubai | Until 26th August 2019 |
| The Grange | 26th August 2019 to Unknown |
| Unknown flat | Unknown to 8th June 2020 |
| Jacobs Fold (during lockdown) | 8th June to 24th June 2020 |
| Holdgate Farm | 2020 to 25th January 2021 |
| Car (temporary) | 25th January to 27th January 2021 |
| Unknown | 27th January to 26th November 2021 |
| The Woolpack | 26th November to 25th December 2021 |
| Unknown | 25th December 2021 to 7th February 2022 |
| Keepers Cottage | 7th February to 28th October 2022 |
Quotes[]
"Hey Ellis, bet you didn't expect to see me." - First line
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"You know it must eat away at you, day after day, needing someone. See that's always been the difference between you and me. I've never really needed anyone, until Chas." - Final line, to Cain Dingle, before being shot by Kyle Winchester.