Dawn Fletcher (née Taylor) is the estranged wife of Billy Fletcher and mother of Lucas Taylor and Evan Fletcher, as well as the special guardian of Lucas' half-sister, Clemmie Reed. Dawn is also the daughter of Will Taylor and Rose Jackson, and the long lost daughter-figure of the late Harriet Finch and step-daughter to Kim Tate.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
Dawn was born to Rose Jackson and Will Taylor in 1994. When Dawn was five years old, Rose walked out on her as she struggled with being a mother, leaving Will to raise Dawn as a single father. Will was a drug smuggler, and he was good at what he did as Dawn was unaware of her father's illegal occupation for most of her childhood. At some point, Will began dating a woman named Michelle, who became something of a mother figure to Dawn. Will and Michelle were in a relationship for five years until undercover police officer Michelle shopped Will and got him sent to prison.
As she had no other family who would take her in, Dawn was put in foster care for the remainder of her life as a minor. The constant change and instability in her life caused Dawn to turn to prostitution and drugs. She began a relationship with Alex Moore, resulting in the birth of her son Lucas, but as Dawn was unfit to raise him and he was taken into care. Also, Dawn was told that Will passed away in prison; his health had declined due to his inability to cope with his punishment.
2018-2019: Arrival in Emmerdale, reunion with Harriet and Will's return[]
Dawn met Ross Barton in April 2018 whilst trying to hunt down Simon McManus. Dawn was frightened by Ross and initially denied knowing a Simon. However, he managed to get the truth out of her - that Simon allowed her and her friends Connor and Lee to live at the house. She told him that Lee was the one who reported Simon, and she had also overheard Simon bragging. She told him about Lee's death - that they both had a bad day, got high, and Lee accidentally overdosed. She also told him about her son, who had been taken into care following her usage of drugs. Ross sympathised with her and gave her the drugs he had stolen from the Emmerdale Veterinary Surgery.
Dawn continued to flit in and out of Ross' life, coming into contact with his new acquaintance Ryan Stocks. Dawn's reputation preceded her as Ryan's biological and adoptive mothers sought to push Dawn away from him. Soon after, Dawn discovered Ross was on drugs too and tried to persuade Simon to back off as he was supplying him with them.
Fast-forward a few months, following Ross' departure from the village alongside his partner Rebecca White, Dawn showed up again in Emmerdale, now homeless, and she was taken in by Ross' brother Pete and his partner Rhona Goskirk, though Rhona was concerned about Dawn's presence around her son Leo. By this time, Dawn had mostly cleaned up her act and she was pleased that Ross had managed to turn his life around while moving to Liverpool. Dawn once more started seeing Ryan again, hinting at a possible relationship between them.
In December 2018, Dawn tried to kiss Pete when he comforted her over being estranged from her son. Pete then told Rhona, who confronted Dawn in the village café. An apprehensive Dawn proclaimed Rhona looked down on her and she never asked for the help she received, before pushing Rhona over and causing her to hit her head on a chair. Dawn subsequently fled but was caught by local vicar Harriet Finch while trying to get to the bus stop. Immediately, Dawn recognised Harriet as her former step-mother Michelle, but Harriet convinced all witnesses that it was a case of mistaken identity.
Dawn subsequently confronted Harriet at the village church, relaying how Harriet shopped Will to the police and in turn ruined Dawn's life. Harriet explained that while she genuinely loved Will, she had a job to do and he was still a criminal, which Dawn found irrelevant since they were a happy family unit. Dawn made it known that she would bring Harriet down for her actions. Harriet still wanted to help Dawn and tracked her down to save her from her pimp. Dawn was still mistrustful toward Harriet but agreed to move into Woodbine Cottage as she needed a place to stay. Soon, Charity Dingle orders Dawn to leave her son, Ryan alone and gives her cash for a cab out of the village. Dawn uses this money to buy heroin and ends up in hospital after overdosing. Ryan visits her in and apologises for his mother, but Dawn tells him to give her another chance. Harriet also visits Dawn and promises to support her.
In early 2019, Harriet was harassed by an unknown stalker and Dawn supported her. Dawn continued to live with Harriet and they became close. In February, she and Ryan go out on a date but Ryan is unhappy as he thinks she is flirting with another man, so she tells Ryan she wants to be there with him. When they get back to hers, they start to kiss but Dawn is uncomfortable when Ryan tries to take off her clothes. Ryan offers to pay her and Dawn is enraged, throwing him out of the house. Ryan tries to apologise the next day but Dawn is still upset with him and tells him to leave her alone.
In April, it is revealed that Harriet's stalker is Dawn's father, Will and that she had been helping him. Dawn tells Will that she cares about Harriet and that she doesn't want revenge anymore, which angers Will. Dawn then turns her back on Will, but he goes through with his plan and stages a fake funeral for Harriet. Later, Dawn finds out he almost killed her by crushing her with a coffin and is wracked with guilt. When Harriet finds out about Dawn's involvement, she kicks her out, unable to live with someone who would do that.
In May, Dawn is homeless for a short time and turns back to drugs. Harriet finds her high at the cricket pavilion and helps her, later letting her move back in to Woodbine. Harriet supports her as she gets clean again and promises to help Dawn get her son back, which Dawn is hugely grateful for. In June, Will returns to the village under the alias, "Taz" but Dawn and Harriet are not happy to see him again. Will refuses to leave but Dawn says she still won't have anything to do with him. During this time, Dawn is approached by Robert Sugden, who offers her money to bait Lee Posner, the man who raped Robert’s sister into assaulting her, so Robert can get him arrested. Dawn agrees because she needs the money and flirts with Lee at a bar, getting him to walk her home. He does begin to get aggressive with her in an alley but Robert and his husband Aaron interrupt, leaving Dawn to run away.
A few weeks later, Dawn finds Will at Harriet's and discovers their secret relationship. She is furious with both of them for keeping it a secret and asks Harriet how she can forgive Will after everything. This leads to Harriet and Will ending their relationship as they focus on helping Dawn reconnect with her son. On 27th June, Dawn was able to arrange a meeting with a social worker and got to see Lucas for the first time in years. Things were awkward between them at first as Lucas didn't really remember Dawn and struggled to understand what was happening.
In August, Will and Harriet started seeing each other again, this time with Dawn's blessing as she wanted them to be happy. However, people soon find out about Will's past as a drug dealer, resulting in him being kicked out by Dan Spencer, who doesn't want a drug dealer around his daughter. Dawn is happy when Harriet lets Will move in with them and they become a family unit. On 9th September, Dawn is confronted by Tracy Metcalf, who believes that Dawn started the fire at the factory which killed her father. Dawn denies it but Tracy is determined to prove it and starts physically attacking Dawn to get her to confess. Later, Dawn goes on a date with Billy Fletcher and they begin a relationship. She then gets a job working as Kim Tate's secretary at the Hawksford Outdoor Pursuits Center.
2020-2021: Reuniting with Lucas, DI Malone and relationship with Jamie[]
In February 2020, Dawn is allowed to have Lucas overnight, which she is thrilled about. She introduces Lucas to Billy and they seem to get along, which pleases Dawn. In March, Dawn is granted custody of Lucas but she is insecure as she feels Lucas was much closer to his foster mother, Carol. She is annoyed by a teddy bear Carol gave to Lucas, which has a recording of her voice on it but it is the only thing that keeps Lucas happy. Lucas continues to misbehave around Dawn and she begins to think he is better off with his foster parents, but Will and Harriet talk her around. In April, Billy is arrested by DI Malone for assault, which shocks Dawn as she can’t understand why Billy would risk going back to prison. Soon Will, Harriet and Billy confess that a few months ago they disposed of Will’s gun after Lucas found it and Malone is blackmailing them after the gun was used in a shooting. This horrifies Dawn and she feels betrayed that no one told her. She is especially angry with her father and tells Will that she doesn’t want him anywhere near her, but has to let him stay to avoid social services getting suspicious.
For the next few months, the whole family, along with Will’s boss, Cain Dingle were under Malone’s control. In May, Dawn had to go pick Billy and Cain up after they were beaten by Malone. She expressed her annoyance with her father for getting involved with him in the first place but Harriet defended him, which further aggravated Dawn. After this, Harriet managed to get Malone off their backs for a while, telling Dawn and Will that they used to be co-workers so she thought she could handle him. On 25th May, Will and Harriet get engaged which Dawn is pleased about as she wanted them to be a real family. A few weeks later, Malone returns to harass the family and Will promises to deal with it.
In August, Dawn learns that Harriet has been having an affair with Malone. She is furious and confronts Harriet, but says she won’t tell Will as she doesn’t want him to get hurt. Dawn then reports Malone’s illegal activities to the police in an effort to get him away from her family. This lead to Malone attacking Dawn on 19th August, while she was home alone and threatened her with a gun, telling her it was a mistake to report him. He then gave her heroin and told her to take it, so her death would look like an overdose. Dawn begged him to let her go, but Malone just shouted at her to take the drugs. Fortunately, Harriet interrupted and hit Malone on the head with an ornament, causing him to fall to the floor. Dawn was relieved to see Harriet and thanked her for saving her life, but they were surprised when Malone recovered and attacked Harriet. Dawn then grabbed Malone’s gun and shot him three times, killing him. They are both in shock but Harriet soon realises they have to get rid of the body and needs Dawn to help her. They wrap it up in the carpet and take it to the graveyard, where there is already a fresh grave, and bury the body in it.
In the following days, Dawn is numb and struggles with going about her life as Harriet swears her to secrecy. Will and Billy both wonder why Malone has suddenly stopped terrorising them and Dawn suggests telling them but Harriet insists that they have to be kept in the dark. In September, Dawn crumbles and tells Will about killing Malone and Harriet’s affair. This causes Will to end their engagement but he still tries to keep up appearances with Harriet. This fails and he soon ends up moving out after getting a new job at Home Farm. Dawn cannot cope with Billy asking her loads of questions and begins to panic when Harriet says she has to move the body. Dawn then runs away for a few weeks and returns to prostitution.
She soon returns to the village and is met with concern from Billy as to why she left. Dawn then ends their relationship but Billy is confused and asks her why. On 24th September, Dawn sees Billy kissing Meena Jutla in the HIDE and becomes jealous. She confronts her after Billy leaves the room but Meena just mocks her for being a crazy ex, leading to Dawn throwing a pepper shaker at her. It hits Meena in the head and she falls over just as Billy returns. Dawn leaves but is later questioned by police about the assault, though Billy and Manpreet Sharma talk Meena out of pressing charges.
In October 2020, Dawn gets drunk and is found by Billy. He questions her again and Dawn is close to telling him that she killed Malone but stops herself. The next day Dawn sleeps with Billy’s brother, Ellis, in order to push Billy away. When tells Billy, he is furious with both her and Ellis, which hurts Dawn but she is glad that Billy hates her now. Ellis is angry with Dawn and tells her that he doesn’t like being used, but Dawn pretends not to care about what happens between the brothers. On 26th November, Dawn is confronted by Billy about why she did what she did. Dawn breaks down under Billy’s intense questioning and tearfully confesses to killing Malone, which shocks Billy. She also tells him that she only slept with Ellis so Billy wouldn’t want anything to do with her and Billy tells her that she succeeded. He says he won’t tell anyone about Malone, but their relationship is finished before storming out. Dawn soon finds out that Will is in a relationship with Kim Tate and questions whether it is a good idea, but Will assures her it is.
Dawn then starts getting close to Jamie Tate, her boss, Kim’s son as he spends more time at the office. Dawn is warned off Jamie by the Dingles as they tell her what he did to his previous girlfriend Belle but she soon sees past the Dingles warnings. She is horrified when a former client recognises her outside the HOP and Jamie asks her how she knows him. Dawn says he must be mistaken and then hurries off, later confiding in Harriet about him. On 8th December, Dawn complains of pains in her stomach but decides to ignore it. Later, when she is with Jamie, she collapses and he has to take her to the hospital. She is diagnosed with an inflammatory disease caused by untreated chlamydia and is horrified that Jamie overheard this, so she orders him to leave. When Dawn gets out of hospital after being treated, she tells Jamie that they are better off as friends as she is embarrassed by what happened. She also has to tell Billy and Ellis about the diagnosis as she slept with both of them so they need to get tested. Later, Billy angrily tells her that he and Ellis got the all clear, before insulting her and storming off.
In January 2021, Harriet loses Lucas while out shopping because she is drunk. Dawn is furious with Harriet for endangering her son, but soon Social Services find out and take Lucas back into care until Dawn proves she can provide him with a stable home. When Dawn confronts Harriet, she breaks down and says that drinking is the only way she can cope with the guilt of Malone’s death. Dawn understands and agrees to support Harriet as they both want to get Lucas back.
In early February, Dawn is fired after a customers purse goes missing from the HOP and is found in Dawn’s bag after Gabby Thomas planted it. Kim then fires Dawn on the spot, despite her pleas of innocence. Jamie defends her but Kim still fires Dawn, though she agrees not to call the police. Afterwards, Dawn is worried that Social Services will see her as an unfit parent if she doesn’t have a job. Fortunately, she starts working as a receptionist at the Emmerdale Veterinary Surgery, after Jamie put in a good word for her. A few weeks later, Dawn is shocked to learn that Gabby is pregnant with Jamie’s baby, but he insists that they are not in a relationship.
A couple of weeks later, Jamie volunteers to help Dawn paint her fence and later asks her out, which she accepts. They then begin a relationship but have to deal with Kim’s disapproval as she tries to break them up. On 11th March, Dawn has a meeting with Social Services to discuss getting Lucas back. She goes for a drink with Jamie in the Woolpack before and is unaware that Kim spiked her orange juice. Will then joins them and accidentally drinks the spiked juice. Dawn goes to the meeting and is thrilled when she is allowed to have Lucas live with her. However, she then learns that Will has collapsed and been taken to hospital. She is surprised when the doctors say Will has taken drugs and Jamie soon tells her that Kim spiked her drink. Dawn confronts Kim when she sees her in the street and Kim says that an ex-prostitute isn’t good enough for her son, to which Dawn retorts by calling her a “rancid old tart”. Jamie then interrupts and takes Dawn’s side, telling his mother he is ashamed of her, before walking Dawn home.
On 15th March, Lucas officially moves back in with Dawn and she is glad to have her son back. However, she later finds Harriet locked in the cellar and tries to let her out, but Harriet says she has to stay there as punishment for what happened to Malone. Dawn asks Will to help look after her, but they keep Harriet’s mental health issues secret from everyone else. She later recovers from her break down with help from Dawn and Will. Jamie and Dawn continue to grow closer as he gets along well with Lucas and she is good with his daughter, Millie.
Over the following months, Dawn keeps clashing with Kim as her relationship with Jamie progresses. She also has to deal with Gabby, who makes no secret of the fact that she wants Jamie to be with her. In June, Jamie and Dawn are unknowingly filmed having sex on Kim’s secret cameras. On 24th June, Will tells Dawn that Jamie had been spiking Kim’s brandy with diazepam in order to control her. She was furious and initially told Jamie to get lost when he tried to talk to her, but he later managed to get her to listen to him and explained that Kim was a horrible person who had ruined his life, also revealing that they had been filmed having sex, which disgusts Dawn. She then dumps Jamie, horrified by his actions. Jamie leaves the village shortly after as Kim kicked him out and Dawn decides to focus on Lucas and helping Harriet recover.
On 24th September, Jamie was involved in a car crash and presumed dead after his body could not be found. Dawn offered her condolences to Kim, but she was adamant that her son was still alive. Gabby blamed Dawn for Jamie dying as he was going to see her when the crash happened and said that it was Dawn’s fault that Jamie hadn’t wanted to marry her. Dawn tried to talk to Gabby down and told her that he wouldn’t have married her anyway. She eventually convinced her that Jamie had never cared about either of them and comforted Gabby.
On 20th December, Dawn was shocked to see Lucas’s father, Alex Moore standing on her doorstep. She invited him in and asked him why he was there as she hadn’t seen him in years. Alex asked about Lucas and apologised for the way he had treated her in the past. Alex said he had his life together and wanted to see Lucas, but Dawn was unsure about letting him into her son’s life. Then Will brought Lucas home from school and Dawn was forced to introduce him to Alex but didn’t mention he was Lucas’s father. When she told Will who Alex was, he wanted him gone but Dawn argued that maybe he deserved a second chance, the same as her. Alex then blurted out that he was Lucas' dad which angered Dawn and confused Lucas. She told him to leave and tried to explain the situation to her son. After this, Lucas wanted to get to know his dad and Harriet convinced Dawn that they should spend some time together. However, Alex then tried to kidnap Lucas while Dawn was distracted and Dawn told him to leave them alone or she would kill him.
Dawn and Billy became close again after this, as he stayed close to look after Lucas. Soon, Dawn admitted that she still loved Billy and he said he loved her too. They agreed to give their relationship another try after Billy broke up with Meena. On New Year’s Eve, Dawn accepted Billy’s proposal and they became engaged. In early 2022, Dawn and Billy excitedly plan their wedding and set the date for Valentine’s Day.
2022-2023: Marriage to Billy, losing Harriet and Evan's birth[]
Over the next few weeks, Dawn becomes paranoid as she believes she is being stalked as things begin going missing and someone messed with her work computer. She confides in Billy that she is worried Meena is behind it as they recently learned she was a serial killer. Billy calmed her down and she tried to look forward to the wedding without worrying. On 11th February, Woodbine Cottage is trashed while everyone is out and Dawn’s wedding dress is ruined. Dawn once again starts to panic that Meena is behind it, but Billy thinks it is Alex. That night, Billy confronts Alex and beats him up, which Dawn, especially after Billy is arrested, but he gets Mackenzie Boyd to give him an alibi.
On 14th February 2022, Dawn marries Billy at St Mary’s Church. After leaving the church, she and Billy get in a limo but are surprised when they stop on the viaduct instead of going to the reception. They then realise that the limo driver is Meena as she opens the door and points a gun at them. Meena tries to get Billy to admit that he still loves her but he won’t and Dawn calls her crazy. This annoys Meena and she then tells them that she has Lucas, which enrages Dawn but Billy stops her from doing anything. Then Leyla Harding interrupts as she drives to the viaduct, looking for Dawn and Billy. Meena turns and shoots at Leyla, giving Dawn the opportunity to tackle her, knocking the gun out of her hand. Dawn pins Meena and demands to know where Lucas is, but Meena implies that she killed him, causing Dawn to start punching her. Billy drags her away before she beats Meena to death and Meena laughs at them. She orders Dawn to tie Billy up or she will never see her son again and Dawn does what she says. Meena then drives off in the limo after giving them a cryptic clue to Lucas’s location. Later, they find Lucas locked in the shed behind Woodbine and Dawn is hugely relieved. They then learn that Meena is in hospital after being pushed off a bridge by Liam Cavanagh, and Dawn is glad Meena is out of the way.
A few weeks later, Gabby tells Dawn that she believes Jamie is alive after hearing his daughter, Millie talk about him. Dawn thinks that Gabby is being paranoid but agrees to help her after seeing how distressed she is. They go to Millie’s grandmothers house and break in to look for Jamie. The house is empty but they find Jamie’s watch, which he was wearing during the crash and they are both convinced Jamie is alive. They agree not to tell Kim as they don’t want to get her hopes up, knowing how devastated so was by the loss of her son.
On 28th April, Dawn gets a call from the hospital saying Billy had been beaten up after Dawn had sent him out with Will. Dawn is horrified by what happened, especially when she learns it was racially motivated but Billy plays it down, saying stuff like that happens all the time. His attacker, Jordan Greenlow, is arrested and they are both shocked when their neighbour, Ethan Anderson represents him. Jordan claims that Billy attacked him and that he just defended himself. Soon, evidence comes to light that backs up Billy’s version of events and Dawn is glad that he will get justice, but Billy is more bothered by Ethan defending a racist.
Over the next couple of weeks, Dawn worries about Gabby as she becomes increasingly paranoid that Jamie is going to come and take her son away. Dawn tries to calm her down but Gabby is terrified. On 11th May, Dawn goes to Home Farm to find that Gabby had shot Will, believing he was Jamie. They help Will, but make him promise not to tell Kim what happened and he understands that she can’t handle having proof that Jamie could be alive. After this, Dawn insists that Gabby stop obsessing over Jamie and she promises she will.
In July 2022, Dawn discovered her former best friend Beth Reed has passed away. She soon learned Beth’s seven-year-old daughter Clemmie had gone to live with Beth’s friend Jade, following her death. After Beth's funeral, Jade invited Dawn back to her house to celebrate Beth's life as she didn't have the money to pay for a wake and Dawn reluctantly agreed. At Jade's house, Dawn was left stunned when she found little Clemmie sleeping in a dog bed in the corner of the filthy kitchen. When Dawn returned to the living room to confront Jade about Clemmie, she found Jade shooting up heroin. Dawn refused to leave Clemmie in Jade's care so she took Clemmie home with her to Woodbine Cottage but Harriet was uncertain about her illegally taking care of a traumatised child.
Dawn looked after Clemmie for a few days, until she was removed from Dawn’s care after Harriet made a call to social services. Dawn was furious with Harriet for intervening and decided to move out. She then took Kim’s offer to move into Home Farm with her and Will. Dawn wanted to get Clemmie back and began looking for her father only to discover that Clemmie was Lucas’s half sister after Alex had an affair with Beth. She got him to sign papers that would allow Dawn to look after Clemmie and she came to live with them in August 2022. They initially struggled with Clemmie as she kept to herself and didn’t want to be around Dawn and Billy. When Lucas stole Clemmie’s doll she bit him and Dawn told her off, which only upset Clemmie. After this, Billy expressed his concern that they weren’t qualified to deal with Clemmie’s issues, but Dawn refused to abandon Clemmie. She soon started to make progress with Clemmie as she spent more time with her.
In September, Kim found out that Jamie was alive and that Dawn and Gabby knew. They give her his watch but she gets upset and orders them to leave. Jamie’s daughter, Millie, then moves into Home Farm while her other grandmother, Hazel, is in hospital and Dawn worries as Millie doesn’t get on with Clemmie. When Clemmie hits Millie for making fun of her, Kim is furious but Dawn sticks up for Clemmie and they argue again after Millie accuses Clemmie of biting her. Clemmie insists she didn’t do it and Dawn believes Clemmie, which leads her to leave Home Farm due to Kim’s attitude. Dawn spends the night at The Grange with Billy and the kids Harriet then offers for them to move back in with her and Dawn agrees, finally forgiving Harriet. A few days later, Kim finds out that Millie lied and apologises to Dawn, but she stays with Harriet which upsets Will.
On 17th October, Dawn attends Will’s wedding to Kim, despite their ongoing dispute. She goes back to Home Farm for the reception but the party is interrupted with the news that pregnant teenager, Amelia Spencer is out in the storm. Kim goes searching for her as the storm gets worse. She later returns and tells them that Harriet died in a biking accident. Dawn is devastated by the death of her surrogate mother and struggles to explain to the kids that Harriet is gone. She later finds out that Harriet left her a small amount of money. However, Dawn realises that the money Harriet left is not enough to buy Woodbine, so she, Billy and the kids have to move back into Home Farm.
In December, Kim offers Dawn a job working for her but Dawn is hesitant to take it. Eventually she decides to accept and quits working at the vets. She then realises her new job means she can’t be with the kids as much, so Kim suggests hiring a nanny. Dawn and Billy are uncomfortable with paying a stranger to look after their children, but Kim and Gabby soon talk them around. Dawn, Gabby and Kim then meet with a few candidates but can’t agree on which one to hire. Gabby and Dawn decide to go for Dawn’s choice. When she pulls out, they hire Gabby’s pick, a male nanny called Nicky.
In January 2023, Nicky started working at Home Farm and Dawn was still struggling with letting him watch her children. Kim then made Dawn and Gabby compete for a promotion, which Dawn wasn’t happy about, but started taking seriously after Gabby insulted her. Dawn was beating Gabby as she negotiated a good deal for Kim’s stud farm and Kim was pleased with her. However, Dawn felt guilty as she wasn’t around for the kids and they were relying on Nicky. A few weeks later, she missed Clemmie’s swimming lessons for a meeting and Nicky went instead, which she was up set about as she felt like a bad mother. She then told Kim that she was going to quit so she could be with her kids, despite Kim asking her to stay on. She also went back to working at the vets, beginning a course to become a veterinary nurse.
A couple of weeks later, Alex Moore returned to the village as part of a church programme to rehabilitate former prisoners. Dawn wasn’t happy but Alex promised to stay away from her and the kids while he was there. However, Dawn still distrusted Alex and tried warning off his new girlfriend, Naomi Walters. Naomi thought that Dawn was just jealous and told her to mind her own business. Alex later confronted her about it as well, but Dawn said that Naomi had a right to know what kind of man he was. In March, Billy and Dawn were able to get special guardianship of Clemmie and Billy adopted Lucas. The day after, Billy told Dawn that he had accidentally run over Alex and left him in the road. Dawn was shocked but agreed that they had to cover it up. They got Will and Kim to dispose of the car and local vicar, Charles Anderson, agreed to deal with Alex as he had hurt his daughter, Naomi. Soon, Alex left the village after it was revealed he had stolen drugs from the doctor’s surgery.
In June 2023, Dawn and Billy found out she was pregnant and she was shocked when the doctor told her she was already four months along. Billy was excited but Dawn told him they should keep it a secret as she didn’t want to upset Clemmie. On 6th June, Dawn attended Gabby’s wedding to Nicky and supported her when Nicky confessed that he was gay and was only marrying her as a part of his father, Caleb Miligan’s scheme to steal from Kim. A few weeks later, Billy told Dawn and Kim that Gabby had tried to blackmail him into beating Nicky up for revenge. Dawn was furious and she confronted Gabby, reminding her that Billy might have gone to prison because of her. Gabby tried to apologise but Dawn stormed off.
The next month, Clemmie became upset when she found out that Dawn was pregnant and Dawn tried to reason with her. She had a tantrum and pushed a chair which hit Dawn in the stomach. Dawn doubled over in pain and Billy shouted at Clemmie as he rushed Dawn to the hospital. She insisted she was okay but Billy told her she still needed a check up. Afterwards, she told Billy he shouldn’t have shouted at Clemmie and he agreed. That night, Clemmie ran away from home, leaving Billy and Dawn worried sick. They searched for her all day and she was eventually brought home by Nicky. Dawn and Billy were hugely relieved to see her and told her they loved her. Clemmie then asked if Nicky could stay, and once Kim agreed, Dawn said yes, which upset Gabby. She reminded everyone what Nicky did but Dawn told her that she didn’t care as long as Clemmie was happy. The day after, Gabby and Dawn argued about Nicky and Gabby brought up Dawn being a prostitute in front of Clemmie and Lucas. Dawn was angry and ashamed as it meant she had to explain that to her kids and later berated Gabby for being selfish.
In December 2023, Dawn gave birth to her and Billy’s son in the Home Farm nursery. She then suggested they name him Evan after Billy’s father and he was happy to agree.
2024: Reuniting with Rose, Evan's cancer and Will's death[]
In April 2024, Evan rolled off his dressing table and bruised himself, so Dawn and Billy took him to the hospital. Billy blamed himself because he had been distracted, but Dawn told him it was going to be fine. Later, the doctor told them that Evan was okay and they were relieved. They left the hospital with Evan and got talking to a woman who was also being discharged. Will then arrived and was angry to see the woman, revealing that she was Dawn’s mother, Rose Jackson. Dawn is stunned to come face to face with her mother after over twenty years, but quickly makes it clear that she hates Rose for abandoning her as child and refused to speak to her. She later confronted Will as he already knew she was back, but he said that he only lied to protect her and Dawn agreed that she didn’t need Rose.
A few days later, more bruises appeared on Evan and Dawn took him to see GP Liam Cavanagh, who told her he needed to go straight to the hospital. She was worried that the doctors would call social services on her for hurting Evan but still took him. She and Billy were then told that Evan needed to have some tests done and they were both worried for him. On 3rd May 2024, Evan was diagnosed with leukaemia, which devastated Dawn and Billy. Rose also reappeared and asked Dawn for a second chance, to which Dawn eventually agreed and asked Kim to let Rose move into Home Farm. Dawn began spending all her time at the hospital after Evan’s diagnosis and the stress caused problems between her and Billy. They had an argument after Billy asked her to go home for a few days and she accused Billy of blaming her for Evan’s condition. Soon, she realised that Billy had a point and agreed to go home for a short time. Dawn enjoyed having her mother around as they started to bond and the kids liked her as well.
In June 2024, the doctor told Dawn and Billy that Evan could come home, much to their relief but they had to social distance to prevent any infections from reaching Evan, due to his weakened immune system. Dawn panicked about this and became fearful about any germs. Kim talked to her and said that they could use Home Farm as a bubble, which Dawn thanked her for. This meant they had to pull Lucas and Clemmie out of school, but the kids weren’t happy about it. On 27th June, Gabby announced that she and her son, Thomas, were going to move out to help keep Evan safe. Dawn then agreed to help Rose, who claimed she had become dependent on alcohol which Dawn sympathised with.
In early July, Evan had to be rushed to hospital with a high temperature and Dawn was extremely worried. She interrogated everyone to find out who broke the bubble and Kim confessed. Dawn berated her for being irresponsible and got angry with Billy for sticking up for her. This put a strain on Dawn’s relationship with Kim as they waited for news on Evan. Fortunately, he recovered but Dawn still wouldn’t forgive Kim, despite her apologies and Will telling her it was a mistake. A couple of weeks later, Dawn interrupted Rose and Will having a drink, though Rose soon explained it was non-alcoholic Prosecco as Dawn thought she was an alcoholic. Dawn joined them and so did Kim as they toasted to Evan’s health before Dawn left for the hospital. While driving, she began to feel unwell and collapsed at the wheel, crashing into Ella Forster’s car. Sam Dingle found both women unconscious and called an ambulance. At the hospital, Dawn was told she didn’t have any serious injuries but the police were called as her blood tests revealed that she had been spiked. After the accident, Dawn became convinced it was Kim who spiked her and they had an argument. Billy defended Kim but Dawn wanted to move out and Will took Dawn’s side. Kim offered to leave instead, so things would be easier for Evan and Dawn agreed to this. Afterwards, Billy told Dawn that it was him that gave Evan the bug and Kim had lied for him, which surprised Dawn but she was convinced that Kim was behind the spiking.
Over the following weeks, things were awkward between Dawn and Billy. Rose was supportive and Dawn appreciated it, eventually starting to call her mum. In August, Dawn is shocked when she finds Rose stranded on a country road and Rose confessed that she only came back because she was employed by Ruby Fox-Miligan to ruin Kim’s marriage, that she had meant to spike Will and that Will paid her to go away. Dawn is as horrified by all this and despite Rose saying that she wanted to stay with her family, Dawn took the money that Will gave Rose, then drove her to the airport, telling her to never come back. Dawn returned to Home Farm, was angry when Will and Kim didn’t tell her the truth about Rose, so she kept quiet.
A couple of days later, the police came to the house having found Rose’s handbag on the side of the road. Dawn watched Will and Kim lie to the police but didn’t reveal what she knew. She pretended to be worried about her mother and then suggested they report her missing, which Will and Kim refused to do. She then got a text from Rose’s phone that she knew Kim must have sent and then overheard them talking about the fact that they each believed the other had killed Rose. Soon after, Dawn lied to Will and Kim that Evan needed a transplant and that Rose could be a match to give them one more chance to come clean. She watched the two of them squirm as they tried to figure a way out of the situation before she eventually told them the truth. After this Dawn and her family moved into Holdgate Farm, with Dawn saying she wanted nothing more to do with Kim or Will. Dawn uses the money she took from Rose to pay Jai Sharma the first four months rent.
In September, Will turns up and tells her that he and Kim are getting a divorce, but Dawn makes it clear that she doesn’t care. She soon starts worrying about money as the bills are piling up, but Billy tells her not to worry. He then gives her a large amount of cash and Dawn is suspicious about where it came from, though Billy puts her mind at rest by explaining that he had been saving up. A few weeks later, Dawn meets Jade Garrick after she drops by looking for Billy and he explains she is a client from his Personal Training business. In November 2024, Dawn gladly accepts a loan from Kim. This leads to a thawing in their relationship, especially after Kim tells her that Will cheated on her with Rose.
A few days later, Jade shows up again and Dawn invites her in for a drink which Jade accepts. They get along well and Dawn is confused when Billy asks her to leave. He then tells her that he has been taking part in illegal boxing matches to make money and Jade is threatening his family if he doesn’t fight again. Dawn is angry that he put their family in danger and accuses him of doing it for the sake of his own ego, which causes bigger argument. Dawn then discovers that his opponent is the newly returned, Ross Barton. She explains to Billy that the two of them are going to fight and that Ross is going to win like Jade wants. Billy is unhappy, but Dawn tells him that he started this mess so he has to deal with it. The fight doesn’t go as planned as the police interrupt, but Billy gets away and tells Dawn that Jade is off their backs. Dawn tells Billy that she can’t trust him anymore and shows him that she pawned her wedding ring to pay Jade off. She refuses to forgive him and forces him to sleep in the spare room.
In December 2024, Will and Kim announce that they are back together, which surprises Dawn given the previous bitterness between them. She starts talking to her father again and forgives them for everything that happened with Rose. Later in the month, Dawn and Billy are thrilled when the doctors say that Evan has responded well to the treatments and can be an outpatient. However, their joy is short-lived as their landlord, Jai, tells them that they are being evicted. Dawn stresses about this as she can’t find anywhere else to live but Billy says he will sort it. On 18th December, Kim offers to let them move back to Home Farm and Dawn wants to accept but Billy says no. This causes another disagreement as Dawn says that Billy is putting his pride above their family and he argues that Home Farm is toxic. Dawn then accepts Kim’s offer but Billy tells her that he won’t go with her if she moves to Home Farm. Dawn says that the kids having a roof over their heads is more important, so she moves in without him.
On Christmas Eve, Billy arrives at Home Farm to tell Dawn he is sorry and she is relieved when Billy agrees to move into Home Farm. On 25th December 2024, Dawn is present at Will and Kim’s vow renewal along with Billy, Gabby and all the kids. Later, she congratulated her father and said she loved him, a sentiment he returned, before she took the kids out to see the horses with Billy. However, when she returns to Home Farm she sees an ambulance outside and runs in. She finds Kim there with her step-grandson, Joe Tate and is told that her father has died. Dawn is distraught and Kim hugs her as she cries. She asks what happened and Joe tells her that Will had a sudden heart attack and despite Kim giving him CPR, he passed away. Dawn then has to go outside and tell the kids, who are sad they won’t see their grandad again.
Over the following days, Dawn becomes suspicious of Joe after his sudden arrival on the day Will died and Kim’s total dependence on him. She then finds out what Joe did to Charity and her family last time he was in the village and becomes convinced he had something to do with her father’s death. This is heightened after Joe gives Kim sleeping pills and Dawn argues with Joe, angrily accusing him of killing Will as well as manipulating Kim. Joe snaps that she’s the one using a grieving widow, causing Dawn to try and slap him but he stopped her. Dawn said the post-mortem would prove her right, but when the post-mortem results did come through, Dawn was surprised to find there were no signs of fouls play and was forced to apologise to Joe.
2025 to present: Affair with Joe[]
The day before Will’s funeral, Jimmy King delivered a box of his belongings to Dawn and found a flash drive that contained a video of Will saying that if anything happened to him, then Kim was behind it as she had paid Ross to attack him before they reconciled. On 7th January 2025, Will’s funeral took place, but Dawn focused on making Kim pay. After talking to Ross, who confirmed the story, Dawn became convinced that Will’s death was Kim’s fault and at the funeral, she accused her of murdering Will in front of everyone. Dawn pushed her over as she tried to explain, before storming out and telling Billy she couldn’t stand watching Kim swan around dressed as a “pantomime widow”. She called the police, and Kim was taken in for questioning but she was released as there was no evidence she had killed Will. When Kim returned home, Dawn agreed to put it all behind her but this was a lie as Dawn later bought Ketamine from a dealer and spiked Kim’s coffee. Once she was out of it, Dawn demanded Kim tell the truth but Kim could only say she was sorry she didn’t do enough, before having a seizure, which panicked Dawn. Joe arrived and calling an ambulance for Kim and at the hospital Dawn regretted her actions. Joe comforted her and she went to see Kim, who berated her for being so reckless. When Dawn told Billy about what happened, he was furious with her, asking if she was on drugs again which angered Dawn. Later, Dawn had a charged moment, leading Dawn to kiss Joe, but he pulled away and Dawn was mortified with herself.
A couple of weeks later, Dawn was convinced to take a job working for Kim which she accepted, but she was horrified when it turned out that Joe was going to be her boss now, and she thought that he had orchestrated the offer. On 20th January, Dawn confronted Joe about it in his bedroom but he swore it was all Kim’s idea and Dawn’s anger soon faded as Joe flirted with her. He kissed her and they had sex but Dawn regretted it as soon as it happened. Later that day, Dawn became convinced that Joe was addicted to painkillers after she found him unconscious in his car with a bottle of pills, but when she said she had to tell Kim, Joe threatened to tell Billy about them. The next day, she decided to tell Billy herself, but couldn’t go through with it as she didn’t want to destroy her marriage. Joe later told her that he would get help for his addiction and Dawn agreed not to tell Kim. He told her that she was strong and that he admired her and they ended up kissing again.
In February 2025, Dawn became jealous of Gabby flirting with Joe, and reminded her that she had a boyfriend in order to keep her away from him. When she confronted him, he just mocked her for being jealous and this lead to them starting their affair again as they slept together. Unbeknownst to them, Kim had recently planted an audio recorder in Joe’s room and Charity, who had stolen Kim’s laptop, heard everything. The next day, Joe told Dawn about the recorder after Charity tried to blackmail him and Dawn was horrified. She demanded that he delete the audio file but Joe was more concerned with why Kim didn’t trust him, though he did manage to corrupt the audio files, to her relief and she returned the laptop to Kim.
A couple of weeks later, Kim also discovered the affair and confronted Joe. Dawn worried what Kim might do and talked with her, but Kim said she wanted to protect her from making a big mistake. Although, Dawn initially refused to end the affair as she was too caught up in it, she soon started to see Kim was right and tried to reconnect with Billy. Upon Joe’s return from a trip, Dawn pushed him away and refused to accept a gift he bought her. However, she soon gave into temptation again and continued the relationship. Over the course of their affair, Dawn began to have feelings for Joe and thought he felt the same after he arranged a romantic date for them. However, when Dawn asked him to go on a weekend away with her, he told her it was too much like marriage and dumped her. A heartbroken Dawn resolved to fix her marriage after this and tried to ignore Joe. Despite this, she agreed to meet Joe at Dale Head, a few days later and he got her to say she loved him but she wouldn’t move away with him. Dawn was disappointed when he left the country without telling her the next day.
Thanks the Kim’s interfering, Dawn did start getting close with Billy again in April 2024 and agreed to go on a romantic night away with him. However, when they got back the next morning, Dawn found Joe was back and he told her that she had to choose between him and Billy. Dawn struggled with this but eventually decided she wanted to be with Joe and met up with him in the woods to tell him. She told Billy that she was leaving him on 17th April, but denied seeing someone else when he asked her why. Things were awkward over the next few days as the kids started asking questions and Billy wanted answers from Dawn. This lead to him attacking Ross in front of Clemmie and accusing him of sleeping with Dawn, which meant they had to explain to the kids that they were getting divorced.
After Evan had a temperature and had to go to the hospital, Dawn let Billy briefly move into Home Farm. However, she soon decided this was confusing for the kids and not fair on Joe, so she told Billy to leave. On 8th May 2025, Dawn attended Lydia Dingle’s birthday party that Kim was throwing and during the party, Billy told her that he knew about her and Joe. She was stunned and Billy later added that Joe had threatened Clemmie after she saw them kissing. More accusations against Joe followed as Noah Dingle called the police about Joe spiking him and causing the recent Limo Crash. Dawn tried to defend Joe but Noah’s mother, Charity, outed her affair to everyone to discredit her. After the party ended, Dawn confronted Joe and he admitted to spiking Noah out of desperation but denied everything else, so Dawn asked Clemmie and she confirmed that Joe threatened her. This caused her to argue with Joe and she accidentally pushed him out of his bedroom window.
Joe was soon found by Noah and Dawn desperately tried to hide her secret when he was put in an induced coma. However, after Billy was arrested Dawn couldn’t stand by and let him go to prison for her crime, so she gave him an alibi, telling the police that they were back together. Billy confronted her over this and forced her to confess, but was shocked when Billy agreed to cover for her and suggested moving back in to keep up the lie that they were making things work. Dawn was unhappy about this and told Kim that she still loved Joe, which Billy heard, so he decided to leave, telling Dawn that if she didn’t give him custody of the kids, he would report her for pushing Joe. This left Dawn in a bad position but fortunately, Joe regained consciousness soon after and told Dawn that he wasn’t going to report her because he loved her.
He came back to Home Farm and Dawn insisted they were no longer together but soon gave in, restarting their relationship. Clemmie opposed this and called Social Services on Joe, which angered Dawn when she found out. However, Joe soon won Clemmie over but Billy caused more problems as he tried to stop Joe giving the kids expensive gifts. Over the next few weeks, Dawn invested in Belle King’s wedding planning service Take A Vow, but lied about how she got the money to do it as Belle didn’t want Joe’s money. In June 2025, Dawn became frustrated when started acting tense and closed off. She was pleased as he started to warm up, but noticed an unease between Kim and Joe.
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Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Dale View (squatting) | Early-November to 22nd November 2018 |
| Smithy Cottage (temporary) | 22nd November to 23rd November 2018 |
| Dale View | 23rd November to 10th December 2018 |
| Community Garden shed (temporary) | 10th December to 12th December 2018 |
| Smithy Cottage (temporary) | 12th December to 14th December 2018 |
| Woodbine Cottage | 31st December 2018 to 16th May 2019 |
| Friend's house (temporary) | 16th May to 29th May 2019 |
| Cricket Pavilion (temporary) | 29th May to 31st May 2019 |
| Woodbine Cottage | 31st May to 13th October 2019 |
| Sleeping rough (temporary) | 13th October to 27th October 2019 |
| Woodbine Cottage | 27th October 2019 to 15th July 2022 |
| Home Farm | 15th July to 22nd September 2022 |
| The Grange (temporary) | 22nd September to 23rd September 2022 |
| Woodbine Cottage | 23rd September to 8th November 2022 |
| Home Farm | 8th November 2022 to 26th August 2024 |
| Holdgate Farm | 27th August to 18th December 2024 |
| Home Farm | 18th December 2024 to present |