Not to be confused with his late adoptive grandfather Jack Sugden.
Jack Sugden is the son of Debbie Dingle and Andy Sugden and a saviour sibling to his sister Sarah Sugden. He is named after Andy's late adoptive father.
Biography[]
2011-2012: Conception and birth[]
Jack was conceived after Debbie and Andy decided that the only way to save their daughter Sarah was to have a saviour sibling after Sarah was diagnosed with fanconi anaemia, a rare blood disease. They needed a saviour sibling to harvest the cells from the child's bone marrow and transplant them to Sarah in order to save her life. Debbie and Andy began trying to conceive a sibling for Sarah in late 2011 after their only bone marrow donor match pulled out and they were turned down for IVF. The worried parents started artificial insemination despite objections from Debbie's boyfriend, Cameron Murray, and Andy's girlfriend, Alicia Gallagher. After a few months of artificial insemination, Debbie was still not pregnant so she decided that the only way to save Sarah was for her and Andy to sleep together. The pair slept together in mid-January 2012, and a fortnight later Debbie discovered she was pregnant. When Sarah found out Debbie was pregnant, she asked if they could name the baby Poppy if it was a girl - which Debbie agreed to. Two months after that, Debbie and Andy discovered their baby was a match for Sarah.
In late September Debbie demanded to be induced after being told Sarah was fast developing leukaemia but the doctors informed her that it wasn't safe for either of her children for her baby to be born early. On 17th October 2012, the day Debbie was to be induced, she went into labour and gave birth to a baby boy with Andy, her mother Charity, father Cain, grandfather Zak and Zak's wife Lisa by her side. Debbie and Andy named their newborn son after Andy's late adoptive father Jack Sugden - much to the delight of Jack's widow Diane. (Jack's sister is also named after Andy's late adoptive mother Sarah Sugden). The doctors were able to harvest the cells from Jack's bone marrow and transplant them to Sarah. The day after Jack's birth, Debbie ended her relationship with Cameron after she discovered his affair with her aunt Chas Dingle.
2013-2016: Early life[]
In early 2013, Andy's new girlfriend Kerry Wyatt began leaving Jack and Sarah alone whilst babysitting. Debbie was furious when Kerry's daughter Amy told her what was going on but Kerry denied the accusations and got Sarah to back up her story. Whilst babysitting, Kerry became drunk and set fire to Andy's house. Sarah managed to get out and raise the alarm with Cain running into the smoke-filled house to rescue Jack. Social services were soon knocking on Debbie's door after Sarah told her tutor about the drama happening at home as well as the fire. Although no action was taken by social services, Andy took Jack and Sarah away from Debbie until she could sort herself out, even threatening to apply for full custody.
Cameron stops Debbie from running away with Jack and Sarah.
Debbie tried to run away to Palma with Jack and Sarah, as she was scared she was going to lose her children but Cameron stopped her and she took them home. Cameron and Debbie restarted their relationship soon after and he moved back in with Debbie, Jack and Sarah at Tug Ghyll. Debbie discovered Cameron had murdered her cousin Gennie Walker, as well as Carl King and Alex Moss. She wore a wire and got Cameron to confess but when Cameron realised that Debbie was working with the police, he held her hostage in the house until Debbie managed to escape, running into her fathers arms - subsequently Cameron was arrested. Weeks after his arrest, Cameron broke out of a prison van. Jack and Debbie were in The Woolpack when Cameron took the pub hostage armed with a shotgun. Cameron allowed most of the hostages to leave the pub, including Jack, but Debbie and Chas were not allowed to go. Debbie narrowly escaped with her life, and soon she, Jack and Sarah moved into Mulberry Cottage to escape the bad memories of Cameron at Tug Ghyll.
The following year, Debbie began a relationship with farmer Pete Barton, who adored Jack and Sarah. Debbie and Pete married in August 2015 but their marriage was short-lived after Pete confessed to leaving his brother Ross for dead. Following the breakdown of her marriage, Debbie vowed to put her children first and reluctantly allowed Pete to say goodbye to Jack and Sarah. A few months later, Debbie and Ross decided to give their relationship a go but it ended on New Year's Eve when Debbie discovered Ross and Andy's involvement in Robert Sugden's shooting three months previously. Debbie took Sarah and Jack and drove away from the village. Only Cain was aware Debbie had taken Jack and Sarah to live in France. After a few months, Debbie relented and allowed Cain to pass on her contact details to Andy, who took the first flight to France to see his children.
2017-2019: Return and move to Scotland[]
Jack in 2017
After Sarah was diagnosed with throat cancer, Debbie decided to return to Emmerdale to seek the support of her family. Before she left France, Debbie stole a car and €50,000 from her boss in order to pay for Sarah's treatment. Two of the bosses henchmen came looking for Debbie at Wishing Well Cottage but Debbie wasn't there so they kidnapped Jack and Sarah. Debbie, Cain, Charity and Ross managed to raise the cash the henchmen wanted and rescued Jack and Sarah. Due to lack of room at Wishing Well Cottage, Debbie, Jack and Sarah moved in with Cain's estranged wife Moira at Butlers Farm. After a falling out between Debbie and Cain, she and the kids moved permanently into Jacobs Fold in January 2019.
In August 2019, Debbie inherited a garage from Lisa in Scotland and considered moving there with Jack and Sarah for a fresh start. Sarah wanted to stay in Emmerdale but encouraged Debbie to go anyway as she thought it would make her happy and it would also be really good for Jack. Thus, after a few tearful goodbyes, Debbie and Jack drove off towards a new life in Scotland.
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Tug Ghyll | 18th October 2012 to 1st November 2013 |
| Mulberry Cottage | 1st November 2013 to 1st January 2016 |
| France | 1st January 2016 to 24th January 2017 |
| Wishing Well Cottage | 24th January 2017 to 3rd February 2017 |
| Butlers Farm | 3rd February 2017 to 21st November 2017 |
| Jacobs Fold | 21st November 2017 to 4th January 2018 |
| Wishing Well Cottage (temporary) | 4th January 2018 to 5th January 2018 |
| The Woolpack | 5th January 2018 to 27th March 2018 |
| Jacobs Fold | 27th March 2018 to 13th November 2018 |
| Butlers Farm | 13th November 2018 to 15th January 2019 |
| Wishing Well Barn (temporary) | 15th January 2019 to 19th January 2019 |
| Jacobs Fold | 19th January 2019 to 13th August 2019 |
| Aberdeen | 13th August 2019 to 18th January 2021 |
| Jacobs Fold | 18th January 2021 to 11th February 2021 |
| Aberdeen | 11th February 2021 to present |
Additional information[]
- If Jack was a girl, Sarah wanted to name him Poppy.
- Jack was portrayed by Louis Webster in Emmerdale's fortieth-anniversary live episode in which the character was born. Louis and his twin Max both appeared in one dress rehearsal each, but Louis was chosen to play Jack in the episode as he was the quieter of the babies at the time. Jack was portrayed by Seth Ball thereafter.
- Jack departed onscreen on New Years Day 2016 as the character was written out on a temporary basis to cover Charley Webb's (Debbie Dingle) maternity leave. The character returned in January 2017.
- Jack was written out again in August 2019 when Charley Webb went on maternity leave again.