EMMERDALE fans have slammed recent behaviour from the show’s iconic Dingle family.
Since joining the ITV soap in 1994, several members have come and gone over the years.
An ongoing storyline has seen Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) endure mental and physical abuse from her husband, Tom King (James Chase).
Viewers were relieved when Belle escaped her abusive spouse in dramatic scenes aired last month.
However, they haven’t been happy with how other Dingles are treating Belle.
Taking to Reddit, one person wrote: “What’s really bothering me about this whole storyline is a few things, the first one being how fake the Dingles are acting towards Belle.
“When it was Samson a few weeks ago it was all ‘Dingles stick together’ but throughout this whole storyline, and especially after Belle left Tom at the cottage, none of them seem to be sticking up for her, or listening to what she says.”
Another added: “The script writing has been all over the place, the Dingles and definitely Rhona siding with Tom isn’t right, it’s like they’ve suddenly developed split personalities.”
While a third chimed in: “The family genuinely acts as if texting or phoning doesn’t exist because why couldn’t Sam or Lydia have messaged/called her to let her know that Piper was being sent to theirs for a burial, letting Belle be painted as the bad guy to work in Tom’s favour.”
Will the Dingles be able to win fans back around?
Despite Belle splitting from Tom, she isn’t out of his clutches just yet.
Viewers were horrified when the villain seemingly ran over and killed Belle’s beloved dog Piper.
After pretending to try to save her life, Tom convinced Belle he had dumped Piper’s body – meaning Belle would seem unstable as he turned up with her wicker coffin to bury.
A cruel twist later revealed not only was Piper was still alive, but Tom gave the dog away to a couple.
“How could anyone be mean to a lovely little dog like this?” the woman asked, as she took Piper from Tom.
Cain is the local hardman and has tormented and beaten his way through life during his time in Emmerdale. From kidnap to arson, Cain has done it all.
Cain has been the head of the Dingle family since 2015. Cain’s main storylines have focused on discovering his uncle Zak Dingle is his father, his relationships with his cousin Charity Dingle, discovering he is Debbie’s father, his affair and subsequent relationship with Moira Barton.
With four marriages so far, we take a look at Cain’s relationship history.
1989: 14-year-old Cain had a fling with his then 12-year-old second-cousin Charity and unbeknownst to Cain, she gave birth to their daughter, Debbie, in October 1989.
However, the child was taken away from Charity and she was kept apart from Cain who never found out about his daughter until many years later, even though Shadrach was aware of the situation.
1991: Cain had a relationship with Cara Robinson, a woman he worked in a bar with. Shadrach had a racist attitude towards her and used violence to attempt to make her stay away from Cain. Faith heard of the situation she wanted to help calm things, but was horrified when she learnt that Cara was pregnant.
As she knew Shadrach would never accept his son fathering a mixed raised baby, she coerced Cara into leaving Cain and never telling him about the existence of their son, Nate.
2002: Cain and Charity’s love was rekindled and they began an affair.
2005: Cain attempted to hurt Debbie by having a brief relationship with her friend Jasmine Thomas and ensuring that Debbie saw them together. Debbie and Sadie helped Jasmine terminate her pregnancy, knowing that Cain wanted to be a father.
2009: Charity proposed to Cain on Christmas Day and he accepted.
2010: Cain and Charity got married.
2011: Charity ended her relationship with Cain again, after he had a one-night stand with Faye Lamb and slept with Amy Wyatt. Amy fell pregnant, but told everyone she had an abortion, so Cain had an affair with Moira Barton.
Amy gave birth to Cain’s son, Kyle, in a cemetery; thinking he is dead, she panicked and left him in a phone box. Hazel Rhodes and Lisa Dingle found him, and called an ambulance. Amy admitted being his mother and Cain realised she lied about the abortion.
2012: Moira and Cain got together and on New Year’s Day 2013, and they announced their relationship by kissing in the Woolpack. Moira learned that she is pregnant, but miscarried. Despite this, their relationship got stronger and Cain moved in with Moira and Adam.
2013: Cain proposed to Moira, however before Moira can answer, Ross barged in with a gunshot wound.
2014: Moira proposed to Cain, he accepted and they got married.
2015: Cain and Moira discovered that Charity was pregnant when she was sentenced to prison and the baby, Moses Dingle, could possibly be Cain’s.
Cain visited Charity in prison and questioned if he is the father of her child. It is later revealed that Ross Barton is Moses’s father, following a one-night stand with Charity.
2016: Cain and Charity had an affair. Moira ordered a divorce. Cain and Charity decided to start a new life together in France with Debbie, but Cain admitted to a heartbroken Charity that he loved Moira and they got back together.
2017: Cain and vicar Harriet’s affair went public and turned into a relationship after Harriet was stabbed and left fighting for her life, leaving Cain realising how deep he felt for her.
Moira unexpectedly gave birth to Cain’s son Isaac Dingle, leaving his relationship with Harriet on the rocks.
2018: Cain got back together with Moira.
2019: Cain went on a long visit to Scotland to help Debbie, unknowingly giving Moira the perfect opportunity to pursue her recently started affair with Nate. Pete exposed their affair and Cain stopped Moira from seeing the kids and filed for a divorce.
2020: Cain came face-to-face with Cara for the first time since they were teenagers after she was called by Moira, who wanted to get rid of Nate.
Moira covered for Cain after he accidentally shot Nate. Cain and Moira got back together.
2021: Moira stood by Cain’s during his feud with Al Chapman and dealing with his mum’s Faith’s cancer and death.
2022 to present: Moira and Cain have clashed when it came to protecting Kyle who murdered Al, but the couple are still going strong, for now.
Tom shamelessly lied, as he told them: “Some people – she had her tied up outside all night, whimpering.”
The man queried: “And there’s no danger this awful woman’s going to come looking for her?”
“She won’t even realise she’s gone,” Tom smugly replied.
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available to watch on ITVX.
