Emmerdale’s Belle Dingle star Eden Taylor-DraperEmmerdale spoilers, news and interviews sent straight to your inbox for freeMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Emmerdale spoilers, news and interviews sent straight to your inbox for freeInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeEden Taylor-Draper’s character Belle Dingle has played a major role in Emmerdale in recent months amid her “harrowing” domestic abuse storyline. Belle has suffered coercive control and abuse at the hands of her manipulative ex husband, Tom King (James Chase), on the ITV soap for months as part of the storyline. Eden, who joined the soap as a child star at the tender age of seven, made her first appearance in October 2005 and has been at the centre of some of the show’s most gripping plots. Her character Belle first graced our screens alongside Steve Halliwell, who played her on-screen dad Zak Dingle until his death aged 77 last year. A nostalgic look back to 2005 reveals young Belle dealing with the fallout from a schoolyard scrap, earning a stern lecture from her father. Sitting in the Dingles’ van, Belle is fuming about a school bully who’s been pestering her, exclaiming: “She kept calling me! She keeps coming up behind me and pulling my hair going, ‘Ding dong’ like it’s supposed to be funny!”
Eden Taylor-Draper first starting playing Belle Dingle in 2005
Zak tries to set her straight, telling her firmly: “You can’t go round thumping folk! ” But Belle fires back with: “Cain does it!” reports the Mirror. Back at home, Belle’s troubles aren’t over as she confronts her mother Lisa’s fury about the fight, which lands her on dishwashing duty while her brother Sam and his wife Alice look on. The plot cleverly covers for Belle’s absence in previous episodes, in which she was said to be looking after Granny Cleggand. Before she became a household name as Belle Dingle in Emmerdale, the character was originally played by James Mather as a baby and then by his twin sister Emily from 1998 to 2005. After leaving the soap, Emily decided to swap the small screen for studies in sport with a goal to become a teacher – a far cry from her days on television.
Eden has been in the role for nearly 20 years
(Image: ITV)
In 2007, Eden took home the gong for Best Young Actor at the British Soap Awards, but her mum Niki managed to keep her feet firmly on the ground despite her daughter’s accolade. Speaking to the York Press, Niki shared: “My daughter won a soap award on Saturday, which we’re over the moon about. My other daughter went to the toilet on her own for the first time and we were just as pleased. We’re proud of all of them for doing these fabulous things, but they are all equal. It’s just that for one of them, eight million people were watching!”Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnEmmerdale
