Sam Dingle
Encyclopedia
Samuel Jonah "Sam" Dingle is a fictional character
from the British
soap opera
Emmerdale
played by James Hooton
.
In 2005, love blossomed for him when he became involved with Alice Wilson and they left Emmerdale to start life on their own farm in Norfolk. They returned to Emmerdale soon afterwards, when Sam discovered she was pregnant. In early 2006, Alice gave birth to their son Samson
via Caesarean so she could start cancer treatment. Their baby boy's name Samson was named after Belle mistook "Sam's son" as his name. He later married her upon finding out about her terminal cancer. Eventually, she became so weak and unable to even hold her son, Sam obtained some drugs from Eli and delivered the dose that sent her to sleep forever. The police became suspicious as to the exact details of Alice's death when Louise Appleton
's police boyfriend Martin, heard Ashley Thomas
talking to Diane Sugden
about his suspicions that Sam had helped Alice die. He opened a murder investigation and when the police came to arrest Sam at Wishing Well Cottage, the Dingles barricaded themselves in the house. After gaining entry to the house and arresting Sam, Del declared that she did it. Del was then arrested but soon after, all the Dingles admitted to killing her to protect Sam. Eventually the police picked holes in each of their stories, but out of concern that Social Services would remove Samson had Sam confessed, Cain told Sam to describe to him everything about Alice's death, so he could convince the police he was telling the truth.
In early 2008, Sam was arrested for possession
after Eli persuaded him to be his courier so he and Samson could live in Dale View in the village. Sam was afraid he'd lose Samson when the police charged him, and ran away with Samson, but soon turned himself in. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only incident that alarmed the Dingles and Social Services - while living at Dale View, Samson had escaped and been run over by Val Pollard
. She hadn't seen him because she had cataracts in both eyes and needed an operation. Shortly afterwards, Daz's girlfriend, Penny, left vodka
lying around and Samson, thinking it was a soft drink, drank it. Panicking, Sam rushed him to hospital but was fine afterwards.
Sam worked at Butler's Farm, helping tend Jo Sugden's goats, but eventually, Andy sold the goats and, annoyed at Sam and Jo's friendship, fired him. Sam also got a job at Eric Pollard
's factory shortly before Eric planned to sell the factory to the Kings. Eric let his employees believe he was simply going out of business. When he told Sam he wished the factory would go up in smoke, Sam took him literally and, along with Eli, set fire to the factory. While Andy was away, Sam spent more and more time helping Jo out at the farm for no pay. For the first time since Alice, he was falling in love. Lisa tried to warn him off, but Sam ignored her, hoping he might have a chance with Jo. A few days later, Jo invited Sam for dinner, which he misconstrued as a date. She told him how much she liked him but was shocked when he went to kiss her. Gently, she told him that she didn't feel that way about him and tried to comfort him with a hug but Andy saw them. Sam left but Andy confronted them and beat them both up, putting Jo in hospital again with broken ribs. Lisa, Zak, and Shadrach saw his bruises when they got back home and after treating his cuts, warned him to stay away from Jo and Andy's marriage. Zak also told Andy that while Sam was wrong to have approached Jo like that, Andy was wrong to have beaten him up. Andy was left in no doubt if he touched Sam again, he'd be fighting Zak. With Andy living in the Woolpack, the state of Jo and Andy's deteriorating marriage became common knowledge. He and Sam hadn't made up their differences but Sam warned Debbie Dingle
(Sarah's mother) about what was happening at Butler's Farm. Debbie then kept a very close eye and proceeded to help Jo and Sarah.
Olena Petrovich, an illegal immigrant from the Ukraine
, hid in the Dingle's barn until she was discovered by Will Wylde and Belle Dingle
. She convinced the children not to give her away and they looked after her, until she went missing. They later found her in the woods, in Seth's hide. She had hurt her leg and it was infected. They tried to help her, but were eventually found by Sam. Upon hearing Olena's story, he agreed to keep her whereabouts secret and tended to her wounded leg. Eventually, he convinced Zak and Lisa to take her in and Olena lived with the Dingles, helping out around the house. Sam then persuaded Eric Pollard
to give her a job at the B&B. Although Pollard was apprehensive, he agreed because of his soft spot for Sam. Sam began to fall in love with Olena right away. By January, Zak asked Eli Dingle
to spy on his son and Olena, in case she was a gold-digger. Eli reluctantly agreed, but decided that Olena was genuine and convinced Zak to let Sam make his own choices. Zak then gave Sam his approval to make a go of it with Olena. However, as Sam's behaviour towards Olena became more intense, it became obvious that she did not reciprocate and was feeling increasingly uncomfortable around him.
When Shadrach half-destroyed the Dingle house by letting the bath overflow, Olena was obliged to move in with Marlon and Eli. Sam missed Olena and kept visiting her at work, but Olena was being more distant. Then, as Lisa, Sam and Olena were driving to pick up some building materials, they were pulled over by the police. Olena panicked, thinking they were after her and so Lisa covered for them as Sam and Olena fled into the woods. When the police noticed Sam and Olena running off, Lisa impulsively punched one of the officers and was arrested. Meanwhile, Olena and Eli began to develop a friendship and, seeing the two of them having a laugh together, Sam was instantly jealous. Olena confided in Eli that she although she was grateful for Sam helping her, she simply did not see him as anything more than a friend. Olena reluctantly moved back in with the Dingles, but she missed living with Eli and Sam began to snipe at his cousin, thinking he was taking Olena from him.
Zak became increasingly irritated by Olena's presence, until she decided to move back in with Eli and Marlon. Sam was devastated, so when Olena told him that she was upset because she missed her son, he decided to propose to her. Olena turned him down, but seeing his upset, she qualified it by saying that she did not have the right papers and would just be deported. Thinking this was all that was keeping them apart, Sam asked Cain Dingle
to obtain a dodgy passport for Olena. He then told Olena that he understood why she didn't want to marry him and that it would all be OK. Olena and Eli misread this as meaning that he had accepted that Olena did not return his feelings. Cain agreed to get the passport, but mentioned it to Zak, who was furious. However, Zak told Cain to get it anyway and then he went to find Olena. He told her about the passport and said that, once it came through, she was to leave town, without a word to Sam. He would not risk Sam's heart being broken. If she refused to leave, he would have her deported. Tearful, Olena went home and told Eli, who then confessed that he also loved Olena. She said she felt the same and they kissed and began to make plans to elope together once the passport arrived.
When Olena failed to attend Lisa's Welcome Home party, Sam went looking for her and saw her kissing Eli. He was devastated and reported Olena to Border Control, then watched as she was arrested and dragged away. When a drunken Eli began to accuse people of reporting her, a guilty Sam ended up confessing that it was him. Eli was furious at Sam and launched a glass at his head that narrowly missed. Sam broke down in tears, telling his father that he knew he was nothing but he'd thought, if he tried hard enough, Olena might take a chance on him. Zak comforted his son, but Sam felt guilty and decided to leave the village, taking Samson with him. Lisa finally persuaded him to stay, saying that he could not sleep rough with a toddler. However, Eli - angry at being blamed for Sam's actions - arrived and blasted Sam for ruining Olena's life, before revealing that Zak had already told Olena to leave, or he'd have her deported.
Sam was livid with his father for interfering in his life and refused to speak to him. He tried to apologise to Pollard for costing him a £7000 fine for hiring Olena. However, Pollard refused to forgive him this time. Sam was gutted to lose Pollard's friendship and Zak ended up convincing Pollard to forgive him and Pollard then advised Sam to forgive his father. Sam tried to make amends to Olena by paying £200 into a bank account for her before finding an unconscious Pollard at the B&B and phoning an ambulance. However, he didn't realise that Eli had robbed the B&B. Suspicions were raised over the missing money and Sam's earlier transaction and he was accused of stealing the money. Pollard tried to get Sam to tell him where the money really came from, but Sam was acting shiftily and lied. When Pollard uncovered his lies, he began to really believe Sam might be the thief. Then Eli confessed to the crime and apologised to Sam before going on the run and Sam admitted that he'd obtained the money through poaching from his employer, Natasha Wylde
. Sam's discovers Mark Wylde
's body after his dog digs him up and he calls the police.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
played by James Hooton
James Hooton
James Hooton is an English actor best known for his role as Sam Dingle on the popular ITV1 soap Emmerdale who he has played since 1995. He started his career with the Carlton Junior Television Workshop.-Career:...
.
Storylines
Sam first appears in 1995 and he demands ransom money from the Sugden family. After his release from prison, he worked as a dogsbody for Eric Pollard and was constantly conned out of his wages. He unwittingly helps his uncle Albert with a robbery. He is upset when his mother Nellie leaves to go to live in Ireland.In 2005, love blossomed for him when he became involved with Alice Wilson and they left Emmerdale to start life on their own farm in Norfolk. They returned to Emmerdale soon afterwards, when Sam discovered she was pregnant. In early 2006, Alice gave birth to their son Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
via Caesarean so she could start cancer treatment. Their baby boy's name Samson was named after Belle mistook "Sam's son" as his name. He later married her upon finding out about her terminal cancer. Eventually, she became so weak and unable to even hold her son, Sam obtained some drugs from Eli and delivered the dose that sent her to sleep forever. The police became suspicious as to the exact details of Alice's death when Louise Appleton
Louise Appleton
Louise Appleton is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Emily Symons. Aussie Louise arrived in the village as a temporary barmaid and ended up as co-landlady with best friend Diane Sugden, before selling to Diane's sister Val Lambert in 2006...
's police boyfriend Martin, heard Ashley Thomas
Ashley Thomas
Ashley Michael Thomas is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by John Middleton.-1996–99:Ashley soon began developing feelings for the landlady of the Woolpack pub, Bernice Blackstock. He tried putting them aside as Bernice was engaged to Gavin, despite suspecting that...
talking to Diane Sugden
Diane Sugden
Diane Sugden is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is portrayed by Elizabeth Estensen.-Backstory:...
about his suspicions that Sam had helped Alice die. He opened a murder investigation and when the police came to arrest Sam at Wishing Well Cottage, the Dingles barricaded themselves in the house. After gaining entry to the house and arresting Sam, Del declared that she did it. Del was then arrested but soon after, all the Dingles admitted to killing her to protect Sam. Eventually the police picked holes in each of their stories, but out of concern that Social Services would remove Samson had Sam confessed, Cain told Sam to describe to him everything about Alice's death, so he could convince the police he was telling the truth.
In early 2008, Sam was arrested for possession
Possession
In law, possession is the control a person intentionally exercises toward a thing. In all cases, to possess something, a person must have an intention to possess it. A person may be in possession of some property...
after Eli persuaded him to be his courier so he and Samson could live in Dale View in the village. Sam was afraid he'd lose Samson when the police charged him, and ran away with Samson, but soon turned himself in. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only incident that alarmed the Dingles and Social Services - while living at Dale View, Samson had escaped and been run over by Val Pollard
Val Pollard
Valerie "Val" Pollard is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is played by Charlie Hardwick...
. She hadn't seen him because she had cataracts in both eyes and needed an operation. Shortly afterwards, Daz's girlfriend, Penny, left vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
lying around and Samson, thinking it was a soft drink, drank it. Panicking, Sam rushed him to hospital but was fine afterwards.
Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
's factory shortly before Eric planned to sell the factory to the Kings. Eric let his employees believe he was simply going out of business. When he told Sam he wished the factory would go up in smoke, Sam took him literally and, along with Eli, set fire to the factory. While Andy was away, Sam spent more and more time helping Jo out at the farm for no pay. For the first time since Alice, he was falling in love. Lisa tried to warn him off, but Sam ignored her, hoping he might have a chance with Jo. A few days later, Jo invited Sam for dinner, which he misconstrued as a date. She told him how much she liked him but was shocked when he went to kiss her. Gently, she told him that she didn't feel that way about him and tried to comfort him with a hug but Andy saw them. Sam left but Andy confronted them and beat them both up, putting Jo in hospital again with broken ribs. Lisa, Zak, and Shadrach saw his bruises when they got back home and after treating his cuts, warned him to stay away from Jo and Andy's marriage. Zak also told Andy that while Sam was wrong to have approached Jo like that, Andy was wrong to have beaten him up. Andy was left in no doubt if he touched Sam again, he'd be fighting Zak. With Andy living in the Woolpack, the state of Jo and Andy's deteriorating marriage became common knowledge. He and Sam hadn't made up their differences but Sam warned Debbie Dingle
Debbie Dingle
Deborah "Debbie" Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale. She is portrayed by Charley Webb...
(Sarah's mother) about what was happening at Butler's Farm. Debbie then kept a very close eye and proceeded to help Jo and Sarah.
Olena Petrovich, an illegal immigrant from the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, hid in the Dingle's barn until she was discovered by Will Wylde and Belle Dingle
Belle Dingle
Belle Lisa Dingle is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was originally played by Emily Mather from 1998 until 2005, but is now played by Eden Taylor-Draper.-1998-2005:...
. She convinced the children not to give her away and they looked after her, until she went missing. They later found her in the woods, in Seth's hide. She had hurt her leg and it was infected. They tried to help her, but were eventually found by Sam. Upon hearing Olena's story, he agreed to keep her whereabouts secret and tended to her wounded leg. Eventually, he convinced Zak and Lisa to take her in and Olena lived with the Dingles, helping out around the house. Sam then persuaded Eric Pollard
Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
to give her a job at the B&B. Although Pollard was apprehensive, he agreed because of his soft spot for Sam. Sam began to fall in love with Olena right away. By January, Zak asked Eli Dingle
Eli Dingle
Eli Dingle is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Joseph Gilgun. He first appeared on screen in the episode which aired on 13 July 2006 and made his last appearance on 30 April 2010.-Casting:...
to spy on his son and Olena, in case she was a gold-digger. Eli reluctantly agreed, but decided that Olena was genuine and convinced Zak to let Sam make his own choices. Zak then gave Sam his approval to make a go of it with Olena. However, as Sam's behaviour towards Olena became more intense, it became obvious that she did not reciprocate and was feeling increasingly uncomfortable around him.
When Shadrach half-destroyed the Dingle house by letting the bath overflow, Olena was obliged to move in with Marlon and Eli. Sam missed Olena and kept visiting her at work, but Olena was being more distant. Then, as Lisa, Sam and Olena were driving to pick up some building materials, they were pulled over by the police. Olena panicked, thinking they were after her and so Lisa covered for them as Sam and Olena fled into the woods. When the police noticed Sam and Olena running off, Lisa impulsively punched one of the officers and was arrested. Meanwhile, Olena and Eli began to develop a friendship and, seeing the two of them having a laugh together, Sam was instantly jealous. Olena confided in Eli that she although she was grateful for Sam helping her, she simply did not see him as anything more than a friend. Olena reluctantly moved back in with the Dingles, but she missed living with Eli and Sam began to snipe at his cousin, thinking he was taking Olena from him.
Zak became increasingly irritated by Olena's presence, until she decided to move back in with Eli and Marlon. Sam was devastated, so when Olena told him that she was upset because she missed her son, he decided to propose to her. Olena turned him down, but seeing his upset, she qualified it by saying that she did not have the right papers and would just be deported. Thinking this was all that was keeping them apart, Sam asked Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Jeff Hordley.-Character creation:In 2000 series producer Kieran Roberts introduced three new members of the Dingle family. The new characters were introduced to the regular cast in 2000, who first arrived...
to obtain a dodgy passport for Olena. He then told Olena that he understood why she didn't want to marry him and that it would all be OK. Olena and Eli misread this as meaning that he had accepted that Olena did not return his feelings. Cain agreed to get the passport, but mentioned it to Zak, who was furious. However, Zak told Cain to get it anyway and then he went to find Olena. He told her about the passport and said that, once it came through, she was to leave town, without a word to Sam. He would not risk Sam's heart being broken. If she refused to leave, he would have her deported. Tearful, Olena went home and told Eli, who then confessed that he also loved Olena. She said she felt the same and they kissed and began to make plans to elope together once the passport arrived.
When Olena failed to attend Lisa's Welcome Home party, Sam went looking for her and saw her kissing Eli. He was devastated and reported Olena to Border Control, then watched as she was arrested and dragged away. When a drunken Eli began to accuse people of reporting her, a guilty Sam ended up confessing that it was him. Eli was furious at Sam and launched a glass at his head that narrowly missed. Sam broke down in tears, telling his father that he knew he was nothing but he'd thought, if he tried hard enough, Olena might take a chance on him. Zak comforted his son, but Sam felt guilty and decided to leave the village, taking Samson with him. Lisa finally persuaded him to stay, saying that he could not sleep rough with a toddler. However, Eli - angry at being blamed for Sam's actions - arrived and blasted Sam for ruining Olena's life, before revealing that Zak had already told Olena to leave, or he'd have her deported.
Sam was livid with his father for interfering in his life and refused to speak to him. He tried to apologise to Pollard for costing him a £7000 fine for hiring Olena. However, Pollard refused to forgive him this time. Sam was gutted to lose Pollard's friendship and Zak ended up convincing Pollard to forgive him and Pollard then advised Sam to forgive his father. Sam tried to make amends to Olena by paying £200 into a bank account for her before finding an unconscious Pollard at the B&B and phoning an ambulance. However, he didn't realise that Eli had robbed the B&B. Suspicions were raised over the missing money and Sam's earlier transaction and he was accused of stealing the money. Pollard tried to get Sam to tell him where the money really came from, but Sam was acting shiftily and lied. When Pollard uncovered his lies, he began to really believe Sam might be the thief. Then Eli confessed to the crime and apologised to Sam before going on the run and Sam admitted that he'd obtained the money through poaching from his employer, Natasha Wylde
Natasha Wylde
Natasha Jane Wylde is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Amanda Donohoe. She made her first appearance, along with her husband Mark Wylde, on 15 January 2009. It was announced in July 2010 that Donohoe had quit her role as Natasha, and would leave the series later...
. Sam's discovers Mark Wylde
Mark Wylde
Mark Wylde was a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Maxwell Caulfield. He made his first appearance on 15 January 2009 and departed on 3 January 2010....
's body after his dog digs him up and he calls the police.
External links
- Sam Dingle at itv.comItv.comitv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...