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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Charlotte Tutton

Emmerdale's Belle Dingle: Killer past, tragic death and mental health battle

Emmerdale's Belle Dingle has grown up on the ITV soap, and has been at the centre of some huge storylines over the years.

The character was born in 1998, with her parents being Zak and Lisa Dingle.

Since then, Belle has remained in the village and is now all grown up.

Actress Eden Taylor-Draper has played the role for 17 years, since 2005, and there's no reason to believe the character will be bowing out any time soon.

From romance scandals, to a devastating mental health battle, not to mention a killer act, there have been huge turning points in Belle's life. Here we take a look back at some of her biggest moments...

Belle's killer past and prison stint

Emmerdale's Belle Dingle has grown up on the ITV soap (Shared Content Unit)

Belle was involved in a shocking incident when she was a teenager in 2014, after she caused the death of her friend Gemma Andrews.

The pair had rowed over Sean Spencer, leading to Belle shoving Gemma, with Gemma falling and hitting her head.

Belle walked away after Gemma got up, as Belle believed she was fine, but later her pal went missing and was found unconscious.

Gemma sadly died from her injuries, and after Belle confessed she was sentenced to three years in youth custody and found guilty of manslaughter.

Belle was later released but struggled to adjust to life after Gemma's death.

Tragic loss

Belle was left devastated in 2019, when her mother Lisa passed away (ITV)

Belle was left devastated in 2019, when her mother Lisa passed away suddenly after being diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Lisa had revealed the devastating news earlier in the year that she had a terminal heart condition, and was dying.

On the day of her wedding to Zak, Lisa went home and sadly passed away while Zak was upstairs.

As the family returned home and realised what had happened, there were emotional scenes as Belle said a heartbreaking goodbye.

Baby lie and romance scandals

Emmerdale's Belle Dingle has been through a lot since her birth on the ITV soap (Andrew Boyce)

As Belle Dingle has grown up on the show, she has had her fair share of scandals, including those involving men.

Belle dated serial killer Lachlan White and almost died when he kidnapped her, wanting them to run away together after he was found out.

Before this, she lied about her age and dated an older man named Jermaine Bailey, who was married.

Belle lied about being pregnant to stop him from leaving her, but she was eventually caught out.

Belle dated serial killer Lachlan White (ITV)

Then there was her romance with Jamie Tate, who was married to Andrea Tate, which eventually came to an end.

However, Belle lied that she wanted to be with him to get revenge for him causing havoc for her family, significantly when he ran over Moira Dingle and left her for dead.

When Jamie found out the truth, he decided to frame her and Nate Robinson for the hit and run.

Belle's mental health crisis

One of Belle's biggest and well known storylines during her time in the village is her battle with her mental health (ITV)

One of Belle's biggest storylines during her time in the village has been her battle with her mental health.

Following Gemma's death, Belle began to struggle and kept hearing the voice of her dead friend, telling her to do things.

Things came to a head when she lashed out and locked herself in a car, with medical professionals soon getting involved after she attacked Katie Sugden.

When Katie later died from a separate incident, Belle blamed herself and tried to take her own life, leading to her being hospitalised.

Following her drama with Jermaine later on in her life, she once again began to hear voices and suffered from psychosis.

Belle ended up sleeping rough, and when she was finally reunited with her family her mum Lisa took her to see a doctor, who diagnosed Belle with schizophrenia.

In 2020, she suffered another relapse (ITV)

In 2020, she suffered another relapse as the drama with Jamie and being framed for the crash left her in turmoil.

Unable to take control, she stopped taking her medication and she began to hear the voice of her late mother Lisa.

Belle believed she needed to kill Jamie as she and her family were in danger, so she went looking for him with a knife only to be stopped by Mackenzie Boyd.

She then hallucinated that pregnant Tracy Metcalfe was Jamie, and prepared to stab her but Tracy managed to make Belle see who she really was.

After the incident, Belle was hospitalised and agreed to take her medication again.

Who are her relatives?

Belle and the Dingles (ITV)

Belle is the daughter of Zak and Lisa Dingle, and the half-sibling of Cain and Sam, as well as past characters Tina, Nathan, Ben and Butch.

Belle is auntie to Samson, Nate, Kyle, Isaac and Debbie Dingle, and cousins with Mandy, Marlon, Chas and others.

The Dingles are the biggest family on Emmerdale, if not soap land, and the family tree can get very confusing.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.

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