List of Emmerdale characters introduced in 2008


The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera Emmerdale in 2008, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the soap's executive producer, Keith Richardson.

Shane Doyle

Shane Doyle, played by Paul McEwan, made his first screen appearance on 3 January 2008.
Shane was introduced as a police officer and a colleague of Donna Windsor-Dingle and Ross Kirk's. Shane constantly bullied Donna but was good friends with Ross. He bullied Donna due to her gender – a woman being in the police force – and also for being married into the Dingle family, who had a prominent criminal record. After much conflict between Shane and Donna, she decides to start a fresh. At a party she tried to start a fresh with Shane, but he misunderstood and made a pass at her. As he tried to force himself upon her she kneed him in the groin and ran to Ross Kirk's house, as Ross had seen the assault. After her close shave with Shane, she decided to file a complaint against him, but Shane had guessed what she would do and so he told the Chief Superintendent that Donna had made a pass at him. Donna decided not to go ahead in filing a complaint after discovering that Ross wouldn't back her up.
Donna's husband Marlon, after hearing what Shane did, took action by convincing his younger brother Eli to frame Shane as a corrupt officer. Eli gave Ross drugs to plant in Shane's locker, while he would report Shane to the police for possession of drugs. Ross went ahead with the plan and stashed drugs in Shane's locker. Donna found out about the plan and rushed to the station to remove the drugs from Shane's locker. Shane caught her trying to break into his locker. Donna confessed to the plan, and used it as a warning for Shane, who stayed away from Donna and the entire Dingle clan from then on. However, Shane began to notice an intimacy between Ross and Donna, and was convinced that the pair were having an affair. When a police officer came to him looking for Ross at a police comedy night, he became even more suspicious. He knocked on Donna's door claiming to be room service, and his suspicions were confirmed when he heard Ross's voice in the room also.
Shane began dating Jasmine Thomas, an undercover journalist, who was dating him to get information on his alleged connections to the criminal family The McFarlanes. Shane and Jasmine met at The Woolpack, and later met again when Shane arrived at Jasmine's boyfriend Jake Doland's house, and provokes an attack from Jake, and subsequently arrests him for drunk and disorderly, while Jasmine dumps Jake for thinking that she'd ever cheat on him. Shane asks Jasmine out on a date but she only becomes interest in him when he arrests Danielle Hutch, a girl with ties to The McFarlanes. Shane and Jasmine begin dating and Shane later releases Danielle, stating that he felt sorry for her. Shane and Jasmine eventually sleep together, and Jasmine begins pressuring him for information on The McFarlanes. However, she is taken aback when he gets angry. She then searches her flat and discovers a large sum of cash in his wardrobe. She is then caught by Shane, and it soon transpires that Shane is in league with The McFarlanes, proving him to be a corrupt officer.
After learning of Shane's illegal activities, Jasmine attempts to flee his flat. However, he corners her and tries to force himself upon her. Jasmine's friend Debbie Dingle then arrives and knocks Shane unconscious by hitting him over the head with a chair. As Jasmine and Debbie prepare to leave, Shane regains consciousness and tries to assault Debbie. Jasmine picks up a chair leg and promptly beats Shane to death. Shaken by the recent turn of events, Debbie and Jasmine enlist the help of Eli Dingle and they dump Shane's body in the lake. Jasmine then uses Shane's credit card to buy a plane ticket out of England, but she begins having nightmares.
In January 2009, Shane's body is found by Victoria Sugden when she falls through the frozen over lake, and his body eventually resurfaces. Ross Kirk is initially arrested for his murder but it is Debbie who is wrongly imprisoned. Eventually Jasmine returns and hands herself into the police for Shane's murder.

Cindy Bunton

Cindy Bunton, portrayed by former Brookside actress Tiffany Chapman, is an actress employed by Donald De Souza. She first appeared on 5 February 2008. Following Donald leaving hospital after a brain haemorrhage, Cindy is hired to look after him while he recovers. However, Donald hires Cindy to annoy his wife Nicola, who he knows has had an affair with David Metcalfe, who flirts with Cindy himself, much to Nicola's irritation.
After a few weeks, Nicola learns the true nature of Cindy's employment. She tries her best to use Cindy in her plan to kill Donald. This includes one attempt where Cindy takes pills meant for Donald in a set-up where Cindy would have taken the blame. When Donald learns all this, he makes Nicola leave his house. Cindy, meanwhile, leaves the village as she is no longer needed by Donald and is keen to move on. She departed on 17 March 2008.

Charlie Sellers

Charlie Sellers, portrayed by Michael Keogh, is a cellmate of Andy Sugden. He first appears on 8 January 2008 when Andy Sugden is sent to prison for the arson attack which killed his adoptive mother Sarah Sugden. He makes Andy's life a misery, and Andy attacks him after he suggests Andy's wife Jo could be having an affair without him.
When Charlie is released, he begins harassing Jo. On 7 March, he moves into Jo and Andy's farm, threatening Jo if she tells anyone. Jo eventually works with Debbie Dingle and Chas Dingle
to get rid of him. They convince Brenda McFarlane to help them. Jo convinces Charlie to steal from a club owned by the McFarlanes, a local family of criminals, with Chas helping him. The idea is that Charlie will get caught by the police while Chas escapes. However, Charlie holds the bar manager hostage at gunpoint, and both escape. Mrs. McFarlane later appears with a 'heavy' and demands the stolen money back. She tells him to leave and never return and he has no choice but to agree.

Joe Jacobs

Joe Jacobs, portrayed by John Woodvine, is an old friend of Sandy Thomas. He first appeared on 20 February 2008. Soon after arriving, he flirts with Betty Eagleton, who Sandy had got close to. Months later he reappears when Betty and Pearl Ladderbanks try speed dating at the Woolpack. Pearl quickly gets fond of Joe but she thinks his affection is only because she has a spare ticket for a cruise she has won. Pearl chooses to take Lily Butterfield on the cruise, but Joe drops a suitcase on her foot as he thinks she is being too demanding. Pearl then chooses Joe to go with her on the cruise and he tells her how fond of her he is. When Pearl returns from the cruise without Joe, she reluctantly tells her friends that he had been kicked off the cruise for rude behaviour.

Gennie Walker

Brenda Walker

Anna De Souza

Leyla Harding

Adele Allfrey

Adele Allfrey was a worker at Sharma and Sharma sweet factory. She appeared from 2008 to 2010, and was played by Tanya Vital.
After Eric Pollard's staff go on strike, he places an advert for more staff. After having an interview, Adele is given a job along with Leyla Harding. Adele gets on well with the other workers and joins them in playing practical jokes on their supervisor, Lexi King. One day, Adele does not show up for work, and Lexi tells them she had fired Adele as a warning to everyone else to keep their focus on their job. The next day, they learn Adele had actually taken leave to help her sick mother, and she soon returns to work. She loses her job in July 2009 when Eric closes the factory due to a loss in business. She then got her current job at the new sweet factory when it opened in Emmerdale in the summer of 2009.
In the summer of 2010, Adele had a brief fling with Andy Sugden, but the romance was cut short when his ex-wife and Adele's friend Katie admitted sleeping with him. Katie's betrayal then prompted Adele to quit her job and leave the village.

Bonnie Drinkwater

Bonnie Drinkwater is a holiday friend of Val Pollard. She appeared in 2008.
She arrives in Emmerdale, having met Val in Cancún, Mexico, and her stories of her and Val's drunken holiday antics soon annoy Val but interest Val's husband Eric, who Bonnie starts to flirt with. Val then spends more and more time with Bonnie to keep her away from Eric. After a few days, Bonnie tells Val that during the holiday, Val slept with a much younger man called Derek, a name she has tattooed on her back, although Val does not remember this. Val then feels blackmailed because if she tells Bonnie to leave the village, she fears she will tell Eric of her affair. Later that day, she gets drunk with Doug Potts, whose wife had just said she wanted a divorce, and she tells him to start living his life, causing him to buy a very expensive car the following day.
Val's son, Paul Lambert, orders Bonnie to ring her daughter so she can leave, but later discovers that she rung the Talking Clock. Bonnie then confesses that she has no daughter, and is a spinster who lives in a one-bedroom flat in Barnsley, and Val is her only friend. She had also made up Val sleeping with Derek. Seeing her as a pathetic, clinger-on, Paul tells her to leave the village. Shortly after she drives away in Doug's car, and then spends the night with him at the Vicarage. The following day he tries to get rid of her, but is only successful when Ashley Thomas tells her that if she is to stay at the Vicarage it will have to be in separate rooms and with no alcohol. It is later revealed Doug had contracted crabs from Bonnie.

Danielle Hutch

Danielle Hutch, played by Nicola Stapleton is a friend of Eli Dingle. Stapleton's casting was announced a month ahead of her arrival. Danielle is introduced as a friend of Eli Dingle from his past and described as a "streetwise Londoner". In an interview with Digital Spy, Stapleton said: "Danielle is such an intriguing character because there's more to her than meets the eye. "I'm really looking forward to starting filming and I think viewers can expect some interesting encounters as we explore the relationship between Danielle and Eli." Series producer Anita Turner added: "I'm so pleased to welcome an actress with Nicola's calibre to the show. Eli likes to manipulate people, but Danielle is a different proposition and she'll definitely get under his skin."
Danielle first appears in when Eli nearly runs her over on a road near the village. They previously knew each other, and had been romantically involved. She stays at the Dingles' house overnight, but Debbie soon finds her with cocaine in her bag. She is later arrested when caught by [|PC Shane Doyle] and taken to London.
Danielle reappears in November when she is spotted working for the McFarlanes, a local criminal family, who paid Doyle to work for them. She warns Jasmine Thomas, who is trying to do some investigative journalism, to stay away from Shane and the McFarlanes. Danielle also helps the Dingles rescue Aaron Livesy from the McFarlanes' house. In February 2009, Danielle arrives in the same prison wing as Debbie Dingle, who has been charged with murdering Shane Doyle. When Eli visits, she explains that after helping the Dingles, the McFarlanes set her up by planting things on her. Eli persuades Danielle to have a fight with Debbie, so they both get sent to hospital. The following week, Eli and Marlon dress up and knock out the officers guarding Debbie and Danielle. Debbie refuses to go with them, but Danielle escapes. However, the following day, the police catch her just as her bus is about to depart.