Tina Dingle
Tina Dingle is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, originally played by Jacqueline Pirie. She was introduced by producer Mervyn Watson as the fourth and youngest member of the Dingle family. Pirie was 19 when she was cast as 16 year old Tina, and she relocated from Birmingham to Yorkshire for filming. She used a Yorkshire accent for the role, instead of her natural Scottish-Birmingham accent. Pirie was keen to see the viewer's reaction to her character, whom she branded "the bitch from hell". She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 29 December 1994. A few months later, Pirie was given a long-term contract. Tina is characterised as a smart, tough, wayward troublemaker. She is flirtatious and wears short skirts and tight tops to attract the boys. Pirie speculated that viewers would hate her character, especially as she becomes more ruthless and manipulative, but she enjoyed playing Tina when she was in "bitch mode". Her first scenes establish that she has been expelled from her school for assaulting a teacher.
Luke McAllister plays an integral part to Tina's early storylines. Prior to her arrival, Luke fights with her brother Ben Dingle, who dies from a heart condition. The Dingles blame Luke for Ben's death and feud with the McAllister family. Tina and Luke develop a romantic connection after he drives her home one night. Tina schemes to alienate Luke from his friends and family and uses the fact that he is "smitten" with her to her advantage. Tina moves in with Luke, claims she is pregnant and accepts his marriage proposal. She also sells his family heirlooms and fakes a pregnancy scare to ruin an important exam. Huntley believed his character was "hopelessly in love" with Tina and is willing to give everything up for her. During the wedding, Tina reveals that the relationship and the baby were a ruse, as she and her family still blamed him for Ben's death. The storyline leads to Luke's departure from the show, as he forces Tina into his van and speeds through country lanes, before he crashes and dies.
Tina has a short-lived relationship with pub manager Terry Woods, which she uses to get away from her family. However, she is devastated when Terry breaks up with her. Pirie was able to show a softer side to Tina, who is genuinely upset by the development. When Terry tries to reconcile, Tina refuses as she does not want the heartache. Pirie said her character develops a distrust of men because of Terry. Towards the end of 1995, Tina is kidnapped by Kenny Dillon, after her uncle Albert Dingle steals some jewellery from Kenny's home. Tina makes the most of her luxury surroundings at Kenny's mansion, and has to be dragged home by her father. Following the departure of her mother, Tina becomes responsible for keeping the Dingle men in their place. Pirie described Tina as "the level-headed one" in the family. Tina is employed by Frank Tate as his housekeeper and later personal assistant. He also uses her in his battle with his estranged wife Kim Tate. Pirie confirmed that Tina has no romantic feelings for Frank and wants to focus on her career. She forms a relationship with Frank's right-hand man Steve Marchant instead
Pirie quit the role in mid-1996, after deciding not to renew her contract. She later revealed that she was expecting her first child and Tina would be written out of Emmerdale by the end of the year. After her relationship with Steve comes to an end, Tina rejects Frank's proposal and decides to go to London. Her exit aired on 24 December 1996. The character made an unannounced return in October 2024 for the funeral of her father Zak Dingle. The role was recast to Samantha Power, and Pirie later stated that she was not asked to return. Power described the 2024 Tina as "feisty, bolshy, selfish". She said Tina has an agenda and plans to get her hands on the Dingle house. She blackmails her cousin Mandy Dingle into handing over Zak's will, and in a storyline twist, it emerges that Tina is the biological mother of Mandy's adopted son Vinny Dingle. Power made her final appearance as Tina on 13 November 2024, after Tina proves she is not loyal to Vinny.
Pirie received a nomination for Most Popular Newcomer at the National Television Awards in 1995. The character was branded "TV's most vicious bitch", "one of the nastiest characters on the box", and "one of TV's best-loved characters". Pirie thought she would receive hate mail from viewers for her character's behaviour, but she ended up getting praised for her portrayal. Paul Simper from the Radio Times called Tina "one of the great forgotten family members of the Dingle clan". The recast was not well received by viewers due to changes to the character's personality.
Creation and casting
The loud and garish Dingle family were introduced to the show throughout late 1994 and early 1995. Tina was the fourth member to arrive, following her father Zak Dingle and brothers Ben Dingle and Butch Dingle. Her mother Nellie Dingle and brother Sam Dingle later followed. New producer Mervyn Watson was responsible for introducing Nellie and Tina. He cited them as being great examples of how the serial had become more character led than before. Actress Jacqueline Pirie was 19 years old when she was cast as Tina, the youngest member of the family. She relocated from Birmingham to Pudsey, Yorkshire for filming. Pirie commented that she was "going to be the bitch from hell" and was excited to see how viewers reacted to her character. She made her first appearance on 29 December 1994. In March 1995, Pirie confirmed that she had been given a long-term contract and said she would be with the show for at least the rest of the year.Development
Characterisation
The Dingles instantly earn a bad reputation with Zak and Butch causing "havoc" around the village, but Victoria Ross of Inside Soap stated that the women of the family were "more than a match for the men". Ross said Tina is her mother's biggest concern, as she has been expelled from her school for assaulting a teacher, has "an eye for the boys", and brawled with Luke McAllister upon her arrival in the village. Noting her expulsion from school, Pirie said Tina was "a real troublemaker". Tina is seen attending Hotten Comprehensive, where her new teacher is Luke's mother Angharad McAllister. Pirie said that it was certain that Tina would make "life hell for her." Critic Roz Laws of the Birmingham Weekly Mercury dubbed Tina a "16-year-old wild child", and a Daily Mirror reporter branded her a "tough nut schoolgirl" who was going to "create havoc". Ross called Tina "wayward" and "troublesome", while Pirie described her character as "a hard, strong girl and a real flirt", as well as someone she would not like to get on the wrong side of. Another Inside Soap writer overserved that Tina is smart unlike her "half-wit" brothers.Pirie loved playing a "nasty" character and speculated that viewers would hate her. Pirie's father was also worried about her being abused by the public because of her character's actions. Pirie joked that she could pretend to be someone else, as she puts on a Yorkshire accent for the role, but normally speaks with a Scottish-Birmingham accent. Discussing her character's flirty nature, Pirie said that Tina often wears short skirts and tight tops to get the attention of the local boys. She was glad that she was not at all similar to Tina, especially with her "boy chasing". She called her "a real vixen" and wished that she was as sexy as Tina in real life, but thought she would seem "ridiculous" if she used any of Tina's seductive chat up lines. Pirie later described Tina as "evil, ruthless and manipulative", but said that she liked her. She explained that Tina puts on "a hard front" in order to survive and keeps her vulnerable side hidden. She also loves and will always defend her family. Pirie did not like playing the character's "softer side" as it was boring to her. She stated "Playing the bitch is brilliant – when she goes into her bitch mode, I really get to work."
Relationship with Luke McAllister
Prior to Tina's arrival, her older brother Ben dies after a fight with Luke McAllister. The Dingles accused Luke of murder and began feuding with the McAllister family, until they learned that Ben died from an undetected heart condition. Tina is initially attracted to Luke, but becomes hostile towards him when she learns who he is. However, in March 1995, writers developed a romantic relationship between them. The storyline starts with Luke offering to drive Tina home, before she turns up at his house wanting to spend the night. Pirie told Ken Irwin of the Daily Mirror that Tina "has become something of a tease" as she and Luke begin "fooling around". As Tina and Luke starting having sex, Pirie was relieved that Emmerdale went out in a family-friendly time slot, so she would not have to "start stripping off for naked scenes". Huntley explained that his character is very attracted to Tina, and that their relationship is mostly physical, as they are "completely in lust". He also said that she brings out Luke's "wild side" and he brings out her "loving, caring side" which she keeps hidden. Victoria Ross of Inside Soap described it as "a modern day Romeo and Juliet story" due to their feuding families.Tina schemes to alienate Luke from his friends and family beginning with his sister Jessica McAllister. Ross pointed out that the two characters had previously clashed a number of times, so Jessica is "horrified" to learn that Luke and Tina are dating. Tina later decides to move in with Luke and Pirie believed that it would not come as a surprise if Tina was using Luke to annoy "her arch enemy". The actress told Ross "Tina is a very calculating girl. She lives in a real pigsty whereas he has plenty of money and a nice house so that is one reason she's interested in him. But at least part of her motive for going out with Luke is to irritate Jessica." Pirie reckoned that Luke was so "smitten" with Tina that turning him against his sister would be easy for her. Once she has him on her side, she tries to make everyone else think Jessica is "the devil incarnate". Ross thought that Jessica might have to accept Tina when she reveals that she is pregnant with Luke's child. Continuing with her plan to alienate Luke, Tina causes friction between him and his best friend Biff Fowler. After Biff accuses Tina of making romantic advances towards him, Luke asks him to leave his home.
Tina continues scheming and uses the pregnancy to her advantage. She moves in with Luke and accepts his wedding proposal, which elicits a bad reaction from her family. Tina goes on to sell Luke's family heirlooms, spends his money and convinces him to sell his motorbike. On the day of Luke's vital physics A Level exam, Tina calls him and claims she is having stomach pains, causing Luke to skip the exam and rush to her side. Huntley explained that Tina has potentially ruined his character's future, as he needs that A Level to get into Edinburgh University to become a doctor like his father. However, he said Luke is "so hopelessly in love" with Tina that he is willing to give everything up for her, and he also wants to do right by his unborn child. Huntley reckoned Luke had gone soft and said his relationship with Tina was "the most rebellious he's ever been!" Ross believed any marriage between Luke and Tina would be short lived as Huntley had announced his departure from Emmerdale in June 1995.
Ahead of the wedding airing in July 1995, Pirie teased a twist to the storyline. She stated "All I'll say is tune in to the wedding of the year. They do make it to the altar and the vicar says his bit but there's a real twist in the tale and I'm not telling you what it is. I haven't even told my best friends what happens at the wedding!" Pirie reckoned that if the couple did not marry, it would be a waste of "some really wonderful planning and preparations". She found that the build up to the ceremony felt like a real wedding, as new Dingle family members were introduced, Dolores Sharp is Tina's bridesmaid and Biff is Luke's best man. Tina's dress is "tight, white leather" which Pirie admitted she would never wear in real life as it was "so unflattering". She also joked that filming the wedding scenes had put her off weddings forever.
The wedding ends in humiliation for Luke when Tina reveals their relationship and the baby were a ruse, as she and her family still blamed him for Ben's death. Of the twist, Hooton stated "It was a great pay-off for the audience and a great story for us all to play." Luke is "destroyed" by the truth, but tries to win Tina back. After that fails, he kidnaps her and speeds through the country lanes in his van. Tina manages to jump out, shortly before Luke crashes into a tree and dies. The storyline marked Huntley's departure from the serial. On-screen, Tina is blamed for Luke's death and she shows a different to her personality, as she admits that did not want him to die and places flowers on his grave.