Lisa Dingle
| Lisa Dingle | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lisa in 2009. | |||||||||||
| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jane Cox | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1996– | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 13 August 1996 | ||||||||||
| Created by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances |
The Dingles Down Under (1997) For Richer for Poorer (2010) | ||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Occupation | Factory Worker/Home Artist | ||||||||||
| Home | Wishing Well Cottage | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Lisa May Dingle (née Lakely; previously Clegg) is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Jane Cox. Lisa currently serves as the fifteenth longest running character in the history of the show.
Creation
Casting
Lisa Clegg was first introduced by producer Mervyn Watson in 1996 who cast Jane Cox for the role. Lisa first appeared in August 1996, as a potential love interest for Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell) after his wife Nellie Dingle (Sandra Gough) left to care for her father in Ireland.
Jane Cox really loved the idea to play Lisa Clegg in Emmerdale. In an interview shortly after landing the role of Lisa, Jane stated [...] 'I was told that Lisa was a big lady and most comfortable in wellington boots [...] . Jane Cox had originally auditioned for the role of Nellie Dingle. However Mervyn Watson gave the role to Sandra Gough, Cox was pleased she got the part of Lisa Clegg instead because she really enjoyed the character. [...] She's very practical and down to earth. I like the fact that she spends most of the time in a boiler suit but can be sassy.[...] [1]
Storylines
1996–
When Lisa Clegg met Zak Dingle, she was instantly smitten. While other women may have been turned off by Zak’s dodgy dealing and oddball family, Lisa didn’t care about any of it. However, the path of true love didn’t run smoothly for the couple - especially when Lisa’s ex-husband, Barry, turned up and tried to blow up the Dingle homestead.
Despite their problems, Zak and Lisa married on 28 January 1998. Various family troubles kept them busy during that year, but Zak and Lisa were surprised when Lisa went out to the barn and went in labour when Lisa didn't know she was pregnant.
The arrival of baby Belle served to deepen Zak and Lisa’s marriage, even surviving the nightmare that was Zak’s ex-wife Nellie’s stay in the village.
Lisa was deeply saddened when Zak’s son Butch was killed in a bus crash in the village. She even moved out when it was clear Zak blamed her as she’d fixed the brakes on the vehicle before it crashed. After a few months, Zak realised he couldn’t live without Lisa and begged her to move back in.
In 2001, tragedy hit again when Zak was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Zak overcame the disease with Lisa's support and repaid his wife by inviting his mother Peg to move in. With Peg around, tensions in the Dingle household reached fever pitch. When she went, everyone was relieved.
The family was split again when Zak went off to South America in 2002 in search of the Dingle treasure - without Lisa’s blessing. With her husband away, Lisa felt vulnerable - especially with Zak’s sleazy brother, Shadrach, coming on to her all the time. In the end, Lisa resorted to violent tactics to make Shadrach back off and was relieved he got the message.
Although she enjoyed a few dates with Bob Hope’s brother Eddie, it was clear that Zak was still the man for Lisa - a fact confirmed by his return and their subsequent reunion.
Lisa and Zak were shocked to discover that Debbie was pregnant and no one was aware of her pregnancy. Lisa felt she’d let Debbie down and was determined to give her all the support she needed to bring up baby Sarah. Unfortunately, Debbie couldn’t cope with being a mum. She did everything she could to avoid looking after her daughter which infuriated Lisa, causing many rows and this left Lisa at the end of her tether. So when Debbie gave baby Sarah to Emily Kirk, who then disappeared, Lisa hit the roof. Unable to bear the sight of Debbie, Lisa was relieved when she departed the Dingle home.
More tragedy was to hit the family when Zak’s son, Sam, announced his girlfriend Alice Wilson was pregnant – only for that news to be followed by the revelation that Alice had cancer. Lisa proved to be the backbone of the family as everyone tried to prepare Sam for Alice’s death and looking after their baby son, Samson, alone.
The morning of the competition in Emmerdale's 5000th episode, Lisa accidentally knocked out Val carrying a big bag of linens. Lisa and Val had been feuding and Lisa worried Val might have it out for her. Eli Dingle tied and gagged Val whilst Lisa was gone, intending to ransom her.
Val was fuming at the Dingles until Lisa accidentally let it slip that Eric was planning the wedding for that day. Val and Eric did get married in front of friends and family.
Lisa was relieved when Belle's time at private school came to an end. She went there initially because Rosemary King realised how intelligent Belle was and offered to pay the fees. Anything else from the uniform to school trips were to be funded by the Dingles. But when Rosemary left the village, she stopped paying the fees and it was a struggle for Zak and Lisa to pay them. They borrowed a lot of money from Debbie, leading her to get into trouble with Carl, who she borrowed the money from.
After Zak quit his job at Home Farm, following a row over breakages Matthew insisted Zak pay for, Belle's friends found out that Zak hadn't paid the fees and teased her about it. So, recognising the problem, Zak and Lisa removed her from the private school and re-enrolled her into public school.
Lisa also managed to create a bond between Debbie and her daughter, Sarah. Andy agreed to let the Dingles see Sarah regularly and by getting Debbie to visit at the same time as Sarah and play with her, a mother-daughter bond developed.
Towards Christmas 2009, Lisa started nude modelling as the Dingles needed the extra cash for Christmas in order to buy Belle a laptop and other presents for family. When Lisa told Zak how tight fisted she thought Nikhil was, Zak grew suspicious as Lisa had said the money for Belle's laptop came from a works bonus. Lisa was forced to tell Zak the truth. He initially wasn't happy she kept it from him, but he came round. When Eli and Shadrach found out, they kept making wisecracks so Lisa decided to stop due to the lack of support from people round her, after admitting to Zak that she felt good about herself.
In 2010, Lisa was arrested for punching a policeman and was sentenced to three months in imprisonment.
In 2010, Derek Benrose began working at the Sharma Sweet Factory alongside Lisa. They formed a close friendship, and Zak got on well with Derek to, but in January 2011, after agreeing to work overtime with Lisa, Derek took advantage of the fact they were alone and raped Lisa, Lisa faced further heartache in March when she eventually told the police about her rape, they didn't have enough evidence to pursue a case against Derek.
Reception
Cox was nominated in the category of "Best Actress" at the 2011 British Soap Awards.[2]
References
- ↑ Emmerdale Org (16 September 2003). "Emmerdale's Lisa Dingle". Emmerdale Org. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
- ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (7 March 2011). "British Soap Awards 2011 voting opens". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 2011-03-07.
External links
| |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||