EMMERDALE fans have been left fuming with the soap over its decision to recast Tina Dingle after 28 years away from the show.
The gobby Dingle family member made a surprise re-appearance last night on the ITV soap opera after she found herself in the Dales once again for the funeral of her father, Zak.
Tina had largely fallen out of contact with all of her family, including Zak, after skipping the village in 1996.
However, it was secretly revealed that she had remained in contact with Mandy Dingle who alerted her to the news of Zak’s death.
It saw Tina turn up at Wishing Well for his at-home burial but many viewers were left gobsmacked to see that Tina had been recast.
Actress Samantha Power has taken over the role for the brand new era of Tina Dingle with former actress Jacquline Pirie having not reprised the role.
The move left many fans raging and baffled as to why Emmerdale bosses had decided to revive an iconic character from the 90s but have a brand new face playing her.
Hitting out online, one viewer said: “Tina was a big character in the day.If you can’t bring back the original don’t bother.”
Another echoed: “With the greatest respect to the actress who has taken over the role, I do feel it was a huge mistake to reintroduce Tina in this episode.
“What should have been a scene centred around Cain, Sam and Belle (and the established Dingles) was spoiled by her ‘intrusion’.”
A third went on to write: “Bad time to do this tbh, a character only older people would remember, a recast, so no one knows the actress, and is in poor taste, just poor timing for bringing the character of Tina back, if not the original actress, shouldn’t of bothered.”
Someone else went on to say: “The original Tina was nothing like this character that has been brought in.
“She had all the Dingle traits but was profound about her ways to get what she wanted. She was not loud or trashy.”
Before a fifth added: “When they said familiar face … what they really meant was familiar name with a different face.”
Samantha Power has joined the cast having a built up a slew of TV spots over the years.
The TV actress is best known for her roles as Donna McDonagh in hit Sky series Brassic alongside Michelle Keegan.
As well as this, she achieved critical acclaim for her performance as Simone Booth across four series of Channel 4 school drama Ackley Bridge.
She also appeared in the 2015 BBC drama Ordinary Lies alongside Jo Joyner as well as two separate guest stints in rival soap Coronation Street.
Forgotten soap storylines
The nation’s soaps have had many gripping storylines play out over the years. However, some plots proved to be far less memorable. Here are some forgotten stories from Weatherfield, Walford and more…
- Ken and Audrey’s romance (2015): After the death of wife Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), Coronation Street original Ken Barlow (William Roache) started to move on in his life. He started to develop a spark with old friend Audrey (Sue Nicholls), with then-Corrie boss saying it would be like “Ross and Rachel”. In the end, nothing ever came of it and the two remained platonic pals.
- Beth’s bigamy (2016): Despite being happily married to Kirk (Andrew Whyment), a troubling secret came to light about Beth Tinker (Lisa George). It transpired that she had never divorced from her first husband, Darryl (Paul Loughran), father of her son Craig (Colson Smith). Although Craig and Kirk were shocked – and Beth was arrested – the storyline didn’t didn’t go much further.
- Kat Slater’s secret son (2017): Capitalising on the popularity of Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie (Shane Richie), the two received a spin-off back in 2017. Titled ‘Redwater’, it saw the two travel to Ireland where they met long-lost son Luke, now called Dermott Dolan, played by Oisín Stack. Despite the high-tension events during Redwater, Kat seems to have put the experience behind her as Dermott’s not been mentioned since.
- Alfie’s brain tumour (2015): Having learned in 2015 that he had a brain tumour, Alfie kept the news from Kat until their trip to Ireland. At the time, actor Shane Ritchie revealed fans would see a change in Alfie as he battled the illness. It would appear that at some point after leaving the Square, was told the tumour was non-malignant. By the time Alfie returned in 2022, fans were left confused over what had happened to the storyline.
- Kathy and Buster’s affair (2016): In 2016, Walford legend Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) fell into the arms of convict Buster Briggs, played by Karl Howman. Buster was the long-time lover of Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) and fathered both her sons – Mick (Danny Dyer) and Dean (Matt Di Angelo). When Buster left, he begged Kathy to join him, but she refused for the sake of her family. Meanwhile Buster didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Shirley before exiting with a broken heart. Fans expected a showdown between the two women, but this never came to pass.
- Jacob’s OCD (2016): After his dad, David (Matthew Wolfenden), was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2016, Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) developed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This manifested in the form of cleaning. Jacob’s OCD made a brief return one year on, after David had another scare after finding a lump. Jacob frantically searched the bins for a “lucky coin” that had accidentally been thrown away. Despite stressful situations – such as being groomed by his teacher Maya, losing his fiancee Leanna to a serial killer, dealing with mum Leyla’s drug addiction, and surviving a stabbing – the condition doesn’t appear to have returned.
- Marlon and Charity’s fling (2003): Few fans would likely remember few will remember the one-night stand between Charity (Emma Atkins) and Marlon (Mark Charnock) in 2003. The pair slept together when Charity was staying with Marlon while still under suspicion for husband Chris’s supposed “murder”.
- Alex Browning’s revenge plot (2014): Fans expected a confrontation when Dr Browning’s son Alex (Ojan Genc) mer stepmum Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe). After all, Mercedes, with Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) and Lindsey Butterfield (Sophie Austin) had murdered Alex’s dad, double-murderer Dr Paul Browning, after he kidnapped and attacked his new wife. In fact, the soap teased Alex would seek revenge for his father’s death upon arriving. However, he instead gave Cindy’s son Hilton (his half-brother) a life-saving transplant, became his godfather, and leaving the village soon after.
