Ben Dingle. The first ever Dingle family member to appear in the show.
Ben Dingle was a minor character in Emmerdale and appeared in 1 episode, w:c:emmerdale:Episode 1893 (9th August 1994). He was the first of the Dingle clan to appear in the show. He tried to run w:c:emmerdale:Joe Sugden and David Glover over. He got into a fight with w:c:emmerdale:Luke McAllister and died in the process. Luke was charged but an autopsy revealed Ben had an underlying heart condition, although Ben's family refused to accept this, and terrorised Luke. Ben was played by w:c:emmerdale:Steve Fury, whose real name is Steve Jackson.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
Benedict Alan Dingle was born on the 18 February 1974 to w:c:emmerdale:Zak Dingle and w:c:emmerdale:Nellie Dingle. He was one of several siblings, including w:c:emmerdale:Tina Dingle, w:c:emmerdale:Sam Dingle, w:c:emmerdale:Butch Dingle and w:c:emmerdale:Nathan Dingle. Local farmer w:c:emmerdale:Joe Sugden knew Ben when he was a child. But Joe and the Dingles stayed away from each other while living in the same village. Ben grew up as a typical Dingle, always getting into trouble.
1994[]
Yobbo Ben Dingle attended a party in August 1994. w:c:emmerdale:Dave Glover recognised him as Ben Dingle. w:c:emmerdale:Joe Sugden said he last
Ben arrives in the village.
saw him when he was a kid. Ben caused trouble and got into a fight with w:c:emmerdale:Luke McAllister. During the fight, Ben was hitting Luke, so when Luke hit Ben back, Ben fell down and was unresponsive. He was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead later on. Luke was accused of manslaughter, and it appeared that Ben died of blood inhalation after Luke hit him.
However, it turned out that Ben had an underlying heart condition which cleared Luke, but Ben's family refused to believe this.
Ben was buried in w:c:emmerdale:Emmerdale Village Cemetery in August 1994.
Legacy[]
Throughout the rest of 1994 and up to July 1995, the Dingles made the McAllister's life hell. As Bernard was a doctor, the Dingles thought he had lied about Ben's heart defect to get Luke off a manslaughter charge. Ben's sister Tina "befriended" Luke and said that she was pregnant so they agreed to marry. On their wedding day in July 1995 Tina jilted Luke, saying she could never forgive him for Ben's death. Luke tried to get revenge on Tina but died in the process. Tina felt bad but she was the only Dingle to feel that. Luke's death put and end to the Dingle vs McAllister feud for good.
In March 2000 Ben's brother Butch died and was buried in the same grave. Underneath the names and dates the grave says "Dead but always Dingles".
Ben's brother Sam visited Ben's grave in July 2006. Sam's wife w:c:emmerdale:Alice Dingle was dying of cancer at the time.
In 2012, Zak had mental health problems and had delusions where he mentioned Ben Dingle. He got some events mixed up when he said "Butch Dingle is dead. Luke McAllister has to pay". Butch died years after Luke did.
Memorable info[]
Birthday: 18th February 1974
Died: 9th August 1994 (Aged 20)
Full Name: Benedict Dingle
Family[]
Father Zak Dingle
Mother Nellie Dingle
Siblings Butch Dingle (deceased, after Ben); Nathan Dingle; Sam Dingle; Tina Dingle; Belle Dingle (half, same father. Born after Ben's death), Cain Dingle (half, same father)
Grandfathers w:c:emmerdale:Jedediah Dingle, w:c:emmerdale:Jimmy Lynch
Grandmothers w:c:emmerdale:Peg Dingle, Unknown
Trivia[]
Ben was the first ever member of the Dingle family to appear in the show, even though he only appeared in 1 episode. Originally the Dingle's were bought in just to appear in a few episodes "to cause some bother in the village" but proved popular with viewers so were made regulars, and the rest is history.
His gravestone says he died 19th August 1994 but this could be a mistake for 9th August.
Appearances[]
1994