Emmerdale fans beg ITV bosses to bring back iconic character – but with a new face
Emmerdale fans are desperate to see one former character return to the ITV Dales one year after they left the soap for good - but this time she could be recast
Emmerdale fans have begged ITV bosses to bring back one iconic character to the village – but this time with a new face.
Blonde bombshell Debbie Dingle (played by Charley Webb) first appeared in the Dales in 2002 and was a staple to our screens for 19 years. Her character has been involved in some explosive storylines, from her teenage pregnancy to her ill-fated wedding to Pete Barton.
In 2021, the actor decided to bid farewell to the soap, but delighted fans with a few one-off appearances until 2023. Since then, her character has been mentioned several times on the show, but the mum-of-three has gone on to expand her horizons.
But that hasn’t stopped fans from mourning her absence online. Taking to Reddit, many users have pleaded with TV producers to bring back the loveable character – even if that means they will have to recast the long-lasting character.
“If Charley Webb does not want to return, they should recast the role of Debbie.” A third agreed: “#Emmerdale could recast Debbie if Charley is done @emmerdale” as a fourth chimed in with: “A card from Debbie – now bring her back as a recast [two shifty eyes emojis].”
It comes after the star landed a role as a police officer in a new ITV drama The Long Shadow. Last year, Charley was on stage in the Chichester Theatre adaptation of Quiz – a drama depicting the story of Chales Ingram, who infamously cheated his way to the jackpot on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Charley played Charles’ wife, Diana, who played an integral part in Charles’ and the subsequent scandal that came when he was found out. After finding success elsewhere, Charley admitted she has no regrets about leaving Emmerdale.
She told Whattowatch.com: “It felt like the right time for me personally to make that jump from Emmerdale and I don’t have any regrets about it. I’m ambitious to push myself and it’s just about choosing the right projects from now on.
“It’s hard to say no to work, but I trust my agent and I trust the process. Hopefully, I’ve made some good choices so far.”
It comes after Vanessa Woodfield, who plays Michelle Hardwick, suddenly returned to the soap back in February. At the time, only a handful of people were privy to her surprise return since producers were eager to keep it under wraps.
But now Vanessa is back for good, she has shared her excitement for her upcoming storylines on the soap. She gushed at the time: “Nobody knew. I normally post things, everybody, my agent, we were going we can’t say anything, I said it to my family.
“It was the press team who decided it was gonna be a twist return, and it worked.” Emmerdale fans will have to stay tuned to see if ITV bosses will bring back any more familiar faces on the show.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV1 or catch up on ITVX.