Emmerdale’s Eden Taylor-Draper recalls first moment she met co-star in Dingle throwback
The Halloween snap of the Dingle clan celebrated the first time two of the beloved character's met
Eden joined the soap in 2008 to take on the role of Belle Dingle(Image: Eden Taylor-Draper on Instagram)
Emmerdale star Eden Taylor-Draper reflected on the first time she met co-star Bradley Johnson “six years ago” after a throwback Dingle snap was unearthed.
The Dingle family are one of the long-standing broods in the ITV soap, with Belle, Cain, Sam, Mandy, Marlon and Vinny being the remaining members in the village currently.
Taking to her Instagram, Lisa Riley posted a throwback Halloween snap of them dressed up for Halloween as she wrote: “The joys of being a DINGLE in @emmerdale found this photo…..FLASHBACK to a very very very funny day on set…..dressed like this.”
Eden was quick to comment as she replied: “This was the first day I met @bradjakejohnson !” to which Bradley responded: “6 years ago!!”
As one fan @brennanmaeve wrote: “Can I just say that the character of Mandy Dingle is iconic and you bring so much life and feistiness to her” Lisa responded: “you are so kind-I have to thank the writers for giving such fun and crazy stuff to do. It’s a joy to play Mandy, so I’m glad you love her.”
At the age of eight-years-old, Eden joined the cast of Emmerdale to take on the role of Belle Dingle in 2005. She took over from the previous portrayer, Emily Mather.
When she first joined the show she won the British Soap Award for best young actor in 2007 and won it again in 2013. After playing the role for two decades now, Eden has tackled some big storylines including her most recent one that saw Belle Dingle become a victim as husband Tom King ran a vicious campaign of abuse against her.
It wasn’t until 2019 that Bradley joined the Dales to take on the role of Vinny Dingle who returned to the village with Mandy. In recent episodes, Vinny found out that Mandy wasn’t his biological mother and she adopted him from her cousin Tina Dingle who didn’t want to raise him.
Bradley took on the role of Vinny Dingle in 2019(Image: ITV)
Vinny married Liv Flaherty after they started dating in 2020 during the first lockdown. Unfortunately, things took a dark turn after Liv was k.i.l.l.e.d off in 2022 to celebrate Emmerdale’s 50th anniversary.
Since then, Vinny has struck up a relationship with Gabby Thomas after years of being close friends. Previously speaking to Inside Soap, Gabby Thomas actress, Rosie Bentham, said: “I think Gabby needs Vinny even just as a mate.”
“Vinny would be good for Gabby, but it’d come down to whether she’s willing to change herself. It’s a bit of a chalk and cheese situation, isn’t it. When the story got pitched to me, I was like: ‘Oh, how is that going to happen?’ But as the story goes on, the writing has been quite funny and light-hearted.
“I actually thought after being dumped at the altar [by Nicky Milligan], Gabby was in her ‘I hate men’ phase – but that’s always when they come along, isn’t it?”