Belle Dingle (also King) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Eden Taylor-Draper. Belle made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 25 December 1998, originally played by twins Emily and James Mather. James stopped appearing in the role in 2000 and Emily in 2005, at which point Taylor-Draper took over, remaining ever since. Belle has featured in various storylines throughout her time on the soap, such as falling down a mineshaft, killing her best friend Gemma Andrews (Tendai Rinomhota), having an affair with doctor Jermaine Bailey (Micah Balfour), faking a pregnancy to prevent Jermaine from leaving after their affair is revealed, being diagnosed with schizophrenia, a relationship with Lachlan White (Thomas Atkinson) which ends after discovering he is a serial killer and various mental health relapses. In 2024, Belle was at the centre of a high-profile storyline which sees her being coercively controlled and abused by husband Thomas King (James Chase).
Casting and characterisation Twins Emily and James Mather were cast as Belle after their mother, Joanne, was told the soap's producers were looking for babies to play a role in the show. She explained "My two had just been born so I contacted casting. When they saw Emily and James they liked them straight away and they made their first appearance when they were only 10 days old." The twins were brought in when the producers realised that the role would be too demanding for one child to play. Emily and James took it in turns to play Belle. Their mother was on-set all the time and chose which twin appeared on-screen. As Belle grew older and her storylines increased, the new actress was sought for the part. After a series of auditions, Eden Taylor-Draper was cast as Belle and she began appearing on-screen in 2005.
Her character profile on the official Emmerdale website notes that despite her age, Belle is the "brightest" in the Dingle family, but although she is smart, she is still a "Dingle at heart". It states that she is a "proud and loyal member" of the Dingles, and that she "will use her intelligence for scams". She is billed as an "intelligent, intuitive, caring, normal teenager who likes to test the boundaries with her mum and dad". The profile notes that she likes boys and makeup, and that she dislikes "being treated like a kid", and that if she had a wish, it would be for a "fit boyfriend and less hassle from her parents".
Development Murder of Gemma Andrews
It was revealed on 23 January 2014 that Belle would have a life-changing storyline later in the year which would see her unintentionally kill her best friend, Gemma Andrews (Tendai Rinomhota) after an argument gets out of hand. In March 2014, the character confessed and was charged with murder. In June 2014, the character was charged with manslaughter and later sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. This sentence was later reduced to 1 year in August 2014. Speaking about the build-up to the moment, Taylor-Draper explained that the situation gets "a bit heated" due to the pair both liking Sean. She noted that there has always been a rivalry between the two, and this drives that rivalry further. The argument starts when Belle and Sean flirt, and Gemma "kicks off a little bit". She explains that the characters are "by a river out in the sticks with nobody else around", and Belle pushes Gemma "hard enough to cause some damage". She defends her character, stating that Belle does not do it to hurt Gemma, and that it "wasn't deliberate at all". Gemma gets up from the fall, so Belle assumes she is "perfectly fine", but later hears that Gemma has gone missing. Taylor-Draper explains that Belle begins to think "is this because of me?", but it "doesn't really hit home" until they find Gemma unconscious. Then, Belle "realises that she is to blame and she feels really guilty". After Gemma dies in hospital, Belle "breaks down and blurts the truth out to Lisa". The actress explains that her character wants to go to the police, but that Lisa "wants to protect her family" and does not want to see Belle go to prison. Belle becomes "very paranoid that everyone has got their eyes on her", and Taylor-Draper states that the experience has "traumatised" Belle. Belle "feels that she is a murderer" and that she deserves a prison sentence "as she doesn't want this huge weight on her shoulders". Taylor-Draper added that she could not personally live with it in real life, and that hinted that the event "could absolutely ruin [Belle's] life and it's already eating away at her". She also voiced her excitement at being involved in the storyline, noting that it is the "biggest story" she has had in her time on Emmerdale so far.
Belle is sentenced to three years of imprisonment once her manslaughter is discovered. She is released months later, with her break being due to the actress taking examinations. Taylor-Draper stated that Belle is initially "alright" following her release, and that her warm welcome from the Dingles makes her feel like "the normal old-school Belle" who is "happy to be home". She notes that viewers will initially "think that everything is great and there's nothing wrong", but revealed that Belle is "damaged". She explains that "cracks start to show in this false appearance of Belle having a lovely life", and that "there are little things that build up as time goes on". Belle is "feeling fine" about returning to school, but when Gabby Thomas (Annelise Manojlovic) and her friends circle Belle and bully her, it "really messes with [her] head". She visits Gemma's shrine, where she meets Lachlan, who asks if she knew Gemma prior to her death. Taylor-Draper explains that "she finds it really hard to deal with him, because she feels that he's very full-on with death". Due to wanting to change her appearance following prison, Belle dyes her hair a dark brown. Lisa is supportive of the change, but is "very anxious" about Belle's mental state, to which Taylor-Draper responded by saying: "I don't think Belle is registering anyone's worry at this point. Even if she does, she's just saying that everything is fine."
Belle decides she does not want to go to school, and her parents source a home tutor for her, and Belle "thinks that's great because she won't have to deal with people". Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) asks Belle to look after his daughter April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan), which Taylor-Draper notes is a "massive step for Belle" since it means that people are trusting her with responsibilities. However, after he sees Belle arguing with Gabby, he decides "he no longer wants her near his child", which is "really hard for Belle to deal with". The actress notes that although Gabby initiates the rivalry between them, Belle "becomes awful to Gabby". Someone is believed to be targeting Belle, putting abusive graffiti on her front door, smashing the windows at her home, and attacking her. After Belle believes she can communicate with Gemma and begins to follow her "instructions", producers confirmed that these events would form "an ongoing mental health storyline for Belle", who is experiencing trauma after Gemma's death and her experiences in prison. Emmerdale producers consulted with the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust for the storyline, who stated that they were happy to lend support to the soap as it has "a great platform for raising awareness of serious mental illnesses like psychosis". She has an outburst, where she reveals that she is responsible for all of the targeted attacks, rather than Lachlan, who people believe to be the culprit. Taylor-Draper explained: "Gemma is tormenting her, bullying her but from within her own mind. It's not like she sees Gemma as a ghost, but Gemma is surrounding her. Belle is doing things because she is being told to. Everyone thinks she is being bullied and then attacked by Lachlan but it's not, it's her. It's coming from Gemma". The actress felt "honoured" to be given an issue-led storyline, and stated that she knew it would be "challenging" prior to beginning the story. She spoke to someone who had a "quite similar" story to Belle, in order to portray the mental illness correctly. The storyline progresses when Belle hears Gemma telling her that Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox) has a problem with Belle, and encourages her to hurt her. Taylor-Draped stated that "Belle knows deep down" that Edna and Belle are fine, but she "feels obliged to attack Edna in some way – just to make Gemma calm down". The storyline reaches a "climax" in January 2015 when Belle bites Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward) and locks herself in a car, leading medical professionals to get involved. Katie later dies by falling through the floor in a farm, and despite having no involvement in her death, Belle blames herself. She attempts suicide, and is hospitalised.
Relationship with Jermaine Bailey and schizophrenia diagnosis In March 2016, it was reported that Belle would fall for Jermaine, a local doctor. Taylor-Draper said of the storyline that Belle's relationship with Dr. Bailey "is an escape from [Belle's] life" and that her character had "fallen for this guy". Taylor-Draper also stated she regards the storyline as a coming of age storyline for Belle. Prior to the relationship beginning, Taylor-Draper and Balfour were taken in for a meeting with series producer Ian MacLeod for a "character conference", where he revealed plans for the two to be a romantic pairing. The two were not told where the storyline would advance to past the romance. Due to the age difference of the characters, Taylor-Draper stated that she found it "weird" to be kissing someone who is the age of her father, but stated that "it's work". The two meet when Belle cuts her hand at the sweet factory, and she lies about her age and position at the factory to Jermaine. He is "fooled by Belle's lies", and since there is "clearly an attraction between the pair", Belle becomes "confident" that they it will lead to more. However, Belle stops taking her medication for her mental illness, and voices begin "telling her what to do", with thoughts such as pouring wine over step-mother Joanie and pretend to be pregnant with Jermaine's baby. She calls the voices Ellie, who she perceives to be a friend from prison, but is "actually a symptom of her psychosis".