Belle Dingle

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). 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.