Tina Dingle

Tina Dingle is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, originally played by Jacqueline Pirie. She was introduced by producer Mervyn Watson as the fourth and youngest member of the Dingle family. Pirie was 19 when she was cast as 16 year old Tina, and she relocated from Birmingham to Yorkshire for filming. She used a Yorkshire accent for the role, instead of her natural Scottish-Birmingham accent. Pirie was keen to see the viewer's reaction to her character, whom she branded "the bitch from hell". She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 29 December 1994. A few months later, Pirie was given a long-term contract. Tina is characterised as a smart, tough, wayward troublemaker. She is flirtatious and wears short skirts and tight tops to attract the boys. Pirie speculated that viewers would hate her character, especially as she becomes more ruthless and manipulative, but she enjoyed playing Tina when she was in "bitch mode". Her first scenes establish that she has been expelled from her school for assaulting a teacher.

Luke McAllister (Noah Huntley) plays an integral part to Tina's early storylines. Prior to her arrival, Luke fights with her brother Ben Dingle (Steve Fury), who dies from an heart condition. The Dingles blame Luke for Ben's death and feud with the McAllister family. Tina and Luke develop a romantic connection after he drives her home one night. Tina schemes to alienate Luke from his friends and family and uses the fact that he is "smitten" with her to her advantage. Tina moves in with Luke, claims she is pregnant and accepts his marriage proposal. She also sells his family heirlooms and fakes a pregnancy scare to ruin an important exam. Huntley believed his character was "hopelessly in love" with Tina and is willing to give everything up for her. During the wedding, Tina reveals that the relationship and the baby were a ruse, as she and her family still blamed him for Ben's death. The storyline leads to Luke's departure from the show, as he forces Tina into his van and speeds through country lanes, before he crashes and dies.

Tina has a short-lived relationship with pub manager Terry Woods (Billy Hartman), which she uses to get away from her family. However, she is devastated when Terry breaks up with her. Pirie was able to show a softer side to Tina, who is genuinely upset by the development. When Terry tries to reconcile, Tina refuses as she does not want the heartache. Pirie said her character develops a distrust of men because of Terry. Towards the end of 1995, Tina is kidnapped by Kenny Dillon (Allan O'Keefe), after her uncle Albert Dingle (Bobby Knutt) steals some jewellery from Kenny's home. Tina makes the most of her luxury surroundings at Kenny's mansion, and has to be dragged home by her father. Following the departure of her mother, Tina becomes responsible for keeping the Dingle men in their place. Pirie described Tina as "the level-headed one" in the family. Tina is employed by Frank Tate (Norman Bowler) as his housekeeper and later personal assistant. He also uses her in his battle with his estranged wife Kim Tate (Claire King). Pirie confirmed that Tina has no romantic feelings for Frank and wants to focus on her career. She forms a relationship with Frank's right-hand man Steve Marchant (Paul Opacic) instead

Pirie quit the role in mid-1996, after deciding not to renew her contract. She later revealed that she was expecting her first child and Tina would be written out of Emmerdale by the end of the year. After her relationship with Steve comes to an end, Tina rejects Frank's proposal and decides to go to London. Her exit aired on 24 December 1996. The character made an unannounced return in October 2024 for the funeral of her father Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell). The role was recast to Samantha Power, and Pirie later stated that she was not asked to return. Power described the 2024 Tina as "feisty, bolshy, selfish". She said Tina has an agenda and plans to get her hands on the Dingle house. She blackmails her cousin Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) into handing over Zak's will, and in a storyline twist, it emerges that Tina is the biological mother of Mandy's adopted son Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson). Power made her final appearance as Tina on 13 November 2024, after Tina proves she is not loyal to Vinny.

Pirie received a nomination for Most Popular Newcomer at the National Television Awards in 1995. The character was branded "TV's most vicious bitch", "one of the nastiest characters on the box", and "one of TV's best-loved characters". Pirie thought she would receive hate mail from viewers for her character's behaviour, but she ended up getting praised for her portrayal. Paul Simper from the Radio Times called Tina "one of the great forgotten family members of the Dingle clan". The recast was not well received by viewers due to changes to the character's personality.