Alice Dingle in Emmerdale is the much-missed late wife of Sam Dingle, and mum to his son Samson Dingle. She sadly passed away when Samson was young.
She and Sam weren’t married for long, but their romance changed poor Sam’s life forever.
So what was her tragic story?
Emmerdale: Alice meets the Dingles
A bit of a social misfit, Alice Wilson had been living on her own since her father had died, and she’d been struggling to keep the family farm going.
Paddy Kirk visited to see Alice’s chickens and was horrified to see how Alice was living.
He and his wife, Emily, made friends with Alice and it was through them that she got to know and fall in love with Sam.
Romance with Sam
Alice and Sam hit it off, but still struggling with the farm, Alice made plans to move to Norfolk.
When she told Sam she was going, he was beside himself. He even thought about taking his own life, though Eric Pollard managed to talk him out of it.
Alice though, came to visit after she’d auctioned her farm, and the pair kissed. Alice asked him to go to Norfolk with her but Sam said no. He said he didn’t want to leave his family.
Zak, though, knew his son better than he knew himself. He talked him into going with Alice and the pair left together happily.
Returning to Emmerdale
Alice followed Sam home to Emmerdale a few years later. It turned out she had found out she was pregnant and Sam had legged it!
Though the Dingles were cross with Sam, Alice understood he’d just had a wobble and the couple reunited. They decided to stay in Emmerdale so their baby could grow up with the Dingle family.
Alice Dingle’s cancer
During her pregnancy, Alice started feeling ill. She and Sam were devastated to discover she had cancer. The doctors advised her to terminate her pregnancy so she could start treatment but Alice refused.
She gave birth to Samson prematurely in January 2006, and started chemotherapy.
Though Alice faced her illness bravely, and even did a wing walk to raise money for charity, the treatment didn’t work.
Tying the knot
During Alice’s treatment, when Samson was still a small baby, she and Sam got married.
After the moving ceremony, Alice told Sam that she’d made the decision to stop chemotherapy.
Assisted death for Alice Dingle
Alice was determined not to lose control throughout her illness – she shaved her head before she lost her hair and she decided she wanted to die when she was ready.
She made the tough choice to stop her treatment and after several weeks of pain, she and Sam agreed she would take her own life.
So when the time was right, Alice said tearful goodbyes to her family and Sam gave her an overdose of morphine.
Who played Alice Dingle?
Alice was played by actress Ursula Holden Gill.
She’d had several television roles before she landed the part of Alice, including the school secretary Carol in Teachers.
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After she left Emmerdale, she went back to university, studying teacher training.
Now, though she still acts – appearing in crime dramas Vera, and In The Dark – she works as a storyteller and writer.
She works with children and adults, writing and telling stories based on fairy tales and folklore, as well as teaching.
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2024? Cast exits, arrivals and returns
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.
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