Vinny Dingle arrived in Emmerdale with his adopted mum, Mandy, in January 2019. At first Mandy told everyone he was her biological son and there was even a suspicion that Paddy – Mandy’s ex-husband – could be his dad.
Wanting to know the truth, Paddy cornered Mandy who eventually admitted Vinny wasn’t his son. So who is Vinny and what’s his story?
Vinny Dingle the criminal
When Mandy and Vinny Dingle returned to live in Emmerdale at the end of 2019, it became apparent that Vinny had been helping Mandy in her Dingle criminal endeavours.
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The pair had been ripping off casinos, thanks to Vinny’s maths skills and his talent for counting cards.
But when Vinny had boasted about their dodgy dealings, a casino owner – Terry – had got wind of it and set out to get his money back.
Who’s Vinny Dingle in Emmerdale’s real mum?
With the help of Charity, Mandy managed to get out of the sticky situation she’d found herself in. And when she discussed their adventure afterwards, she revealed that Vinny wasn’t her biological son.
Mandy had got together with Vinny’s dad when Vinny was just a baby but he had left her when Vinny was just five years old and she had brought him up alone. Vinny’s biological mother hasn’t been mentioned – perhaps she’ll show up in the village one day soon. Or perhaps Vinny has a whole host of brothers and sisters he doesn’t know about yet.
After standing up for Samson who’d pawned his dead mum’s wedding ring, Vinny confessed to the rest of the family that he wasn’t a Dingle by blood.
He was worried they wouldn’t welcome him knowing he wasn’t truly one of the clan, but he needn’t have been concerned. The Dingles told him he was part of the family and when he drank from the welly at Sam and Lydia’s wedding, Vinny was officially a Dingle!
Vinny’s dad and his abuse
In April 2020, Vinny Dingle’s estranged dad and Mandy’s ex, Paul Ashdale, arrived in Emmerdale. Mandy sent him packing, but Paul wasn’t going to give up so easily.
Instead he got a job at the scrapyard, befriended Vinny and eventually revealed he was his dad. Mandy and Paul got back together, and for a while it looked as though it was happy families.
But gambling addict Paul started betting again, and he was soon physically abusing poor Vinny, too.
His gambling habit worsened, and so did the abuse. By this time, Vinny was in a relationship with Liv Flaherty, and she was suspicious about Paul’s behaviour.
The barn explosion
Paul pressured poor Vinny into breaking up with Liv. But he didn’t stop abusing his son. Things escalated and eventually, on Paul and Mandy’s wedding day, Paul attacked Liv.
But he got his comeuppance when a lorry, driven by Jimmy King, crashed into the barn where Paul and Liv were arguing. Paul died in the resulting explosion.
Immediately after his dad’s death, Vinny struggled to admit the abuse he’d suffered at Paul’s hands. But he is beginning to come to terms with it now and rebuild his relationship with Mandy.
But is this the last of Vinny’s family dramas? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.