Emily Kirk (also Wylie and Dingle) is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
from the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
television soap opera ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
'', played by
Kate McGregor
Kate McGregor (born 1972) is an English actress known for her portrayal of the character Emily Kirk in British soap opera ''Emmerdale''.
Early life
Born in Yorkshire, England, McGregor attended the now defunct Bretton Hall College of Educatio ...
. She made her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 5 May 1999. Initially portrayed as nervous and naive, Emily lived a sheltered life with her father and lacks social skills, until she takes a job at the local post office. Writers established a relationship between Emily and
Butch Dingle
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' in 1994, by order of first appearance.
Eileen Pollock
Eileen Pollock is the first wife of Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell
Christopher John Chitt ...
(
Paul Loughran
Paul Anthony Martin Loughran (born 7 July 1969 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish actor. He was educated at Methodist College Belfast. He is best known for portraying Butch Dingle in ITV Soap Opera ''Emmerdale'' in which his character died in a bu ...
). McGregor thought the characters brought out the best in each other.
Casting
McGregor joined the cast of ''Emmerdale'' straight from appearing in a stage production with a small theatre group. It marked her first television role.
She admitted that acting in a soap opera was harder than she expected, saying "Most of the time I just walk around trying to look as if I know what I'm doing, even though I'm not really sure."
She also felt "scared to death" watching her first appearance, but realised that her performance was not as bad as she had imagined.
McGregor hoped to stay with the show for a long time, as she had enjoyed her first few weeks.
Development
McGregor told Wendy Granditer from ''
Inside Soap
''Inside Soap'' is a weekly magazine published in the United Kingdom, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas in the United Kingdom, including '' Coronation Street'', ''Doctors'', ''EastEnders'', ''Emmerdal ...
'' that her character "comes across as a bit of an oddity, but it's not really her fault."
Describing Emily's background, McGregor said that Emily's mother died when she was two, and she lived a sheltered life with her father on his farm. Emily had limited contact with the outside world and was lacking in social skills, as she had no experience dealing with people, until she gains employment at the post office in the village.
McGregor called her "incredibly nervous and naive."
Discussing the future of her character, McGregor wanted Emily to stand up for herself, gain some more freedom from her father and live a bit. She also wanted Emily to get some new clothing, commenting "She only seems to have two skirts and three blouses, which she mixes and matches and always wears with a pink anorak."
McGregor speculated that the clothes once belonged to Emily's mother.
Emily soon catches the attention of established regular
Butch Dingle
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' in 1994, by order of first appearance.
Eileen Pollock
Eileen Pollock is the first wife of Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell
Christopher John Chitt ...
(
Paul Loughran
Paul Anthony Martin Loughran (born 7 July 1969 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish actor. He was educated at Methodist College Belfast. He is best known for portraying Butch Dingle in ITV Soap Opera ''Emmerdale'' in which his character died in a bu ...
). McGregor hoped they would get it together, as she thought they brought out the best in each other. She told Granditer that Butch helps to boost Emily's confidence by taking a genuine interest in her.
McGregor also pointed out that due to Emily's upbringing, she has no experience of boyfriends or sex, so she might be shocked by the extent of Butch's feelings for her. She hoped the writers would handle their romance tenderly.
Butch and Emily's bludgeoning relationship is tested by Emily's disapproving father
John Wylie (Seamus O'Neill). John wants to keep the couple apart and attacks Emily after catching her with Butch.
Loughran said that Butch "feels helpless" about the situation, especially after John makes it sound like Butch was the one who hit Emily. The locals change their minds after Butch rescues John and Emily from a crashed car.
John ends up in a coma, and Loughran joked that there is a part of Butch that is happy, as it means he can see Emily more easily. He commented "Butch sees it as a chance to show how genuine he is."
The actor also described the romance between the characters as "very sweet and twee".
Emily and Butch's relationship progresses when they go on a date to an Italian restaurant in Leeds. McGregor called it "excitement overload" for Emily as she experiences several firsts, such as trying pizza.
During their meal, Emily impulsively kisses Butch. McGregor said that while her character does not know anything about love, she enjoys being around Butch, adding "She's been shut away for so long and now she's in an exciting new world, with her first job and bloke."
McGregor took maternity leave from the serial in early 2006. She returned to filming in September and her return scenes were transmitted in October. In October 2007, it was announced that McGregor had quit the series in order to pursue new projects. Speaking to Janet Tansley of the ''
Liverpool Echo
The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...
'', McGregor felt saddened to leave Emmerdale but felt that Emily had run her course and she wanted to focus on being a full-time mother.
When asked if there were any similarities between her and Emily, McGregor replied "She’s an old fashioned girl with old fashioned values; I’d like to think I’m modern."
McGregor made a brief return in 2008 for the serial's first gay wedding between
Paul Lambert
Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town.
Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...
(
Matthew Bose
Mathew Bose (born 3 July 1977) is a British actor. He is best known for his role as Paul Lambert in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2004 to 2010 and again in 2015.
Life and career
Bose was born 3 July 1977 in South East London. He has an ol ...
) and
Jonny Foster
Jonathan "Jonny" Foster is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Richard Grieve. He appeared from 2007 to 2008 and in 2009. Openly H ...
(
Richard Grieve
Richard Grieve (born 25 January 1970) is an Australian actor, who has worked extensively in film, television, theatre and musical theatre, but is perhaps best known for his roles in the British soap ''Emmerdale'', and two Australian television s ...
).
Storylines
Emily lived a sheltered life with her strict father, John Wylie. His wife, Claire died when Emily was two years old, and John became fiercely protective of his daughter and brought her up to be afraid of the outside world. However, when Emily takes a job at
Viv Windsor
Viv Hope (also Dawson and Windsor) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Portrayed by Deena Payne, the character first appeared on 10 August 1993, and remained ...
's (
Deena Payne
Diane Margaret "Deena" Payne (born 29 August 1954) is an English actress and former singer. She is best known for playing Viv Hope in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''.
Life and career
Payne was born in Orpington, Kent. She used to ...
) post office, Emily's life is transformed. Emily is drawn to Butch Dingle, but has to cope with her father's disapproval. During an argument, John attempts to strike Emily, but Butch punches him, scaring Emily in the process. John refuses to let Butch see Emily and they fight, leading to a car chase which ends with John flipping his Land Rover. Butch saves Emily and John before the car explodes, and John warms up to Butch.
When Butch is seriously injured in a bus crash, it soon becomes clear that he is going to die. He and Emily marry at his hospital bed before Butch dies. Alone again, Emily keeps a low profile until she meets Ed Willis (James Midgley). Although her friends think they are well suited, Emily does not feel anything romantic for him. On a night she is supposed to be seeing Ed, Emily has sex with her close friend
Paddy Kirk
Paddy Kirk (also Dingle) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Dominic Brunt. He has been married four times: to Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) in 1999, to Emily Dingle (Kate McGregor) in 2002, to Rhona Goski ...
(
Dominic Brunt
Dominic Adam Brunt (born 15 April 1970) is an English actor, director and producer, best known for portraying the role of Paddy Kirk in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. For his role as Paddy, Brunt has been nominated in variou ...
), who had also married into the Dingle family. Paddy and Emily's relationship goes from strength to strength. They get engaged and marry in a surprise wedding after their friends
Marlon Dingle
Marlon Dingle is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Mark Charnock. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 17 October 1996.
Storylines
Marlon comes to Emmerdale to stay wit ...
(
Mark Charnock
Mark Charnock (born 28 August 1968) is an English actor, known for his role in ITV's ''Emmerdale'' as Marlon Dingle, a role he has played since 1996. Charnock and ''Emmerdale'' co-star Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy Kirk, produce a yearly ''Zomb ...
) and
Tricia Dingle (
Sheree Murphy
Sheree Victoria Murphy (born 22 August 1975) is an English actress and television presenter, best known for her roles as Dawn in Only Fools and Horses and Tricia Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Eva Strong in the Channel 4 soap oper ...
) call off their nuptials at the last moment. Emily is desperate for children, so she and Paddy decide to become foster parents. After a couple of false starts, the couple forge a close bond with
Debbie Jones (
Charley Webb
Charlotte Anne Webb (born 26 February 1988), commonly known as Charley Webb, is an English actress. From 2002 to 2021, she portrayed the role of Debbie Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. In 2014, she was nominated for Best Female Dra ...
). But when it was revealed that Debbie is
Charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
(
Emma Atkins
Emma Jayne Atkins (born 31 March 1975) is an English actress, best known for her role as Charity Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''.
Early life
Atkins grew up in the village of Silverdale, Lancashire, and then went to study at the Uni ...
) and
Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Jeff Hordley. Cain made his first appearance on 30 March 2000, and in 2006, he was written out of the series when Hordley left the soap; however, the opti ...
's (
Jeff Hordley
Jeff Hordley (born 7 March 1970) is an English actor, best known for portraying the role of Cain Dingle in the ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale''. For his portrayal of Cain, he has been nominated for the British Soap Award for Best Actor at three c ...
) daughter, Emily is bereft. However, she remains close to Debbie and supports her through tough times.
Paddy and Emily's marriage becomes strained, and Paddy has an affair with Viv. When she discovers the affair, Emily throws her husband out of their home and smashes up the Post Office. Emily decides to leave the village, but
Daz Eden
Daz Eden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Luke Tittensor. He made his first appearance in the show on 9 October 2003. Six years into his tenure on the soap, it was announced that Tittensor had be ...
(
Luke Tittensor
Luke James Tittensor (born 3 November 1989) is an English actor best known for his role as Carl Gallagher in '' Shameless'' (a role he shared with his twin brother, Elliott Tittensor) and his role as Daz Eden in ''Emmerdale''.
Career
Tittensor ...
) turns up and begs her to help Debbie who is giving birth. On arriving, Emily finds Debbie's baby in a bad way and her quick thinking saves her life. Debbie names her daughter Sarah and Emily decides to stay in the village. Unable to cope as a mother, Debbie leaves the childcare to Emily, who enjoys being involved in Sarah's life, but Cain accuses her of interfering. Emily finally has enough and makes plans to leave. Debbie decides she does not want to be a mother and begs Emily to take Sarah with her, which she does. Cain tries to find her after getting a lead that she has gone to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, but by the time he got there, Emily was gone.
Emily returned to the village the following year and give Sarah to her father,
Andy Sugden
Andy Sugden (also Hopwood) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Kelvin Fletcher. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 July 1996. Andy is the son of Billy Hopwood (David Crellin) and Trisha Hop ...
(
Kelvin Fletcher
Kelvin Warren Fletcher (born 17 January 1984) is an English actor, model, racing driver and presenter. He played Andy Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', a role he played from 1996 until 2016. In 2019, Fletcher won the seventeenth seri ...
). His sister
Victoria Sugden
Victoria Sugden (also Barton) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played since 12 October 2006 by Isabel Hodgins. As a young child, Victoria was played by Jessica Heywood until 1997, followed by Hannah Midgley fro ...
(
Hannah Midgley
Hannah Elizabeth Midgley (born 27 October 1993) is an English actress best known for playing Victoria Sugden on the ITV programme ''Emmerdale''. She replaced Jessica Haywood in 1997 and left in July 2006 to concentrate on her studies; she was ...
;
Isabel Hodgins
Isabel Hodgins (born 23 November 1993) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Victoria Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2006.
Career
Hodgins made an appeal in the '' Salford Advertiser'' for funding to allow her ...
) notices Emily living in her old house. She is branded a child-snatcher and is largely ignored by the village for months. Emily tries to commit suicide by walking into the river with stones in her pocket, but she is saved by her former brother-in-law
Sam Dingle
Sam Dingle is a fictional character from the British television soap opera '' Emmerdale'', played by James Hooton. He made his first appearance in the episode broadcast on 14 February 1995.
Storylines
Sam arrives in Emmerdale village followi ...
(
James Hooton
James Hooton (born 13 July 1973) is an English actor, best known for his role as Sam Dingle on the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', a role he has played since 1995.
Early and personal life
Hooton was born and raised in Carlton, Nottinghamshire, w ...
), who soon develops romantic feelings for her. However, Emily does not feel the same way. She attempts to make a romantic advance towards
Ashley Thomas
Ashley Thomas is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by John Middleton. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 5 December 1996. It was announced on 22 October 2015 that Middlet ...
(
John Middleton). His wife
Laurel Thomas
Laurel Thomas (also Potts and Dingle) is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Charlotte Bellamy. She debuted on screen during the ep ...
(
Charlotte Bellamy
Charlotte Bellamy (born 19 March 1973) is an English actress. She is known for her long-running role as Laurel Thomas in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Her other television roles include Sue Taylor in ''EastEnders'' (1997) and Harriet Potter ...
) then tries setting her up with
Bishop George Postlethwaite (
Peter Cartwright), who helps her to decide that she wants to train as a vicar. Emily says goodbye to her friends, especially Viv, and leaves the village for Manchester. She makes a brief return for Paul Lambert and Jonny Foster's commitment ceremony. She offers her condolences to the Thomases, whose baby son Daniel has died, and she leaves after attending his funeral.
Reception
For her portrayal of Emily, McGregor received a nomination for Most Popular Newcomer at the
6th National Television Awards
The 6th National Television Awards ceremony was held at the Royal Albert Hall on 10 October 2000 and was hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.
Awards
References
{{National Television Awards
National Television Awards
National Television Awards
Nat ...
.
''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' critic Thomas Quinn observed that John and Emily "have the kind of father-daughter relationship that keeps Jerry Springer in fist fights." The ''
Daily Records Rick Fulton praised the pairing of Emily and Butch, saying "their relationship encapsulates what is best about ''Emmerdale'', which is rapidly taking the humour and quaintness of old Corrie for itself."
He called the couple "the Laurel and Hardy of the box" and said that "they put a smile on your face and make you root for them."
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
's'' Nancy Banks-Smith observed that everyone liked Butch and Emily and likened the pair to "the Start Rite kids, skipping innocently hand in hand into the sunrise". She also wrote that even by the show's standards, Emily is "a daft dimmock". Sarah Moolla of ''
The People
The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881.
At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...
'' enjoyed the change in Emily's personality when she learned of Paddy's affair, writing "Hurrah for her! Meek Emily finally throws off the shackles of self-restraint. She wrecks Viv's shop, then really works up steam and tells Paddy their marriage is over."
References
External links
Emily Kirkat
itv.com
itv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 13 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV brand (or the UTV brand in Northern Ireland). The website offers online streaming, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Emily
Emmerdale characters
Television characters introduced in 1999
Fictional shopkeepers
Fictional British postal workers
Female characters in television