Former Emmerdale star Charley Webb has revealed the one thing she has always hated about her time on the long-running ITV soap. The actress first appeared as Debbie Dingle in the Yorkshire village in 2002, playing the character until 2019 before making a brief return in 2021.
Charley Webb's Dislike for Her Character's Name
Reflecting on her years on the show, the 38-year-old admitted she has "always hated" her character's name. After being introduced as Emmerdale's Debbie Dingle on Luke Hamnett's podcast, Live, Laugh, Luke, she confessed: "I hate that name by the way, it's the worst name!"
Asked by the host whether she still gets called Debbie by fans, Charley explained: "It's not even the Debbie that offends me, it's the double D, like why would you do that? Why would you come up with that for me?"
Biblical Names in the Dingle Family
After Luke suggested she didn't look like a Debbie, she agreed, adding: "Maybe they got the name wrong. There are all these biblical names aren't there, when you're a Dingle, you have to have a biblical name, so yeah I'm not a fan of that name. I absolutely hate it, it's just such an annoying sound, like that double D."
Fortunately for Charley, she said she is rarely called by her soap alter ego these days, although she joked that she would probably ignore anyone shouting her real name anyway.
Life After Emmerdale
"People still talk to me about Emmerdale, obviously, it was such a big part of my life but I don't really want you to shout 'Debbie' when I'm in the street because that's not my name and I don't want people to think it is, no offence to the Debbies obviously," she continued. She then quipped: "I don't really turn round to people shouting my name, I'm actually quite rude."
Since leaving the soap, Charley has kept busy with a variety of projects, including appearing in the stage production of The Ladies Football Club. When asked by Luke about her future plans, the actress revealed she currently has no television work lined up following a recent ITV project, but is "doing a bit of writing" while juggling being a mum to three children.
The mum shares her three sons with her former co-star, Matthew Wolfenden, who played David Metcalfe in the soap. In the same podcast, Charley also addressed the possibility of returning to Emmerdale, telling the host that while the answer is no for now, she would not rule it out forever.
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
