Former Emmerdale star Charley Webb has revealed that there is one thing about the soap that she "absolutely" hates. The actress, who played Debbie Dingle from 2002 to 2019 with a brief return in 2021, confessed that her character's name has always been "an annoying sound" for her.
Charley Webb's Dislike for Debbie Dingle Name
During an appearance on Luke Hamnett's podcast, Live, Laugh, Luke, Charley Webb admitted: "I hate that name by the way, it's the worst name!" When asked if fans still refer to her as Debbie, she 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?"
The 38-year-old actress added: "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."
Life After Emmerdale
Charley revealed that she is thankfully no longer referred to by her soap character's name in public, though she humorously noted she would likely ignore anyone calling out her real name anyway. "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 elaborated. She joked: "I don't really turn round to people shouting my name, I'm actually quite rude."
Since leaving the soap, Charley has taken on various projects, including a role in the stage production of The Ladies Football Club. When asked about future plans, she disclosed that she currently has no television work scheduled following a recent ITV project but is "doing a bit of writing" while balancing motherhood to three children. She co-parents her three sons with her ex-co-star Matthew Wolfenden, who played David Metcalfe in the soap.
Potential Return to Emmerdale
In the same podcast, Charley discussed the possibility of returning to Emmerdale, telling the host that while the answer is no for now, she wouldn't dismiss the idea indefinitely. "Not at the moment, no," she shared. "There's no plans for me to go back, just because I think it wouldn't be the right time and having three kids is a lot and also working there is a lot."
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
