Emmerdale star Eden-Taylor Draper has revealed that her co-star Lucy Pargeter has an 'awful' backstage habit involving tea. During an appearance on the Dingle Court vodcast on YouTube, Eden-Taylor Draper, who plays Belle Dingle, joined Cain Dingle actor Jeff Hordley to debate various topics, declaring them either 'in' or 'out'. A particularly heated topic was 'milky, weak and sugary tea', which both Jeff and Eden are firmly against.
Co-Star Criticizes Lucy's Tea Preference
Jeff Hordley expressed his disdain for such tea, saying: 'If somebody makes a cup of tea for me I have to find somewhere to get rid of it. Quick.' Eden-Taylor then discussed fellow cast member Lucy Pargeter's preferred cuppa, remarking: 'Oh, Lucy's tea is awful. It's milky and sugary. And I make it and I'm like, I don't even want to give this to you because you should not enjoy this!'
Lucy Pargeter has been a staple on the ITV soap as Chas Dingle for over two decades, making her unforgettable entrance dressed as a nun at her cousin Marlon's stag night in 2002. She has been at the centre of numerous major storylines, including running The Woolpack, being taken hostage, the heartbreaking loss of her baby daughter Grace, and a breast cancer diagnosis.
Lucy Nearly Played a Different Dingle
It has also emerged that Lucy nearly portrayed another Dingle character. She revealed to Inside Soap: 'I'd auditioned for a couple of parts before – one was a trucker and one was Charity. I got down to the final three for that.' She added: 'I knew James Hooton [who plays Sam Dingle] from drama classes and he said to me, "Apparently you did something weird with your head in the audition and that put them off!", so I was like, "Oh god!"'
Despite that, it didn't deter them entirely. She elaborated: 'Then he [James] called me and said there was a rumour they were bringing in another Dingle woman; they wanted her to be a bit like Charity but they were thinking about my audition and writing it around that. So I knew Chas would be strong and feisty.'
Emmerdale Airs Weeknights
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
