Paul Ashdale in Emmerdale: Vinny’s abusive dad and his explosive death

Paul Ashdale in Emmerdale was the violent, nasty and downright rotten dad of Vinny Dingle. He was also engaged to Mandy Dingle, but died on their wedding day before they could say I do – frankly, she had a lucky escape.

Paul wasn’t in Emmerdale for a long time, but he has certainly made an impact, with his character still being referenced today.

As Vinny counsels Belle over her abusive marriage to Tom King, he draws on his past experiences with his dad to try to understand what she’s been going through. But just how bad did it get with Paul? And why is Vinny the best person to help Belle?

Everything you need to know about who Vinny’s dad was and what he did, right here.

Vinny’s dad Paul Ashdale and his arrival in Emmerdale

Having been abandoned by his father when he was just a boy, Vinny was brought up by Paul’s ex-girlfriend Mandy Dingle. Gambling addict Paul had walked out on them both when Vinny was five and they hadn’t seen or heard from him since.

Mandy brought Vinny up as her own and didn’t even tell the Dingles she wasn’t biologically related to Vinny when they returned to the Dales in 2019.

Paul arrived in the village in April 2020 to track down his son. Mandy saw him first and was completely stunned – and not at all pleased. She lied that Vinny wasn’t living in Emmerdale and sent Paul away.

But Paul soon realised the truth, so he stuck around and got a job at the scrapyard. However he didn’t reveal his true identity to Vinny at first. When he did expose himself, Paul promised Mandy and Vinny that he had changed his ways.

It took some doing, but eventually, Mandy was won over by Paul’s charms. The couple got back together and started planning their wedding.

Vinny abused by his dad Paul in Emmerdale

As Mandy went along happy as Larry about the turn her life had taken, what she didn’t know was Paul was hiding a dark secret. The nice, kind, caring guy he portrayed on the outside was not at all who he really was.

Paul was gambling again and in order to hide the truth from Mandy he took it out on Vinny.

Paul was also abusing poor Vinny, physically and emotionally. He criticised him, put him down, taunted him and used him as a punchbag.

Poor Vinny desperately wanted his dad to stick around and hoped he could change. He refused to tell Mandy what was going on, but did confide in girlfriend Liv Flaherty.

And she wasn’t going to let it go. Furious, she confronted Paul about what he had being doing to innocent Vinny on Paul and Mandy’s wedding day. And then tragedy struck…

How Paul died in Emmerdale

Knowing all about his gambling, and his abuse of Vinny, Liv even knew the kicker: that Paul had arranged for Vinny to be kidnapped in order to get his hands on some cash.

Paul was at the barn where he and Mandy were marrying when Liv confronted him. However Paul’s true character came out when he lashed out at her viciously.

He went to attack her again, but suddenly Jimmy King crashed his lorry through the barn wall. Liv and Paul were both sent flying.

Liv managed to get herself free and tried to save Paul, but he was trapped under a collapsed beam. Realising there was no time to save them both, Liv gave up and ran from the barn just before it exploded. Paul was left behind and later died of his injuries.

The guilt of having left him, despite his awful behaviour and who he was, got to Liv. She turned to drink to cope.

Meanwhile Mandy found out everything and was forced to deal with the truth about her fiancé. Vinny was in a mess too. And it’s clear that he’s still processing everything and getting over it even now.

Who played Paul Ashdale in Emmerdale?

Paul Ashdale in Emmerdale was played by experienced actor Reece Dinsdale.

He was familiar to soap fans already because he appeared in Coronation Street as Joe McIntyre – the ill-fated husband of Gail, and dad to Tina. Joe had planned to fake his own death as he was in so much debt, but he ended up dying for real when his plot went wrong. Gail was then arrested for his murder.

Reece has also been in sitcom Home to Roost, among many other television shows, including Life on Mars, Silent Witness and Waterloo Road.

Paul is also a director and before joining the cast of Emmerdale as Paul, he was directing episodes of the ITV soap.

Where can you find Reece Dinsdale now?

Paul Ashdale may have left the Dales but his alter ego Reece hasn’t said goodbye to Emmerdale. He’s gone back to directing episodes of the soap.

He’s also done public done public speaking events called Reece’s Pieces.

Reece is currently starring in play The Promise at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.

Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.