14 of the most memorable deaths in Emmerdale – murder, sinister happenings and sudden departures

Emmerdale must be a dangerous place to live given the amount of folk who’ve met an unfortunate end. Over the years, there’s been murders, death by misadventure and falling victim to freak accidents and natural disasters.

But we always remember those who were killed off in sensational style, or had a heartbreaking goodbye.

Here are 14 of the most memorable deaths to have occurred in Emmerdale…

Emmerdale deaths: Dave Glover

Dave Glover was the heartthrob of Emmerdale back in the mid 90s. The floppy-haired farmhand was also something of a ladies man, but Dave’s fateful error was falling for Kim Tate. The frisky pair had an affair behind Kim’s husband Frank’s back. Then Kim got pregnant and didn’t know who the father was.

Baby James was born in 1996, and Dave believed he was the boy’s daddy (it later turned out James was Frank’s). The lovers decided to run away together, but never got that far after a fire broke out in Home Farm.

Dave battled through the flames to save James, and was able to pass the tot through a window. Unfortunately, Dave was not so lucky. He succumbed to his injures on Boxing Day, 1996.

Kim was heartbroken and blamed Frank for Dave’s death. But she didn’t have to wait long for her husband to slip off the mortal coil…

Emmerdale deaths: Frank Tate

Frank’s dramatic death at the hands of wife Kim, remains one of the greatest exits in soap history. It was 1997, and the year the Tates marriage really turned toxic.

The wealthy haulage boss had tried to have Kim killed as revenge for her affair with Dave Glover. She responded by hatching a plan to fake her death and have Frank framed for murder.

Frank was sent to prison for a while, but then Kim turned up at Home Farm very much alive. The shock of seeing his supposedly dead wife caused Frank (who already had a dodgy ticker) to suffer a fatal heart attack.

He passed away on the living room of Home Farm, while cold-hearted Kim watched on, refusing to call for help. As a final insult, Kim whipped out her compact mirror to check Frank had stopped breathing before reapplying her make up!

Rachel Hughes

Poor Rachel was never a good judge when it came to men. There was her marriage to Chris Tate, her affair with Jack Sugden, and her failure to realise she was dating a killer.

Rachel began a romance with teacher, Graham Clark and thought she’d met the one. They even planned to marry. But what Rachel didn’t realise was that Graham had murdered his first wife and made it look like suicide.

The sinister truth finally dawned on Rachel while the couple were out walking in the Dales on May 11, 1999. She confronted Graham over her suspicions and a row ensued. Graham couldn’t allow his dark secret to be revealed, so he decided Rachel had to be silenced. He pushed her over a cliff and Jack later found her lifeless body.

Graham got his comeuppance when he was killed in a car crash a year later.

Sarah Sugden

Jack Sugden’s second wife, Sarah met a horrific end when she was burnt alive in a barn explosion.

At the time of Sarah’s death she and Jack were separated after she’d left him for 19-year-old, Richie Carter. But Sarah soon realised the grass wasn’t greener.

The Sugden family farm was also in peril. Faced with losing his home, Sarah and Jack’s son Andy decided to burn down one of their barns for the insurance money.

He carried out his foolish plan and doused the barn with petrol. But what Andy didn’t realise is that Sarah and Richie were hiding behind the hay bales having crisis talks about their future.

The blaze quickly took hold, and while Richie was able to flee the flames, Sarah wasn’t so fortunate. She went out in a massive fireball.

Chris Tate

Cunning Chris Tate masterminded every detail of his death, which occurred on September 17, 2003.

After discovering he had an inoperable brain tumour, Chris spied an opportunity for revenge. He plotted to end his own life and frame his estranged wife, Charity Dingle, for murder in the process.

Having made all the arrangements, Chris set his plan in motion. He lured Charity to Home Farm on the pretence of discussing their divorce, before downing a glass of whisky, laced with poison.

Seconds later, Chris carked it, and just as he’d intended Charity was sent down for murder. She was later able to prove her innocence, which must have had Chris turning in his grave.

Emmerdale deaths: Tricia Dingle

Bubbly barmaid Tricia was a victim of a terrible storm that struck the village on New Year’s Eve 2003.

Tricia was making her way over to The Woolpack when a bolt of lightening struck the pub. This caused an upstairs window to shatter and the pub’s chimney came crashing down on top of Tricia.

She was rushed to hospital, where she was kept on life support for a week. Heartbroken Marlon Dingle kept vigil at his wife’s bedside, but her injuries were not survivable and she went into cardiac arrest.

Tricia’s organs were donated to charity, which provided her loved ones with a small comfort.

Alice Dingle

Alice’s passing on July 31, 2006  was one the saddest days in Emmerdale history.

The previous year, Alice had been diagnosed with cancer while pregnant with son, Samson. She refused doctor’s advice to have an abortion and waited until Samson was born to start chemotherapy.

Unfortunately the treatment was not effective and Alice was told she was terminally ill. As her illness progressed, Alice decided she wanted to die on her own terms. But she was too weak to take her own life.

In the end, her husband Sam helped Alice on her way by administering an overdose of morphine. She slipped away peacefully in his arms at Wishing Well Cottage moments later.

Mark Wylde

Mark Wylde had it all – wealth, good looks, a beautiful family… oh and a secret wife and son he’d never told anyone about.

It turned out Mark was, in fact, Daniel Lamb. 20 years previously he had abandoned his pregnant wife, Faye and moved to France under a new identity. This meant his second marriage, to wife Natasha, was bigamous.

Natasha was sickened to discover the truth, but there was worse to come when their daughter, Maisie, revealed she’d been sleeping with Faye’s son, Ryan. Mark was forced to admit Maisie and Ryan were half-siblings, and unsurprisingly no one took the news well.

Disowned by his family, Mark decided to end it all. He wrote a suicide note and headed out to the woods with a shotgun. But Natasha wasn’t far behind. Refusing to let Mark to take the coward’s way out, she took the weapon out of his hands and fired a bullet into chest, killing him instantly. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, eh?

Emmerdale deaths: Cameron Murray

Serial killer Cameron’s reign of terror came to a spectacular end on October 17, 2013.

Cam had been imprisoned for the murders of Carl King, Alex Moss and Gennie Walker, but he escaped and went on the run. With scores to settle, Cameron made his way back to the village in the middle of a torrential rainstorm.

Armed with a shotgun, Cameron held a number terrified locals hostage at The Woolpack. These included his former lovers, Debbie Dingle and Chas Dingle.

The siege ended down in the pub’s flooded cellar as Cameron attempted to drown Chas, Debbie and Marlon. Sadly (for him), Cameron grabbed hold of a live lightbulb and was electrocuted to death. Did no one ever teach him water and electricity don’t mix?

Katie Sugden

Katie’s death was a case of manslaughter at the hands of her brother-in-law and arch-nemesis, Robert Sugden.

The pair had been secret lovers back in the day, but their romance had turned sour. When Robert returned to the village in 2014, he embarked on an affair with Aaron Dingle.

Wily Katie had worked out Rob was cheating on his fiancée, Chrissie White, but didn’t know who with. She finally found out on February 5, 2015 after catching Robron in a passionate clinch at Wylie’s barn.

Katie threatened to wreck Robert’s wedding day by exposing his adultery, but he refused to let her leave. When Katie tried to make her escape, Robert pushed her over and the barn’s floor gave way. She crashed through two storeys of wood and glass and was killed on impact.

Robert and Aaron then disposed of any incriminating evidence so it looked as if Katie had died by accident. Which she did. Sort of.

Val Pollard

A character as iconic as Val deserved an unforgettable exit. And that’s what she got.

The fifth Mrs Pollard was one of the unlucky victims of the village fete disaster in 2015. Val was trapped inside a mirror maze alongside sister Diane Sugden after a helicopter crash caused the amusement to collapse.

Diane was safely rescued from the wreckage, but the emergency crew could not reach Val. As she lay there unable to move, Val could see a jagged shard of glass hanging above her. She lit a cigarette in a final act of defiance and declared “I’m Val” as the glass fell and impaled her.

A few days after her gruesome death, Val appeared as a ghost to say one last goodbye to husband, Eric.

Emmerdale deaths: Holly Barton

Holly’s death from a drug overdose was one of those OMG moments fans will never forget.

September 26, 2016 started out as just another ordinary day at Butlers Farm. Moira took a cup of tea up to Holly, who was in bed after a night out. At first Moira thought her daughter was just asleep, but sadly she wasn’t. Holly had succumbed to a fatal heroin overdose and it was too late to save her.

What made Holly’s death particularly shocking was that it hadn’t been announced actress Sophie Powles was leaving the soap. So no one knew until the episode aired that Holly was being killed off.

It was another stroke of genius from the Emmerdale writers, and Natalie J Robb‘s portrayal of Moira’s agony was award-worthy.

Faith Dingle

Oh Faith. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Cain and Chas’s cancer-stricken mum died.

The Dingle matriarch fought a courageous battle against the disease and made the decision to end her suffering. She made peace with the idea and said her goodbyes to her loved ones.

Faith proceeded to take an overdose of morphine, but was interrupted by Cain’s arrival. He tried to take his mum to hospital, but after realising it was what she wanted, Cain held Faith in his arms until she took her last breath.

It was a highly emotional ending for a dearly loved character.

Al Chapman

Last, but by no means least was Al Chapman, the character who became Emmerdale’s 100th on-screen death.

Al’s immoral antics made him unpopular with the locals, but it was his affair with married Chas Dingle that proved to be his undoing. Cain discovered Al was the reason Chas had missed their mum Faith’s final moments and wanted revenge.

He lured Al to a barn, where he was waiting with a shotgun to scare him out of the village. But as a violent altercation ensued, Al ended up taking a bullet.

It looked as if Cain was the killer, but flashback scenes it was his 10-year-old son, Kyle who’d actually pulled the trigger. Cain took the rap and served time for the youngster’s crime, but was released when Kyle told the police the truth.

And as for Al? Well perhaps Kyle did us all a favour. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Read more: Who’s who in the Dingle family tree 

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.

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