11 Emmerdale characters who battled addictions – battles with booze, gambling habits, and a deadly drug overdose

Emmerdale has never shied away when it comes to tackling the tough subject of addictions. Over the years, we’ve watched characters battle against the most dangerous of demons. From drink to drugs, gambling to self-harm.

Currently, Laurel has fallen off the wagon after she suffered a relapse at Christmas. Her dependency on drink led to the break up of her marriage to Marlon and even saw Laurel turn to prostitution. This time she turned to Marlon for help and then tried to kiss him, leaving a huge issue in his marriage to Rhona.

But which other Emmerdale characters struggled to break the habit and whose fight against their addictions cost them their life?

Annie Sugden was one of the Emmerdale characters who overcame their addictions

Annie was the strong and steady matriarch of the Sugden family. She ran Emmerdale Farm and practically raised three children single-handedly. But her life was also blighted by a series of terrible tragedies.

In the space of 13 years, Annie lost her daughter Peggy to a brain hemorrhage, her twin grandchildren were killed by a train and her daughter-in-law died in a car crash. Then in 1988, Annie was almost killed herself after getting caught in a fire at Crossgill Farm.

Traumatised by her brush with death, Annie was prescribed with tranquilisers, and ended up dependent on them. As her addiction took hold, Annie’s loved ones intervened and were able to help wean her off.

Laurel Thomas

Laurel addiction to drink brought destruction and death to her family, and almost claimed her life.

She turned to booze in late 2014 after her relationship with then-husband Marlon Dingle ran into trouble. Within weeks, Laurel was drinking day and night and struggling to keep it from her family.

But her reliance on liquor put little April in danger after she accidentally drank a glass of orange juice which Laurel had laced with vodka. Worse was to come when Laurel choked on her own vomit in front of April and young son Arthur while she was supposed to be looking after them. She was found in the nick of time by Emmerdale’s Marlon, and thankfully it wasn’t the case where addictions win the battle.

The carnage continued as Laurel ran over and killed Marlon’s pet dog Daisy while under the influence and tried to dispose of the animal’s body. But her rock bottom came when she slept with a stranger for cash to fund her next drink.

Sickened by the depths she’d sunk to, Laurel finally sought professional help to get sober. Unfortunately her marriage to Marlon did not survive.

Frank Tate

Home Farm owner Frank had a tendency to hit the bottle when life wasn’t going his way.

His marriage to second wife Kim was famously volatile and rocked by his drinking and her infidelities. Frank struggled with alcohol issues on and off for years, and was prone to outbursts of violence towards his spouse.

After discovering Kim had cheated with gamekeeper Neil Kincaid, Frank drank himself into oblivion, then attacked his love rival. A dark period in Frank’s life followed as he fell back into addiction, but he and Kim eventually reconciled. Although we all know how that story ended.

Emmerdale’s Rhona Goskirk battled her addictions but she ended up in hospital

Rhona’s life took a dangerous turn in 2013 when she became reliant on painkillers. After initially taking them to help her bad back, the local vet found herself unable to get through the day without self-medicating,

As her dependence worsened, Rhona risked her livelihood by stealing pills from the surgery’s drug cabinet. She was caught by best mate Vanessa, who agreed to keep her secret because she was in love with her. In turn, Rhona made out she felt the same so Vanessa could enable her habit.

Events came to a head after Rhona’s then-husband Paddy found out she was mixed up with a drug dealer called Gary. She admitted she had a problem and told Vanessa she’d been using her.

In despair, Rhona took an overdose. She was rushed to hospital and told her kidneys were on the verge of collapse. The bleak diagnosis and threat of losing young son Leo was the wake-up call Rhona needed. She checked into rehab and got clean. Thankfully, for Rhona, it was an Emmerdale storyline where someone overcame their addictions.

Ross Barton

In 2018 Ross fell victim to an acid attack which left him with life-changing injuries. He was put on medication to help deal with the pain from his burns, but began popping the prescribed pills like Smarties. The Emmerdale storyline ventured down a different path to other characters to faced their addictions.

When Dr Liam refused to renew his prescription, Ross began to spiral. But Rhona – a former addict herself – recognised the signs and was able to support her friend in getting clean.

Months later, Ross relapsed after being offered cocaine as payment for a car theft. He succumbed to temptation and started taking the Class A on a daily basis.  But the endless nights of hard partying and drug abuse took their toll. Ross put his and young son Moses’s lives at risk after he collapsed during a game of football.

Haunted by his reckless actions, Ross decided to clean up his act and left Emmerdale for a fresh start with girlfriend Rebecca White.

Aaron Dingle

Aaron is one of Emmerdale’s most self-destructive characters. He’s had a troubled life and a history of drug abuse, self-harm and suicide attempts.

These desperate cries for help have largely been driven by the trauma Aaron has suffered in his life – struggling with his sexuality, his toxic on/off love affair with Robert Sugden and the abuse he experienced at the hands of his father, Gordon.

Aaron’s currently in a place of contentment with new boyfriend John Sugden, but there’s always a sense he could be tipped over the edge at any moment.

Holly Barton’s death was a tough watch compared to other Emmerdale storylines based on addictions

Holly’s premature death from a heroin overdose in 2016 sent shockwaves across the world of soap.

The character’s lengthy battle with substance abuse began when she was a teenager. She started using cocaine recreationally, but soon moved on to ecstasy, ketamine, then heroin. Holly was eventually confronted by parents Moira and John. She ran away from home for a while, but they brought her back and helped her wean off drugs slowly.

Months later, John was killed in a car accident and Holly relapsed, but she vowed to change and left the Dales for a new life in London.

She returned in 2016 and it soon became clear she’d succumbed to her old demons. After causing more misery for her family, Holly pledged to get clean again and found support from fellow addict Jai Sharma.

Then, in what appeared to be the middle of just an ordinary mid-week episode, came the shattering discovery that Holly had relapsed – and this time it was fatal. Moira discovered her tragic girl dead in her bed and an empty heroin wrap on the floor. It’s gone down as one of Emmerdale’s most dramatic exits as well as hardest endings for soap characters and their addictions.

Moira Dingle

Addiction clearly runs in the Barton family, but Moira’s was with drink rather than drugs.

Alcohol first became Moira’s friend after her affair with Cain’s secret son Nate became public knowledge. Ostracised by her family and friends, she hit the bottle.

Moira’s dependence on drink almost destroyed her marriage to Cain. She put her young son Isaac at risk by passing out on the sofa and ignoring his cries for help. Then there was the time she passed out drunk behind the wheel and narrowly avoided a collision with another car.

Moira is currently tee-total and we hope it stays that way.

Pearl Ladderbanks

2015 was Pearl’s annus horribilis. The Emmerdale golden oldie got herself into debt after underpaying her gas bill and knew her receptionist wage at the vets wasn’t enough to pay it back.

Desperate times called for desperate measures and Pearl turned to gambling to fix her financial woes. She loved the thrill of her new habit, but unfortunately it only made matters worse.

After a few big losses, Pearl began stealing from the vet’s and foolishly faked having Alzheimer’s to excuse the missing money. Pearl was found out when Vanessa Woodfield discovered a list of IOUs she’d been keeping. She got the sack and was forced to sell her house to Eric Pollard to pay off her debts.

Emmerdale’s Paul Ashdale put the spotlight on gambling addictions

Vinny’s wayward father Paul had a long history of gambling addiction. It led him to walk out on his son when he was young, leaving his ex-girlfriend Mandy to raise Vinny single handedly.

Paul returned to the pair’s life in April 2020 and claimed he’d given up the gambling for good. He even managed to worm his way back into Mandy’s affections, and they made plans to marry.

However, Paul was not the changed man he claimed to be. He was still gambling – making secret trips to the casino and frittering away thousands. Unable to tell Mandy the truth, Paul used Vinny as his emotional and physical punch bag.

Eventually Vinny found the courage to tell girlfriend Liv Flaherty what was happening. On the day of Paul’s wedding to Mandy, Liv confronted him at the barn where he was getting hitched. Paul attacked her, but moments later Jimmy King’s lorry ploughed into the barn. Liv managed to escape, but Paul perished when the place went up in flames. Sadly, he became another Emmerdale character who faced a tragic fate after their addictions took hold.

Liv Flaherty

The guilt over leaving Paul to die is what drove Liv back to drink. She had previously battled hard to overcome an alcohol addiction, but the relapse almost cost Liv her life.

As her drinking binges got more extreme, the teen ended up in hospital after passing out at the cemetery and nearly choking on her own vomit. Following the scary episode, Liv promised big brother Aaron she was committed to getting sober.

However, her manipulative cow of a mum, Sandra had other ideas and deliberately derailed Liv’s recovery by spiking her drink.

In the end, Liv did manage to overcome her drinking demons, but met a tragic end in the Emmerdale 50th anniversary episode, which was a tough pill to swallow after defeating her addictions.

Read more: Emmerdale’s most iconic villains

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.

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

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