As Lydia relives giving birth to a stillborn baby, what exactly happened? And who was Toby’s father?
Lydia’s baby was called Toby
Monday’s episode of Emmerdale saw Lydia Dingle open up about the stillborn baby she gave birth to many years ago. But what exactly happened? And who was the baby’s father?
In recent Emmerdale scenes, it was revealed that while she was missing, April Windsor gave birth to a stillborn baby. Desperate to help her, Rhona and Marlon visited Lydia for advice, knowing she had once been in a similar situation.
Lydia relived the tough time, explaining how she felt ashamed. Here we take a look at what exactly happened to Lydia and baby Toby.
Baby Toby was remembered in Emmerdale
In Monday’s episode of Emmerdale, Rhona and Marlon Dingle visited Lydia to ask her advice over how to help April.
Lydia was forced to relive the past as she spoke about giving birth to a stillborn baby. Lydia said it was the worst feeling and admitted to feeling ashamed.
“When I had Toby, I was alone, I had nothing, nobody to love me, it was the darkest time in my life,” she told Rhona and Marlon.
Lydia went on to say it meant the world to her when she was finally able to scatter Toby’s ashes.
When did Lydia give birth to Toby in Emmerdale?
Lydia grew up in a children’s home, where she met Craig Reed. At the time, Lydia went by the name of Jenny Finn and she got pregnant by Craig in 1990.
Mirroring April’s story, Lydia gave birth alone in the bathroom to a stillborn baby boy. She had been too scared to tell anyone so secretly prepared for the birth by reading a book she’d found at the library. She was devastated when the baby was stillborn.
Not knowing what to do, Lydia wrapped her son in a jumper and buried him in some nearby woods. That land would eventually be the site of Hotten Academy.
She then moved away and changed her name to Lydia Hart, fearing the police would come looking for her.
Baby body found
In 2019, the body of a baby was discovered on the grounds of Jessie Dingle’s school. With DNA evidence, it didn’t take the police long to identify the baby’s mother as Jenny Finn – a name that hadn’t previously been mentioned on Emmerdale.
However, once a picture of young Jenny was unearthed, it was clear that she and Lydia were the same person.
After the photograph was circulated in the media, Lydia handed herself into the police. She also told the full story to partner Sam Dingle, who promised to stand by her.
Later that year, she was able to scatter Toby’s ashes.
Craig arrives in Emmerdale
In 2023, Lydia and Craig reconnected after a chance meeting at a careers fair at The Hide. They soon started spending more time together and Lydia told Craig about baby Toby, even taking him to Toby’s final resting place.
Craig befriended Sam and Sam’s stepson Samson and offered Lydia a job.
However, there was a sinister side to Craig and he developed an unhealthy obsession with Lydia. One day, Lydia tried to resign from the job, but Craig refused to accept her decision. He then pinned her down on the sofa and raped her.
Following this, Craig continued to torment Lydia by being friendly with her family and acting like he had done nothing wrong. Eventually, Lydia told her family the truth and reported the attack to the police.
How did Craig Reed die in Emmerdale?
Despite, being arrested, the case never made it to court as Craig was murdered in a soap whodunnit storyline.
All the Dingles were suspects, but all appeared to have solid alibis. Sam later admitted to Cain that he had attacked Craig and thought that perhaps he’d died later of the injuries.
However, a flashback scene showed Kim Tate, while out on her horse, coming across Craig following the attack. Craig asked Kim to help him get to hospital, but she refused.
Craig tried to drag Kim off the horse, only for the horse to kick Craig in the face, resulting in his death.
Read more: The best ever Dingle moments
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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