Peg Dingle in Emmerdale arrived in 2002. She is mum to Dingle head Zak.
She’s grandma to Cain, Sam, Belle, Tina, the late Ben and Butch, and the never-seen Nathan.
And when Peg came to Emmerdale it turned out Zak had been hiding a huge secret from his family – and it was all connected to his mum.
Who was Peg Dingle in Emmerdale?
Peg was a single mum, bringing up her six kids – including Zak – alone.
In 2002, she arrived in the village with Zak’s cousin Elvis Dingle – Charity’s uncle – who dropped her off and scarpered as soon as he could.
Zak wasn’t happy to see his mum and straightaway tried to get her to move in with one of the many other Dingles. He tried to persuade Charity that she should look after Peg, seeing as she’d recently tied the knot with Chris Tate and had plenty of room.
And when that didn’t work, Zak reluctantly let his mum move into a caravan outside the Dingle cottage. But when the caravan burned down, he finally had to let Peg move in.
Which was when he admitted why he’d held a grudge against her for so long – because he knew her murderous secret!
What was Peg’s secret?
Peg was shocked when Zak announced he knew that she’d killed his dad, Jedediah!
Mostly because she knew that Jedediah was still alive!
Zak confessed that back when he was just eight years old, he overheard a furious row between his parents one night. In the morning, his dad was gone and Zak saw blood on the floor.
Horrified, he thought something had happened to his dad, and when Peg said he had died, he immediately assumed his mother had killed him.
But when he finally told his mum his fears, more than 40 years later, she told him that the blood had been hers. Jedediah had hit her during the row, and left home.
Sad that her husband could walk out on their six children, and not wanting to tell them the truth, Peg lied and said Jed was dead.
With the truth out, Zak and his mum declared a truce.
Jedediah’s treasure
After Peg revealed that his dad was alive, Zak decided to track him down.
He found him in a nursing home, with not long to live.
Zak was shocked when, just before he died, Jed told him he had a lost fortune somewhere in Chile. So obviously Zak set off for Santiago determined to find the Dingle riches.
He didn’t find the money!
Who played Peg Dingle? What else has Jeanne Hepple been in?
Peg Dingle was played by Jeanne Hepple.
Jeanne was born August 2 1936 making her 86 years old.
As well as playing Peg in Emmerdale, Jeanne has starred in other TV shows, many across the pond. These include 80s hit MacGyver and American soap opera Santa Barbara, in which she played Clara Beecham in the 90s.
After her stint as Peg in Emmerdale, she appeared in The Bill, and several episodes of Doctors up until 2007.
Her last known project was TV series No Signal in 2009.
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour episode on Thursdays.
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