Del Dingle

 ( Emmerdale Characters ) 

In January 2007, it was announced Tamaddon had decided to leave Emmerdale. The actress explained she had had an amazing time playing Delilah, but she was looking forward to what the future holds. Series producer Kathleen Beedles said "Hayley's contract expires in the summer and she will be leaving in a hugely dramatic storyline, but the door will be left open for Delilah Dingle to return in the future." In January 2011, Tamaddon pondered Delilah's return to Emmerdale, saying "I think Delilah should make an appearance one day. Who knows? She might turn up with David Pollard's baby and demand a few more thousand." She has since stood by her idea and has remained keen to return to Emmerdale, stating in 2017 that the character should return with David's child.

Settling into life in Emmerdale, Del – a talented seamstress – helped Val and Eric Pollard start a soft furnishings business and became an integral part of the company. Del not only earned a living but also made friends with her colleagues, Sandra, Pearl Ladderbanks, and boss Val – helping her out of a number of scrapes. It was these friends who she turned to when her heart was broken just weeks later. Resident hunk Carl King was on the rebound, having loved and lost Del's cousin, Chas Dingle, he was single and the pair became friends. Del wanted the flirtatious banter between them to lead to romance but Carl had doubts. While on holiday in Spain, Carl rejected Del's advances. Although she was distraught, Del became Carl's best friend and when the pair had a one-night stand, Carl suggested giving romance a go but Del knew it wasn't right and helped him win back Chas. With Carl and Chas happily reconciled, Del tried to get on with life but her night with Carl came back to haunt her as Chas's son, Aaron Livesy, visited and discovered Carl's secret. He gleefully told his mother, wanting to cause maximum pain. Chas was furious but Del implored her not to give up the best man she'd ever been involved with. Chas and Carl soon became engaged.

Del was heartbroken to discover Alice Wilson, her cousin Sam's fiancée, had been told her cancer was terminal so she and Chas gave her a hen night to remember – although Del struggled to cope with the secret.

However, her own romantic life soon took centre stage again. Del got close to local vet Paddy Kirk after agreeing to adopt abandoned pooch, Titch. They started dating but this made Paddy's friend Toni Daggert decided she was in love with him and she set out to ruin their romance. Initially her schemes didn't work but after Toni enticed Paddy to spend more time with her than he did with Del, Del confronted Toni in the Woolpack kitchen. After a struggle, Toni was scalded with hot fat when a pan was knocked over, leaving her badly burned. Del was horrified at what had happened and called for help immediately but it was too late. Disgusted by Del's behaviour, Paddy dumped her and spent his time consoling Toni. Toni forgave Del for burning her – realising that it was a genuine accident.

David Metcalfe arrived in the village in November 2006, looking for his long-lost father and they took a shine to each other until Del realised that he thought her uncle Zak was his father and distanced herself. David's father was revealed to be Eric Pollard and they started planning to steal £20,000 from him in revenge for Eric stealing £20,000 from David's late mother, Lydia. But Chas saw David with her friend, Katie Sugden, one night and Katie admitted that they had had a one-night stand. Chas told Del, who confronted Katie, but directed her real revenge at David for lying to her. She changed their plan to steal the £20,000 slightly, convincing David to put the money in her account and he agreed. Once the money was in her account, she left the country, leaving David behind.