Oh, Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson). Emmerdale’s sweetest, most kind-hearted resident. A bit bumbling, sure, but what a total babe.
All we wanted was for him and Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches) to have their happily ever after and pretend that the rumours of him leaving were just that, rumours.
But then he had to go and cause that enormous crash that killed a load of people, didn’t he?! And break all of our hearts in the process.
Kev Barton (Chris Coghill) tried his best to keep everything under wraps for the sake of Lewis, but the biggest issue of all? Vinny’s own conscience.
‘He is definitely feeling guilty. Each day he is not telling someone, it is getting more and more. We see him um’ing and ah’ing,’ says Bradley of Vinny’s state of mind.
The crash claimed the life of Jimmy King (Nick Miles), with Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) later dying in the aftermath of the explosion.
With Jimmy’s wife, Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) and Dawn’s fiancé, Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) each desperate for answers, it’s the two of them he admits his guilt to.
‘We ultimately see Vinny confess to Nicola. Even though it’s heartbreaking and it’s awful, in his head, he’s done the right thing.
‘Obviously we see him go to Joe. In his head he’s thinking that this is going to be a lot worse than what happened with Nicola. Then we see Joe being Joe.
‘He goes ‘I want to smash his face in. But ultimately I don’t want to be the one to blame’. So he riles Billy [Fletcher (Jay Kontzle)] up and tells Billy and ultimately we see Billy beat Vinny up.
‘He expects at least one of them to beat him up. He’s had his fair share of being beaten up. It’s awful, he’s massively guilt ridden. But ultimately he’s doing the right thing.’
Why does he go to Nicola and Joe over the police?
‘Ultimately, he doesn’t want to go to prison. He’s got a great life there. He’s got the Dingles, he’s got his mum. He’s got Lewis, he loves it there.
‘Over the years we’ve seen how much the village means to Vinny. Ultimately, in an ideal world, he’d like to confess and get beaten up or whatever.
‘They can say to Vinny what they think about him, but maybe forgiveness? We don’t have to involve the police, and he can stay there and he can live happily ever after.’
The happily ever after we wanted for Vinny, perhaps?!
‘Vinny has definitely found the one in Lewis and I think they’ve helped each other through situations and the things they’ve been through,’ Bradley said.
Yeah, Brad! We know! Hence why we’re so devo’d!
‘I’ve really, really enjoyed working with Brad the actor and seeing their relationship blossom on screen.
‘I think it’s been really, really nice, for where it started to where they are.’
Bradley agrees with us on one point: ‘Ultimately, I just want Vinny to have a happy ending.
‘He’s been through so much turmoil and so much bad stuff in the village, he deserves his happy ever after with Lewis, I would love for them just to be happy and in love and get married and have the dream wedding and live that happy life.’
But what if the worst does happen and Vinny gets sent down?
‘He would be devastated.
‘Ultimately he doesn’t want to leave his life behind, Vinny is not a character to be in prison. He’s not a bad lad. I think it scares him, the thought of going to prison and the people in there. Look at Kev! If he’s been in prison, what else is in there? It really scares him.
‘But ultimately if that is the consequence that comes with it, he has to deal with it. He’s got the Dingles behind him, nearly all of them have been in prison.
‘Hopefully he can get through it and come back and lead the life he wants to live.’
