Real life of Emmerdale's Charity Dingle actress Emma Atkins - audition battle with Corrie rival, real partner, age and co-star bond

It's fair to say Charity Dingle is one of Emmerdale's most iconic characters - and soon Emma Atkins will be celebrating a quarter of a century since making her debut in the role. The actress joined the ITV soap back in 2000 but did face a bit of competition for the role.

Things could have been very different for Emma, as acclaimed actress Suranne Jones also auditioned for the role, but Emma was cast and her then-rival went on to play Karen McDonald in Coronation Street.

Charity, played by Emma, then arrived in the village for the funeral of her cousin Butch, alongside village bad boy Cain and her uncle Shadrach and quickly became a firm favourite amongst Emmerdale fans.

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But Emma did briefly leave her soap role, to pursue other roles, during which time she starred in several other TV shows including the BBC series Dalziel and Pascoe, Mayo, I'm with Stupid, New Street Law, Doctors and Casualty to name a few.

Over the years, despite the break, Charity has faced a whole host of storylines in her time in the fictional Yorkshire village. The character has been involved in numerous high-profile storylines during her time on the show, from her multiple marriages, being framed by Chris Tate for his death, her get-rich-quick schemes with Cain and being put behind bars to giving birth to her third child and bravely sharing her sexual abuse ordeal at the hands of detective Mark Bails.

But Emma has never been involved in a major stunt - until now. Next week, during the annual string of episodes dubbed 'Super Soap Week', Emmerdale fans will see Mackenzie Boyd having