Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
This is what purgatory feels like (Emmerdale 8th - 19th December 2025)
232 Plays7 days ago
In our most recent debrief on the recent Emmerdale plotlines, we mainly talk about how watching the same scenes of Ray-Celia-Marlon-Rhona-April is incredibly draining and we wish it was over. Honourable mentions go to Ruby and Caleb's horrible Christmas tree, and the mystery members of Claudette's prayer group.
We'd love to hear from you at dinglealltheway.pod@gmail.com - send us your submissions for what you think will happen in Emmerdale next year, for us to share in our special episode to kick off 2026!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Dingle All The Way'
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Dingle All The Way. I'm Simon. And I'm Lizzie.
Emmerdale’s Complex Storylines
00:00:06
Speaker
And we're here to talk you through the last couple of weeks in Emmerdale. But I mean, yet again, Lizzie, it has been Ray, Celia, April, Marlon, Rona, um with more and more people added into the mix. Mary's come back, she's involved.
00:00:19
Speaker
So I've been skipping most of it. I've been trawling through it because I guess one of us has to. Yeah, thank you for carrying that weight for us.
Realism in Emmerdale: Police and Legal Elements
00:00:30
Speaker
Yeah, you're welcome. And it has been so bleak.
00:00:33
Speaker
Like, it has literally just been the same thing over and over again. Rona keeps on, like, stupidly revealing things to, like, Ray and Celia about what they're going to do behind the scenes and then worse consequences happen. and it's just really boring at this stage.
00:00:51
Speaker
And I still find it hard to believe the police would just be like, we don't care. Like, you know, just look after yourself, actually. Yeah, I wrote that down this week because, yeah, you feel like the police saying, oh, we
Central Plot Critique
00:01:04
Speaker
don't have enough evidence. And you're like, but would you not even try to gain evidence? Would you not try to work out a bit for yourself? Like, clearly not.
00:01:13
Speaker
Maybe take the lawyer back on, to the barrister guy, Sam, to tell us whether or not the police would be just like, just keep giving them two grand a week and hope they don't kill you. Yeah, and like they wouldn't even dream of putting them into witness protection.
00:01:25
Speaker
have his name or even just popping around to see them just like maybe knock on the door at least but no nothing at all you I mean do you have anything that you've seen that you would comment on or have you literally just skipped through it all i'm I'm looking at my notes and I have not I've written quite a lot of notes and not a single one of them is about that main storyline.
00:01:49
Speaker
Well, there was a ah bit of hope when it looked like Rona was going to give up on Ray, not Rona, Laura was going to give up on Ray because um like Celia had said, to her that like raise a bit of a player and like shouldn't really be trusted and so then Laurel was a bit like off with him while he was trying to she was trying to work things out and he was really angry and she was a bit like oh there's this side of you that I don't know and I don't think i like and he she was like trying to break up with him but then he kept on being like no we can make it work and like managed to convince her in Thursday's episode that they should stay together and I was like oh good Laurel's safe more of the same yeah But it's actually more of the same, which is
Character Analysis: Mary and Rona’s Plan
00:02:32
Speaker
gutting. um And I also really thought Mary did such a good job. Did you see any of the scenes with Mary? I did see the stuff with, I think, some of them at least. I think I saw the ones that Ray wasn't in, basically. And I think i thought she was great. She does some good, like, angry acting. And you sort of, yes, believed that she is Rona's mum in those scenes.
00:02:50
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I thought her angry acting was incredible. And she just, like, shouted felt so like from the heart and so just like the visceral outrage of like this has come so out of the blue you're not explaining it to all like that is exactly how you would react so I thought it was just disappointed that it didn't get any further because I think if she she had managed to make it all unravel she would be a voice of reason and be like we are going to the police although I know that option is a dead end isn't it because the police aren't doing Which is ah quite a weird message for the show to send, being like, if you are in the situation, please be aware that simply nothing you do to get help will result in in any actual help.
00:03:30
Speaker
the police I assume at some point that won't be the case. But if the if the solution is going to be some absurd, like, Seedy gets electrocuted or something, then like I feel like they should be more like, this is what the system will do to help you.
00:03:41
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, it's gutting. Every time Emmerdale try and address a good issue, they do it for a bit and then it goes awry. I will say Rona's plan to get Mary to safety was flawed as you if you're just like if we force her to move out presumably she'll just move to Cornwall she'll quit her job she'll leave all her friends do you want me to look up places right place on the right move now just get in the car and I'll text you like where you're living by the time you get there She doesn't need to know anyone where she lives as long as it's far And she seems much more concerned about her mum than about her like children or Laurel's children. or Yeah, like why couldn't she be taking Leo away or something?
Sympathy for Ray?
00:04:29
Speaker
She's just apparently going solo.
00:04:32
Speaker
And I do hate that the show is trying to get this to have some sort of sympathy for Ray because I've got absolutely none. Like if he looked ever like he was sad to be... giving terrible threats to a child, then maybe I'd feel a bit more sympathy towards him. But the fact that he's like, oh, well I love Laurel, nothing. Yeah, I find it hardest when Celia is being like actively horrible to him and manipulating him. And you're like, I can see why he is the way that he is. And it does make you feel a bit like, oh, he's a victim too. But yeah, you do just have to remind yourself, like he is a horrible person and he let Anya die.
00:05:03
Speaker
and he's trying to prostitute children. We're not on board with that. And I understand from the Digital Spire recap that he's bonding with Bear, but didn't watch any of those scenes either. Yeah, he took Bear to the hospital because he had like an infected cut on his hand and they had like a chat about, you know, their relationships with their fathers and all this kind of thing. Gosh.
00:05:24
Speaker
ah Yeah, I mean, there must be some people out there who want this. I mean, I've seen in articles and things like saying that it's gripping and people, you know, people are giving accolades to it. I was like, really? Who's gripped? Tell me that because all I'm saying online is people being like, I'm going to stop watching Emmerdale because this is so bad and it's been going on for so long. Yeah. It's been going literally my entire life. I can't remember when the storyline wasn't going on and being boring. This is what purgatory feels like. must
00:05:55
Speaker
Yeah, well, let's leave that
Controversial Storylines: Moira and Celia
00:05:57
Speaker
one, I guess. Well, can I just say that, like, I did feel a bit more of hope when moira punched celia and i was like great yeah then immediately everyone in the pub obviously was on celia's side and i was like cool that's the end i guess i did like that moira was like you were a hard-faced businesswoman i know that you're not going to just make silly little mistakes like that was quite good that she's she's not she's not buying it yeah um i hope we don't go through and moira thinks she's got a brain tumor again sorry i'm glad we're not gonna do that because i did see that scene and celia being like you think the brain tumor's come back yeah more and more people are going to be offside rather than onside, surely. yeah I mean, it does seem like one by one the village are sort of clocking onto it but not in any great way. And who knows what will happen next. Not dear, sweet, stupid Bob. but you were Bob is so annoying. He won't know what it's happened, but even months later, he'll be like, where's Celia? I miss her. Like she's in prison, Bob. Yeah.
00:06:50
Speaker
I keep telling you. Yeah, it is sad to be seeing so much more of Bob. I know that he is, for some reason, a fan favourite, but i just find him really annoying. is he a fan favourite? I think people will sort of treasure him and ponder him in their hearts.
Celebrity Cameos: Jason Donovan
00:07:04
Speaker
Very festive, very festive. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, I've not seen any evidence of that, and can't see evidence why people would, but maybe it' maybe it is a thing. i like his little finger guns. I'll give him that. Not not a thing against the finger guns. Yeah, he's very cheery, very chipper, but I think maybe that's what's been wearing me out so much.
00:07:26
Speaker
I did enjoy um his little feud with Jason Donovan. That was something. Yeah, that was nice. Yeah, should we talk about the fact that Jason Donovan was on Emma's Tale? playing himself so on the on the very final day of Neighbours although apparently not a deliberate homage uh he did turn up because because Lydia couldn't get tickets or f Lydia's friends and relatives couldn't get tickets to see Jason Dondovan an apparently sold out show which I can only imagine were he actually touring Yorkshire that they'd be giving those tickets away But um he decided because apparently he's friends with Kim Tate or something, I don't know, just turn out to this local pub and sing his only famous song. Yeah. So that was nice. It was very sweet, but um having only very recently found out who Jason Donovan was, it I think it probably meant less to me than it should have done. Yeah, I mean, I do obviously know who Jason Donovan is, and it meant nothing to me. So there is there' also that.
00:08:21
Speaker
I am just got back from visiting my friend in the hospital. And she was saying that the old lady in the bed next to her is like desperate to get home from hospital store because she's missing out on Emmerdale. Did she recommend the podcast? Well, I just thought she seemed quite confused as it was and I didn't want to have to explain what a podcast was was on top of everything else she was going through. It's i did think But do tell your confused relatives, everyone, this Christmas. Maybe share it. Tell your confused relatives about what a podcast is. um And that yeah, Briony, my friend, was just like, so what is going on in Emma Delt at the moment? I said, well, Jason Donovan was on it. And she was like, I don't know who that is. Yeah.
00:09:01
Speaker
I didn't realise that awareness of Jason Donovan had had dissipated so much in the general populace because his heyday was like 1985 to 1986 I would say but he but I thought you know have you not come across okay you haven't but People often make jokes about a kebab van called a Jason Donovan. That was a whole thing in the early 2000s. think it's one of those things where like I am familiar with the name, but I don't i don't know what it means or like who it is. It's similar to how I feel that like when you hear the name like John Major or like
00:09:35
Speaker
um You mean our former prime minister? Just like names names that you're like, that's a name I've heard, but I couldn't tell you if they were like musician, a teacher at my primary school, like all pleasant ones. I'm going to keep coming back to John Major. he was prime minister like when I was a child. My dad actually met him. My dad ah took Paddy Ashdown's funeral and was, you probably don't know who Paddy Ashdown was...
00:10:05
Speaker
He was head of the Liberal Democrats at one point or leader. And he lived in the village that my dad was vicar
Improbable Events in Emmerdale
00:10:11
Speaker
of. And my dad became sort friends with him. He was know visiting him a lot when he was dying. And John Major would rock up and they'd talk about cricket. Same. That's nice.
00:10:19
Speaker
Yeah. um i I liked that they picked people Emmerdale like Lydia who might feasibly be fans of Jason Donovan rather than an awkward thing where like, you know, Oh, and I loved that there were characters were who, like Cammy, pretending to know who he was. i loved that they just had a bit of realism about that. yeah and I think the worst example of this I've seen, and it in na was in Neighbors actually, was when Janet Street Porter was there and Toadie alleged that he was a big fan. It's like no mid, like 35, 40, whatever he was, man, is a big fan of Janet Street Porter, surely. and That's another name where, like, I couldn't tell you who she was. Is she the leader of the Green Party?
00:10:55
Speaker
me know. Yeah. I think she's officially a journalist, but more famous now probably for being on Loose Women. Okay. What did amuse me, really, the whole Jason Donovan situation, is that Kim seemed to be arranging this so so like for Lydia as a treat, but also as a big draw to get more people to go to this lacklustre event. But since nobody knew was going to be there, I don't know how how that would raise ticket sales. Yeah.
00:11:22
Speaker
Yeah, it was very much just like, there's something happening in the pub. And for some reason, everybody wanted to go for that completely mysterious reason. I mean, everyone's in the pub every night anyway. It's the only place they have to go. It's like, this is just a normal night in the pub. But for some reason, we've had to pay five pounds to get in.
00:11:42
Speaker
Oh, yeah, it was all quite difficult. And I just felt tense throughout the entire thing because um I was thinking about the poachers and I was thinking about Lydia making lunch and how it's all going to come crashing down. I think Emmerdale most of the time just makes me feel tense because...
00:12:00
Speaker
there are people lying to each other and things going unsaid, which I cannot stand. like Do you like Emmerdale? don't know anymore.
00:12:12
Speaker
o dear. It's like watching Mr Bean when you just feel tense the whole time until he's like safe. I guess, that yeah. I mean, it is a shame because Lydia was basically the only moral person in
Family Tensions: Lydia and Kim
00:12:23
Speaker
Emmerdale. So, I mean, the fact that she was very anxious about this slightly confusing crime she committed.
00:12:29
Speaker
um Which I think oh you were you were certainly not predicted that a horse would die when you when you set up doing this. I don't think you can really lay that directly blame blame at her door. but um Things did spiral. Things did spiral. So this week we had the whole like Kim just every time she set eyes on Lydia being like, I trust you and you alone because i know you'd never lie to me. Yeah, after not really noticing that Lydia was literally missing for the majority of this year, now that she's back, she's just like obsessed with Lydia, which I love. And I was like, great. I love the friendship. This is so good. Yeah. Now that this has happened, it's nasty. And I really don't want to watch today's episode now that I know that it involves them breaking up.
00:13:15
Speaker
A friend breakup. So there was a lot of stuff in yesterday's episode, and today's episode, in fact, about Kim deciding that she was going to leave Home Farm to Lydia in her will. Yeah, I was saw that and Thursday's one. Yeah, yeah.
00:13:29
Speaker
And it just, and everyone seemed to be treating this as though, like, they should probably hire a removal van now. It's like, like, Kim's, well, yeah at least the actress playing Kim, I looked her up, she's 63. And the actress playing Lydia is only 12 years younger than her.
00:13:43
Speaker
So... she she might get to live there for a while but you know Kim's got the beck and call of every like doctor in the country and she she will be a eternal yes Lydia's going to catch something dreadful in that house she lives in and she'll be dying at any moment now she's probably already had like emphysema or something I assume she's teetering towards the brink so like like Kim is going to outlive Lydia I'd have thought so it's a really meaningless gesture she's got private healthcare and Lydia's got mildew at least yeah
00:14:14
Speaker
A lady is taking her own teeth out with a wrench in the garden. say ah Yeah, the way they were reacting to it, it was like, I can't possibly take that. It's like, you don't really need to think about it, at least in the next 20 years, but maybe ever. Yeah.
00:14:32
Speaker
It's really bizarre. Yeah, it's quite strange. And also, like how quickly is Kim just able to like make changes to her will? you think she's got got like one of those Inca razor pens on desk at any given moment? Because the moment she found out that Jo was like being a bit weird behind her back, she was just like, Lydia's in the world.
00:14:55
Speaker
Well, what I will say, and it's seldom that I am the one who is less boomer on here, is that you can do your wills online. So, like, I pay £10 a year to update my will as often as possible. Well, not as often as possible, as often as I like.
00:15:09
Speaker
So if you log in you can just... Three times day, I changed my will. Yeah, it's just how it keeps me going. um i just add it as I get ever more godchildren. I got my sixth godchild last week. Congratulations. Thank you. you.
00:15:22
Speaker
um So yeah, maybe she's doing that. Although I would think her will is probably more complex than mine. and She probably should get a lawyer to look at it rather than me just giving away debt at this point. Yeah. And I will say that, I mean, whoever's listening to this, they can't see you. They can just hear you. But from my end, you certainly look like you're more in the Lydia camp because you're wearing like five to six layers. You're wearing like fingerless gloves. And you're telling me how to look. I'm not wearing fingerless gloves. You're making that better. Yeah.
00:15:50
Speaker
Okay, maybe your sleeves were over your hands. Yeah, I was thinking of this. I am wearing a dressing gown over my clothes. I don't have central heating. i am freezing. Yes. so i You being like, I'm changing my will every five seconds. It doesn't really look like you might even last at the end of the year. That's why I had to keep pace with it. Any any moment I could be gone, or I could freeze to death.
00:16:14
Speaker
I do remember a storyline years ago, they did about like older people in Emmerdale. can't remember the character's name now. She was She was horrible, but everyone for some reason liked her. And she she was very, very cold. She couldn't pay the heating. The story was about old people not being able to pay their bills. yeah and i so And I often think about that storyline when i look at my own life. And again, it's not a financial thing. i just There just isn't any sense heating in my flat. They never put it in. And I guess that will be saving you money, really, because you're not paying bills. Yes, suppose Yeah.
00:16:46
Speaker
It's a blessing, actually, if I think about it I guess it's just a blessing from the Lord and you should stop complaining.
Home Farm’s Decor Critique
00:16:55
Speaker
um i yeah Speaking of um of Kim, I really can't go any further than acknowledging how terribly framed that picture of a horse is in her hallway. It's just it's so bizarre that it's like it's like they've zoomed in on a photo. I mean, it is a painting. but it's like why would why would you frame this picture this way next time you're looking in the hallway i know the exact yeah it's upsetting isn't it it's horrible and ah something i've thought about as well a few times is that you sometimes can't even really tell that it's of a horse it's just like yeah a hung meat that looks quite veiny and it's definitely like gone from the derriere like it's like it's really why would you why would you take this angle and again i know it's a painting it wasn't a photo And maybe it was ice. I don't know, R.O.P. ice. It probably was.
00:17:46
Speaker
yeah i just hate everything about the interiors of Home Farm. I don't think I feel as strongly about it as you do. I know you despise it. But that bit I do find hard to take.
00:17:56
Speaker
And speaking of interiors, I did send you a photo of that horrible Christmas tree that Ruby and Caleb have got up that just is covered in like white fluff that does look like the mould you get on something you've left in the fridge too long. Yeah, it looked like pure penicillin.
00:18:10
Speaker
Yeah, it wasn't giving me any festive cheer, personally speaking. But maybe panacellin chic is the kind of thing that Ruby and Caleb are after. Panacellin chic. There was also um a decoration on the kind of like worktop island thing that Ruby was sat at at one point. Or maybe it was the coffee table. And I think it was supposed to be sort of like white branches. Maybe they were covered in snow or something.
00:18:33
Speaker
I was like, I was watching it on my phone. So the screen was quite small, but I was honestly like squinting at because I thought it was just an enormous lump of coral from the sea that they sort of like lobbed some baubles onto. And i was like, kind of weird cho choice.
00:18:47
Speaker
I also, I like that. Sure. i get it. And then I was watching the next one on my laptop and saw again. was like, oh no, it's, it's a horrible Tachycursus decoration. Never mind. Because they're meant to be like, well, Ruby at least is quite classy. Yeah. But it's only really evidenced by her clearly expensive haircut.
00:19:04
Speaker
Yeah, like her flat does look like it's from The Sims of like everything there has been chosen from like a CGI list of things that you could get if you wanted. to And considering they're meant to be relatively wealthy, it is curiously like small and pokey, just everything in one room. Yeah, they really don't need to live in a in an apartment. I guess it has multiple floors, basically, but... you imagine having like, you know, Kev in his samurai sword always tramping around above you? You know, just trying to get through the day. so glad not to see Kev anymore. I know that people really like him. him. miss Kev. No, you don't. Shut up. He's so annoying.
00:19:44
Speaker
yeah he was, but in a fun way, maybe. maybe that's what people say about me i do hear that a lot about you yeah she's annoying but you know in a fun page yeah you never know what she's gonna do next for the samurai sword while we're on ruby let's we talk about her new business venture Yes, because I loved that.
Ruby’s Wine Business
00:20:10
Speaker
I um i was thinking like like, I think it was quite recently when she wasn't on the show very much. was I feel like she's quite underused because she obviously had this big and very horrible storyline about her dad this year. And now she's sort of just been getting back on form.
00:20:27
Speaker
and i've been thinking like she is such a powerhouse and she's clearly very competent and intelligent but she doesn't like get to do very much and i was like oh it's so nice that they're actually letting her do that again because i really felt for her when caleb like took stuff out of her hands with the wine selling and now she gets to have her own business Yeah, I loved his apology. We love, i you know, love a good apology. And he actually did give a thoughtful apology based on what actually done wrong. He thought about it.
00:20:59
Speaker
And I was like, yeah, they well, I mean, no marriage on Emmerdale is like ideal, but they but currently they are, i think, a good example of a marriage. Yeah, I think so. i mean, they do have terrifying rows, but we haven't seen more them in a while. And I i i mean, i'm great I'm glad she's got this business.
00:21:18
Speaker
But I like her master plan at first seemed to to be like wandering around the village with a bottle of wine in her handbag and just like trying to frog it people in the street It's an unusual master strategy, but weirdly it did seem to work.
00:21:30
Speaker
It just seemed to work. And then I'd forgotten that Dawn worked at the the marriage, what's the word? Wedding prep place. Marriage prep place. planners, that's what I want.
00:21:41
Speaker
And I'm trying to think what is in it from there for their wedding planners rather than going directly to the same wholesalers that Ruby is using to go via Ruby and just have the benefit of the wine having just been in her living room for a bit.
00:21:53
Speaker
Like surely they would use wholesalers. They could definitely yeah just do their own their own access to the suppliers. Or maybe Ruby's getting a special deal. i don't know.
00:22:04
Speaker
maybe maybe it's a friend of a friend or something and then like Caleb's gonna get a license for the warehouse like why would they grant a license to a warehouse and like it's not like they're really selling it from the I mean they briefly were but that was more for storage purpose it's not like the warehouse is selling the wine know i don't know where this warehouse is i've never really worked that out but who's just gonna say i'm gonna walk past the pub gonna walk past the shop i'm just gonna go down this lane to somewhere i'm probably gonna run over by a white van and i wanna purchase a mellow from a warehouse yeah it does seem ill-fated but i'm just glad she's got an outlet
00:22:42
Speaker
Yeah, and I hope it turns into a real story. I love Ruby i and Manpreet's little friendship that they've developed. I was going to say that as
Ruby’s Relationships
00:22:49
Speaker
well. That's been a real highlight, seeing them hang out. That's been fun. Yeah, and she's being a supportive friend. I'm sure some of the people who are buying this wine have like dependency issues, but that's, again, neither here nor there.
00:23:02
Speaker
And some of the people who are selling the wine. That's true. Yeah. Well, speaking of wine... the whole like bait and switch around Jason Donovan was Kim giving a bottle of wine to Lydia and I was confused when she was like she got this wine from the shop and apparently it was worth five pounds like why would Kim have a five pound bottle of wine from the shop in her house?
00:23:24
Speaker
um it Was it just so that she could give it as a bad prize? No. Maybe. Maybe she really thought it through i don't know. And the bottle looked, to me, not a wine connoisseur. Like, fancier than you get a five bottle of wine. terms of the shape, but you know, the really cheap ones are always, like, the most uninspiring shapes. And that one looks like put some effort into it.
00:23:44
Speaker
I thought it looked like a sparkling wine, maybe. And you can get, like, cheap mosecca or something. But I wasn't looking that closely. was all very confusing. Yeah, not ideal.
00:23:56
Speaker
I kind of relate to Ruby, though, because I got a case of wine and delivered today. Not 100. Ooh. i am I accidentally ended up with like £100 paid out to like the Naked Wine subscription over the last year. I was like, wow, that's not great.
00:24:14
Speaker
But I had it in my account with them. So was just like, sure, i'm going to get 12 bottles of wine for £100. So I did. It just feels like free money, which it's not. No, then if anything, it's the exact opposite. Yeah, but I've paid it over like the course of many months this year, so it feels free now. Are you a big wine gal? I like wine.
00:24:35
Speaker
I'm not like an enormous wine gal, as in I'm not drinking wine at all. Do you know stuff about wine? know a little bit about wine, but not very much. I know that um sometimes I like drinking it.
00:24:48
Speaker
Just like to confirm for those who can't see the video that Lizzie is not currently drinking wine. So that's, you know, she's fine. Simon is not currently warm. One hand is warm. I've got my little heater next to me. A little radiator.
00:25:03
Speaker
m yeah but no, good for... root I mean, I don't know how the storyline could possibly develop because what story is there in her just like occasionally selling crazy wine to Dawn, but maybe... Yeah, not really sure where that's going to go Unless, um yeah, no.
00:25:17
Speaker
Maybe it's just going to be something that she does with her time. And like in the same way as Dawn works at the wedding place, you know, it's just a ah new thing that's happening.
Emmerdale’s Lesser-Known Settings
00:25:26
Speaker
Yeah, guess so. Yeah.
00:25:28
Speaker
Because you can see like the jobs they normally give people are things that people like do interact with other characters. So i guess every now and then she can pop up and be like, want some wine? that's email Who wants a wine?
00:25:42
Speaker
And also, like, Bob apparently is now working in the barb. And I hadn't really realised that there was a bar in the Airbnb that people could choose to go to. I guess guests might go there, but I can't imagine anyone thinking I'll just go and just have a drink in this dining room. No, it's somewhere that people hang out unless you're Bernice back for Thingies Wedding.
00:26:03
Speaker
That's true. And people occasionally go there for like romantic dinners and things, but I can't imagine anything less romantic than having Bob turn up in a like a lame jacket, like finger pointing at you. It does sound awful. Finger gunning for you? Finger gunning, yeah. I think if I were ever in a position where I wanted to break up with somebody, I would take them there and just let nature take its cause.
00:26:24
Speaker
Yeah, and also, you would probably never be back there, so it's not like it would become like a triggering location in your Heavens, no. if i mean, the fact that the place exists is triggering itself.
00:26:37
Speaker
Oh dear. Good times.
Friendship Dynamics: Joe and Sam
00:26:41
Speaker
Speaking of friendships, as we were a little while ago i um I've sort of enjoyed the quite confusing up and down of Joe and Sam's friendship over the last couple weeks. Yeah, that's something wanted to talk about as well, and um because I haven't watched today's one.
00:26:54
Speaker
Are they no longer presumably friends? Joe didn't turn up today. oh really? Okay. Because I wonder whether Sam and Joe might continue to be friends under the radar, like behind Kim's back. you know That would be cute, actually. um Because I feel like they are friends now and it's really nice and we wanted an unlikely friendship. we We were desperate for it. I do wonder whether the writers are listening to us and they're just granting all of our wishes.
00:27:20
Speaker
i hope so. And yeah, him it was it was sweet when he drank that horrible little beer that Sam offered him. no Although I will say when he was coming in being like, do you think I'm a bad person?
00:27:33
Speaker
And it reminded me of a line I read on Twitter ages ago, which was, ah Americans will invade your country and then 20 years later make a movie about how sad it made them to invade your country. it Like, Jay will do the most evil acts imaginable and then we'll get all like sad about it. Do you think I'm a bad person? Yeah.
00:27:50
Speaker
And I did like that Sam was like, well, you did steal a kidney. Even if then later in the week, he was like, you felt you had to. don't think anyone feels they have to steal someone else's kidney. Yeah, what was he saying? He was like, desperate people do desperate things. like, yeah, but do many desperate people end up killing a lot of people in the limo crash because they needed a kidney more than they needed their self-respect? I don't know. I think probably not if I could you know be so bold. But... um Yeah, he did seem to have hurt feelings about the idea that people might turn on him. but um
00:28:22
Speaker
And yeah, it so somehow also worked on me. i was like, oh, sweet Joe. I've always had a soft spot for Joe, apart from when he's murdering
Kim’s Horse Storyline
00:28:30
Speaker
people. And I think his friendship with Sam is going to be the thing that really gets me. so Really cements him. Yeah, because we've we've talked about his what romance we want him to have. I think friendship is nicer at the moment. I guess he is technically Dawn, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence of that of late.
00:28:45
Speaker
No, they were together this week, weren't they? Were they? I didn't. They were sat in the coffee shop together, weren't they? Yeah. When Lewis was like, order does something or get out. Yeah. And the whole like going to find Kim and finding her in the field and stuff. That was a bit of teamwork. And I did find it quite amusing how they rang.
00:29:03
Speaker
Was it the ambulance or was it when they rang someone to be like, I found her. And all they said was, she's up near the old oak. And I just thought, you're in an enormous area of woodland. Like, come on, that's not going to help anyone find anyone.
00:29:18
Speaker
No, I feel it's also not the first time Kim's like laying injured in that field. It seems to be a home from home for her. So they might just be like same field as last time. just find um What's your take on the horse? Do you think they should have let it live a bit longer? That's a question. i mean, I sort of assumed they had to to put the horse down. but but she But then later she's like, well, I wouldn't be able to ride the horse, but the horse could sort of live. Just like, well, that's interesting.
00:29:43
Speaker
yeah at first they were like yeah it can still live but it'll be in pain for its whole life but then it just changed didn't it and kim's very much like you should have let me decide i don't know and i can sort i could definitely see where she's coming from like if someone put down my cat without telling me i would never forgive them even if like even if it's the right thing to do but like you can't do that without me there or without my consent yeah you do feel like you should be part of that process i guess Yeah.
00:30:09
Speaker
um So yeah, i understand where she's coming from. And they should have waited for her to be able to make that decision unless the the horse was like writhing in agony, which didn't seem necessarily to be the case. No. And I feel like maybe it's more about the delivery and the way that like Joe was acting around it. Like, didn't he literally use the phrase like, we'll work how to deal with the remains. And you're like, that's not kind. Yeah.
00:30:32
Speaker
And then Kim did kiss the ashes in in yesterday yesterday's episode. with the the finger at At one point she like held something to her mouth and kissed it. i was like, that's a choice that I wouldn't recommend.
00:30:44
Speaker
lot, actually, yeah. Yeah. It was also not that many ashes. I sort of sort of thought there'd be a bucket worth, but maybe they only give you a few. don't know. i guess i mean, horses are quite big. You'd think they'd be quite a lot.
00:30:55
Speaker
Yeah, because like humans feel like quite a lot of ashes. I don't know. um Also... I didn't think you really get a human into a crematorium. Like, how are they squeezing them through the curtains? Get a human into a crematorium?
00:31:09
Speaker
Sorry, a horse, rather. Humans certainly do. That's of why they're there. but but yeah, a horse isn't going to fit onto that conveyor belt, is it?
00:31:20
Speaker
um Well, it was a pet crematorium, so... Maybe they've got that whole thing they've got a special conveyor. I wonder if they have, like, a different one for, say, the hamsters, because...
00:31:31
Speaker
Yeah, it'd be bit overkill to like blast it with what would burn a horse. If you work in a pet crematorium, do you get in touch and tell us everything. Yeah, would love to get to the bottom of it all.
00:31:42
Speaker
ah Yeah. Did I ever tell you, I think I did tell you this, about when I was driving around this random bit of Leeds and there was somewhere called Joseph Tate Funeral Services.
00:31:52
Speaker
You did, yeah. so you know. Maybe it was equine Yeah, equine funeral services, although he doesn't seem to have the sensitivity to do that, so maybe No.
00:32:06
Speaker
What other things have we got had
Financial Schemes: Eric, Kerry, and Jacob
00:32:07
Speaker
going on? It seemed to disappear, but we had some bizarre like plot of Eric's to put money in Kerry's name that she could then give to Jacob, but then didn't tell her. it's like, well, the plan sort of makes sense, but just tell her, that's the plan. Yeah, and I found it so boring.
00:32:24
Speaker
I didn't don't take any notes about it lot of it was interspliced with the like really horrible high drama scenes around like April and think it nothing know was maybe when Dylan got hit with the car and then you would go from that to like Eric talking about how he can get like the most tax relief on where puts his savings and I was like this is the worst thing I've ever watched
00:32:54
Speaker
What was that? Like somebody, Ray, in fact, commented on our Spotify ah about... Ray? Actual Ray? Not actual Ray. It's about about the Tracy hacking thing. And apparently it was like Hacking Awareness Week or something. So maybe this is also, maybe this is like Banking Awareness Week or something.
00:33:16
Speaker
It's Tax Relief Awareness Week, okay? Or tax fraud, because I guess that's what he's doing. It's like, make sure you don't commit tax fraud. Yeah. mean, the plan was unhinged in the first place, but the idea that it just rests on Carrie working this out after Eric's death or something, or just never looking at her bank statement, I don't know, just didn't didn't seem to make much sense. And I feel like it's a bit of an insult to characters who haven't had a storyline for a while. It's like, don't worry, guys, we've got you covered. Yeah.
00:33:41
Speaker
A storyline that's entirely expositioned. Something that I'd quite like to get to the bottom of is Carrie and Jacob's apparently very deep and important relationship to Jacob. yes We couldn't bear for her and Charity to not get on at their wedding. When I'm like, I know that you kind of live with Carrie and that you have some good times together, but I don't feel like you really care about her or that she particularly cares about you. And now suddenly she's like this mother figure that must not have a bad time at your wedding or ruin the wedding or something. And you like, come on, guys. That's so stupid.
00:34:16
Speaker
I was trying to work out what the connection was, other than that Kerry's sort of friends... So Eric and the late Val fostered Amy when she first came to the village. And they were very, like, parental figures for a few years. Which sort of explains the relationship with Kerry. Yeah. But, um i mean, it's bit tangential. Like, I think I'd live with... there and the whole like Kerry versus charity doing some sort of treasure hunt for a bike or something I have no idea what's going on but you know but that's the sort of light relief we've been asking for so I can't look a gift horse in the mail true I hope that's not too soon to refer to a gift horse I dare you what is a gift horse is it a horse that you get given as a gift yeah I mean the etymology of the phrase is that um you can tell a horse's age by its teeth and it's very rude to then like check the age of a horse if it's given to you as a gift oh
00:35:08
Speaker
so it's like don't be ungrateful by by checking how good the gift that you've been given is oh I know that we were asking for light relief but it was a tough watch yeah it's like I do recognise should be grateful for what we've got but it also was dreadful yeah it's I just need some more medium TV of like at the moment it to be either actively distressing or really like a bit cringy That storyline did involve Claudette just barring people from church in a way that I think is not encouraged by the Church of England. Not within her purview to do. think it feels a bit more kind of Plymouth Brethren than c of E, but take it.
Romantic Developments: Laurel and Ray
00:35:48
Speaker
Yeah, but she's got a prayer group apparently. I can't imagine who's in it, but that's nice. Yeah, I wonder who goes to that. Maybe it's sort on Zoom. I'm not sure. Maybe. I mean, there don't seem to be any other Christians in the community, so i'm not sure who's attending it. Doesn't Laurel sometimes go? She certainly seems to sometimes help with, like, organising church things.
00:36:07
Speaker
She does seem to organise things solely from having previously been married to a vicar for a long time. but I guess she just knows the ropes. Yeah, literally, and in the case of the bells, I suppose. But um she...
00:36:19
Speaker
yeah I did think it was a bit galling when Ray was like, I've never felt this like this before, and Laura was like, neither have I. It's like, what about your husband of many years? no Yeah, it's a bit annoying, isn't it?
00:36:29
Speaker
And then wasn't she with like Charles for a while as well? She was, was she? yeah I mean, that was unfortunate. entirely i I think she was a bit entirely off screen. over And of course, Jay, and at one point Marlon, and anybody who stands stands around at least end for a while, she'll marry.
00:36:49
Speaker
not Not to marriage shame her. she can you name um She can have many weddings if she wants. Please, keep us busy. i I do enjoy everything that Nicola's providing in this and every storyline, particularly her vibe of voice like openly hating her husband, but in a way in a way that makes you feel more certain than ever of the security of their marriage.
00:37:13
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's nice when you meet a couple that is a bit like that or just a bit like, oh, you're so annoying that you kind of know that they actually do really love each other. Yeah, and she clearly doesn't find him attractive, but it doesn't seem to mind.
00:37:27
Speaker
It's something that's just an open secret for them. if Sweet, sweet Jimmy. Apparently he's quite like a hard, tough man sort of character when he first turned up, which is obviously scene oh waned. Yeah, now he's just sort a hapless fool.
00:37:40
Speaker
which we love i was thinking this about the dingles the other day actually about how they have this reputation for being like you know fighters and you know grow aggressive get the job done but all of the younger generation of dingles are quite like weak morally
Dingle Family Evolution
00:37:54
Speaker
sort of at best ambivalent for nothing none of them were like are like out there being gangsters and they're relying on Whenever they do need like that sort of level, relying on Cain and maybe maybe Charity will do a trick or two, whatever. And they're all like pushing 50 or possibly over it. Yeah. I mean, I feel like Aaron is still maybe that's true a little bit more that way.
00:38:16
Speaker
Not really. He's mellowed a lot over the years. We haven't really seen anything of Noah, but I can't see. oh he's not our backbone, has he, surely? no But sometimes Sarah can be a bit devious. That's true, but yeah, i kind she seems to have some sort of moral code where she's not going to do anything too illegal unless it's... I don't know.
00:38:36
Speaker
i trying think what she has done. All she does is just like remind people remind pregnant women to drink coffee or not drink coffee or something. Oh yeah, should we talk about all that pregnancy stuff? It's so annoying. She's so annoying.
Charity’s Storyline Repetition
00:38:49
Speaker
I am sick of her constantly reminding charity about to take vitamins and things like charities been pregnant four times before this. i think she's fine. Um, I did really enjoy charity saying about Jacob. I used to think he was a bit of a plank, but not anymore. And I thought I still do. Yeah. And fair enough. Lucky is. Um, yeah, I, I, I can see it's like gearing up for a big Christmas reveal maybe, or a new year reveal or something. Um,
00:39:17
Speaker
And I think it probably will be worth the payoff. I'm still just really sad that Layla's not around anymore because I think her role in that storyline will be so good. but um But I think we're going get good stuff from Mac. I like Vanessa being involved. It is a very repetitive storyline a lot of the time. But were yeah, when Ross is back, because the actor is on paternity leave, I think at the moment, um ah I think theyre a they've they've done it good quite well in terms of it having some genuine fallout with interesting characters but at the moment it is just the same scene over and over again yeah ah and what a terrible idea to do this like surprise wedding thing because like if it was a gender reveal party surely loads people be like oh that sounds nice but i've you know i've got other stuff on i don't know whereas if loads of people just gonna miss this wedding or like be annoyed about it
00:40:08
Speaker
has proved to be the case that even charities like it's a no from me. Thanks so much. obviously secret that must bit of and Maybe that was today. She's got like some secret scan of the babies to check that everything's fine. She's worried.
00:40:20
Speaker
And it's apparently they're fitting around Christmas Eve because we all know that we're trying to get an appointment to the doctor. zo hospital they will They will pop you in for Christmas Eve. Um, At this point, I do do you feel like Sarah and Jacob maybe should just move the date and do it like a week later or something.
Jason Donovan’s Recurring Role
00:40:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think just Sarah and Jacob just need to calm down as the main thing. We only got together sort three months ago or something.
00:40:42
Speaker
but at the moment, it's just going to be them, Bob, and presumably Jason Donovan. first that Not a wedding. He's always waiting in the wings. He's like, do you want me to do especially for you? It's like, no, Jason, no one wants that. No one wants that.
00:40:55
Speaker
Go back to Australia. Yeah, please. Oh gosh. He really gave that song, not to harp back on him, but he was really trying to do like an arrangement of it. was like, i can I've got range. I can do like a sort of heartfelt acoustic version. It's like, Jason, please don't. I'm sorry to say that I don't know what the original was meant to be like. I didn't i didn't know he wasn't a sort of acoustic man. It's a very like 80s sort of synth-y sort of thing going I'll say, sure.
00:41:23
Speaker
Yeah. um I've got heartbreaking news for you, Lizzie. So you know our favourite character... Lydia? Oh. see i've He said something this week that has really made it tricky for me to love him as much as I used
Literary Appreciation Disappointment
00:41:39
Speaker
to. I what did he do?
00:41:40
Speaker
I quote, the book and the film are the same, right? Oh, yeah. That's what he put on to you. um Sorry. Oh, Cammy, Cammy, Cammy. I was excited when he he was the one encouraging Vinny to read a book. i was like, yes, yeah. Yeah.
00:41:59
Speaker
Prose before bros. I'm not pleased with that. But anyway.
00:42:07
Speaker
I'll pause. leave me Let's leave a minute or two pause here for laughter. and then i don't really get it. Prose as in P-R-O-S-E. Ah, had imagined it was E and i was like... that's It's a written joke really, isn't it? Prose before bros.
00:42:28
Speaker
I'd love me you to see what's what Spotify do with the ah automated captions on that. But um to have my back, by the way. But no because Vinnie was like, I've got better things to do than read old books by dead people. It's like, Vinnie, firstly, you haven't. All you do is just look mopey and occasionally get conned.
Vinny’s Romantic Prospects
00:42:46
Speaker
Yeah, he doesn't really do anything.
00:42:48
Speaker
oop You really should be reading more. That might help you be less stupid. And... And Cammy had his back and he's like, yeah, Lewis loves A Christmas Carol, apparently. Lovely. Great stuff. And then, know, Vinny couldn't make it out the way through through a short book for Cammy. Not for Cammy.
00:43:07
Speaker
For I think Cammy, though sweet, is unravelling in the... he He was the one to sit Lewis down and be like, Vinny fancies you. Based on, not Lowe's, I don't know, I think he was probably right, but he wasn't based on Lowe's. And then like spelled it out that actually, don't worry, it's his personal trainer and Lewis is single. And then the moment that was done, he was like, but could you please not get involved with each other because like it's really nice living as a three and I don't want that to change. like Well, you just created the perfect situation for something to happen and it probably will be awkward. None of that needed to happen.
00:43:45
Speaker
No. Although Cammy doesn't actually live there. We don't know where Cammy lives. Because, of course, the third is Ross. Oh, of course. In my mind, I've thought that he lived there, but he doesn't. And it would make sense if he did. But I think he just, every just drives in from Leeds or something just to be part of the day-to-day goings on. I would guess go to work.
00:44:02
Speaker
Yeah, so true. That is quite random. Does he still live with his family, I think? I think so. We don't know anything about them, but I hope we do get to find out more. I'd like a bit of backstory. Maybe bring in the whole fam. Why not?
00:44:13
Speaker
Yeah, that'd be really nice. I'd enjoy that. But apart from that, you're totally right. He sort of engineered the situation that he didn't want. and And it really should be studied how little chemistry Binnie and Lewis have. Like, absolutely not. And we were literally saying, like, last time we recorded, like, I don't want them to become an item because it's nice to finally have, like, a platonic friendship.
00:44:33
Speaker
that seems genuine and they look out for each other and now look yeah like I mean at least Lewis has got his friendship Nicola that I live for yeah it's the pinnacle of the show at the moment and presumably at some point and Kevin will come back and have a relationship of sorts with Lewis but I don't know.
00:44:52
Speaker
Yeah, I guess there will be some sort of big reveal probably on Christmas Day. Yeah, maybe. But maybe Cammy's got like a gay brother or something who can have relationship with Lewis instead. Oh, that'd be sweet. That'd be And let's not forget Vinny is bi, so the world's his oyster. He doesn't need to dwell on Lewis. That's a lovely way to look at bisexuality. Yeah, the world's his oyster, but people may look at him and decide that actually they prefer other oysters. Yeah, he's not the oyster for their world.
00:45:19
Speaker
He's not a compelling man, I would say. Like, he's very sweet, but I would find him quite tiring to be around. Yeah, and I think it's um it's a statement that, like, Bradley Richards, who plays him, is a really good actor because any time I see him on, like, the social media or, like, being interviewed and anything, I'm like, oh, wow, he's, like, really fun, really charismatic. Like, I feel quite drawn in by him as a person. Then Vinny's just such a drip.
00:45:44
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting. um Whereas Lewis has has really found a place in my heart, personally.
Return of Ross
00:45:52
Speaker
And i um again, I want Ross to come back and just have that lovely brotherly relationship and more of that. Yeah, come back, Ross. You can't need that long with a new baby, right?
00:46:02
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, we'll see you move back soon. Yeah, the baby will still be there. yeah look at you baby your own time it's really good thing and I'm glad he's on it we're all very glad he might be doing split parentally we don't know Michael Power is not about to say that to us so true yeah I mean he could he could have told us but it's okay yeah you want do an exclusive Michael if you're listening about your parenting arrangements you can think of nowhere else to do it I don't have actually anything else written down I've done a way the stravers should we do a random character generator Let's do random character.
Tracy’s Potential
00:46:40
Speaker
Today we're going to say what we think about Tracy. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. I think she is a bit unhinged, but then sometimes when she's onto it, she's really onto it. Like when her and Kane formed that, like, let's find Nate thing or like, i don't know. Sometimes she just has a good read on situation. Didn't she kind of sniff something out recently? Although I don't remember what.
00:47:07
Speaker
someone was actually she did but what was it yeah she was running it or was it like i don't remember there was something going on and she like got caught wind of it and i thought i would trust you actually if you caught wind of something to get to the bottom of it that's true because you know got anything else going in her life she's she can do that she apparently has a child but the child is always she's never seen that child yeah um yeah I really like Tracy I think the actress is is um she has a lot of warmth and heart to her which is useful for for the sort of the more heartfelt storylines she's obviously in the time that you've been watching I don't think she's really had much of a storyline other than mourning the dead ex-husband that she didn't care about when he went missing for a year yeah um I really liked her and David actually they were together for quite a long time and that was a nice relationship
00:47:55
Speaker
And she was that sort of, it's a shame she doesn't really seem to interact with Jacob now because she was like a set mother to him for for a good while. Oh, well, for yeah, no, they should reclaim that for sure. Yeah. Yeah, so I i think she deserves a bit more, a few more storylines, a few more relationships. It's nice that she's Vanessa's sister. That, you know, gives them a bit more to do, but she feels a bit on the outside at the moment. I'd like her to be bit more back in centre of the show. Yeah, get her a bit more central. We'd like that.
00:48:23
Speaker
Yeah, it's just a maraudingle, I guess, but it's not only going spare right now. But they are all nice rather than violent these days, so she's got plenty to choose from. That's true. Yeah, and she does she's good at comedy. I like that when she's in the shop, she just is openly rude to everyone. That's quite fun. Yeah, that's a nice touch. And I think we do need more retail workers who are okay about doing that.
00:48:43
Speaker
yeah She's not going to put on the front for anyone. And why should she? why should she yeah all her stories have been a bit pathetic of like like you know stealing from eric and that sort of thing so thought she did that yeah in my mind that was um carrie because it just seems a bit more like it's more on brand for carrie yeah yeah yeah i mean i read interviews with um amy walsh who plays her about like how this was she meant well i guess like any interview made it out to this big storyline about a topical issue and it really did sort of just appear in a couple episodes and then die out
00:49:16
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, well, we move. Did did you know that her sister is Kimberly Walsh from Girls Aloud? I did not. That's wild. In fact, they do look quite similar. Yeah, now but I see it, I do see it.
00:49:28
Speaker
Yeah. you free There we Tracy, thumbs up. We like. We like you.
Farm Storylines and Real-Life Pregnancies
00:49:34
Speaker
And I guess that just leaves farming content, which there has been a fair amount of.
00:49:39
Speaker
It's more slave farmery, I guess. Yeah, farming slaves and farming turkeys. yeah Yeah. And like contracts that seeders forged around turkeys, you know.
00:49:50
Speaker
The bit about farming that everyone really wants is, yeah, invoices. That invoice is always delivered in print. Like no one ever emails an invoice. I mean, perish the thought of using QuickBooks, for example. Yeah.
00:50:03
Speaker
not so good but although that is what i use for my business so if they would like sponsor me that would save me 14 pounds a month i'd like that think it's unlike they're going to sponsor you when you've got absolutely no rights to the name quick works i'm promoting them i mean if i think i said that i buy like i bought a diet coke you want sponsor me with if you want feature diet coke in your he or show they probably this is valuable advertising space simon i don't know why you're not taking it seriously Yeah, I can only apologise about that, suppose um and I trying to think about other farming there's been. Maybe that was it.
00:50:36
Speaker
And I can't let this episode actually finish before I say about how little they're trying to hide it Isabel Hodgkin's pregnancy. I sent you that photo. Yeah, it's so, so visible.
00:50:47
Speaker
Yeah, normally we get, like, you know, they only show from the shoulders up or they'll, like, be carrying a big bag or something. But they're just like, no, she's 12 months pregnant. She's just pregnant and that's where we're at. Yeah.
00:51:01
Speaker
i mean, it was a bit tiring seeing um Georgia, who plays Steph, just sort of like always holding bags and coats and stuff. And you think people are out in the open it. Yeah, I do love it I wonder what her exit storyline will be. Although often she's just not on screen for months at times. Maybe they won't bother with one. Yeah, I don't think that anybody other than you would maybe notice. I'd be, obviously, counting down the days. um That reminds me, actually, I was going to suggest...
Engagement and Year-End Tease
00:51:25
Speaker
because we have a lovely email in from Rachel with her predictions for next year we're not going to read them now but i thought maybe for this is our last like proper episode of 2025 we'll tell you in a moment a bonus one but maybe for our first episode 2026 email in with your predictions for stories for the year and we can read them out we found so dinglealltheway.pod at gmail.com or messages on instagram is or whatever is easiest and we'd love to know like who you think going to do what what couples you think will get together anything like that Yeah, we'd love that. We always love hearing from you. um
00:51:59
Speaker
And yeah, thanks for thanks for listening to us in 2025. Yeah, I really appreciate it. And we will have one more episode in 2025, actually, yeah which is a little like best of the year, which we're going to record in a moment. We're going to release later. So favorite characters, favorite stories, favorite moments, all that sort of thing.
00:52:18
Speaker
Yeah, we'll release it some point, probably between Christmas and new Year or like maybe early in the new Year. Watch his face. And that's when we do our emotional farewells for the year, maybe. But yeah, for now, get in touch if you want to. Thanks for listening.
00:52:38
Speaker
Bye.