Chas Dingle

Chastity Dingle (also Livesy and Spencer) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Lucy Pargeter. More commonly known as Chas, she made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 October 2002. Chas returned on 21 September 2003. Chas was absent for six months in 2005 when Pargeter took maternity leave. She left temporarily on 5 June 2005, and returned full-time from 13 December 2005. In 2013, Pargeter announced that she would be taking a short break from the show in order to appear in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. Pargeter was briefly recast for one episode on 20 December 2016 to provide an alternative physical appearance to the character through the eyes of Ashley Thomas (John Middleton). Chas departed temporarily once again on 31 March 2017 when Pargeter took a second maternity leave. Pargeter confirmed her return to filming on 31 August 2017. Chas returned on 25 October 2017. In January 2024, it was announced that Chas would be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in an upcoming storyline.

Chas' main storylines have focused on her turbulent relationship with Carl King (Tom Lister), becoming a prime suspect in the murder of Tom King (Ken Farrington), discovering she has a half-sister Gennie Walker (Sian Reese-Williams), rebuilding a relationship with her son Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) who she abandoned as a child, her relationship with Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt), disputing with her niece Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) after having an affair with Debbie's fiancé Cameron Murray (Dominic Power), her grief over the loss of her father Shadrach Dingle (Andy Devine), sister Gennie and best friend Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward), developing post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) being shot, discovering Aaron's sexual abuse at the hands of his father Gordon Livesy (Gary Mavers), discovering that she is pregnant with Paddy's child but that the baby Grace will not survive long after birth due to bilateral renal agenesis, and falling pregnant again with their second daughter, Eve.

Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy confirmed that Chas Dingle would begin a steamy affair with Cameron Murray (Dominic Power), the boyfriend of her niece Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb). The pair's attraction ignites after Cameron is employed at the Woolpack and later succumb as their love strengthens. However, back in the summer, Chas' half sister Gennie Walker (Sian Reese-Williams) discovered that half-sister Chas was having an affair with Cameron, but she ultimately decided to conceal her discovery upon the illicit couple agreeing to end the fling. The latest twist begins as Chas plays with fire by suggesting that Cameron should meet her at Gennie's place as nobody will be in. However, as the pair passionately kiss in the house, the front door suddenly opens and Gennie catches them red-handed! Sian Reese-Williams hinted that Gennie may be later involved with protecting her secret, commenting: "Nothing ever goes unpunished in soapland, does it? I'm sure that this won't, either. Gennie's role in keeping the secret will be brought up again, I'm sure. It's lurking in the background!" As Emmerdale's 40th anniversary episodes aired, Debbie, along with parents Cain Dingle and Charity Sharma, finally uncovered Chas' affair with Cameron, marking the climax of one of the biggest stories in Emmerdale's history.

On 31 October 2016, Pargeter announced she was pregnant, and as such the character of Chas would be temporarily written out in 2017. Chas made her final appearance in the episode broadcast 31 March 2017, alongside actress Isobel Steele, who portrayed Olivia Flaherty, as Steele was also leaving temporarily to take her GCSEs. Pargeter gave birth to twin daughters in April 2017, and she returned to filming in August 2017. Chas made her on-screen return to the programme on 25 October 2017.

In late 2017, producers reunited Chas and Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt). A few months later, Chas discovers she is pregnant. Laura Morgan of Digital Spy observed, "It's obvious why the Emmerdale writers love these two together – they have a strong bond, a shared history, and are first and foremost best mates who are not afraid to take the mickey out of each other. We've watched them co-parent Aaron over the years, but to see them have a biological child would be a whole new world." Chas initially decides to have an abortion, but she changes her mind while she is at the clinic and tells Paddy that she wants to be a mother again.

In May 2018, Chas attends a scan alone, as she has mixed up the dates, and the sonographer notices something wrong with the baby. Chas is then informed that her baby has bilateral renal agenesis, a fatal condition in which the kidneys do not develop properly.

Grace's birth takes place during an "experimental episode", in which Paddy imagines he and Chas have taken their daughter on a trip. Scenes show Grace when she is one, four, and 12 years old. Pargeter explained, "It's the kind of things they would have done with her if she'd have still been around – it's in their heads in the delivery room after she's just been born. They're thinking about all of the things that they won't get to do with her. They kind of go there with her in their minds." Pargeter believed the episode needed some "lightness" because of how sad the rest of the storyline is. Grace dies in Chas' arms at the end of the episode.

Chas first appeared when she arrives in Emmerdale dressed as a nun for the stag night of her cousin Marlon (Mark Charnock). She is hired by her father, Shadrach Dingle (Andy Devine), and ends the evening locked in the back of a van with Ashley Thomas (John Middleton). Several months later, she becomes homeless and moves in with the Dingles and gets a job as barmaid at The Woolpack. Chas has a son, Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), with her ex-husband Gordon (Gerard Fletcher), whom she allowed custody. Aaron hates his mother, feeling that she had abandoned him. Aaron rejects Chas's attempts to make amends for this and after he deliberately tells her about Carl and Delilah's fling, she ceases contact in order for Gordon, Aaron and his new wife, Sandra, to become a proper family.