TV Character Will Be Killed off After 15-Year Run: What We Know About Major ‘Emmerdale’ Shakeup

A beloved character is reportedly set to say goodbye to the Yorkshire Dales for good. After portraying Samson Dingle since the age of 5, actor Sam Hall, 20, is being written off of Emmerdale, with his onscreen counterpart set to be killed off of the long-running British soap opera in the coming episodes.

News of Hall’s booting from the show was first reported by The Sun, an insider telling the outlet that the actor “had a meeting with bosses earlier this month where they broke the news.” Hall has reportedly been left “devastated” by the decision, as he has portrayed Sam Dingle, the son of Zak and Nellie Dingle, for the pat 15 years. The source noted that Hall has “grown up with his on-screen Dingle clan and they are all very protective of him,” so much so that many of his co-stars are furious with the move.

“He’s grown up with his on-screen Dingle clan and they are all very protective of him. Some of the cast even went to talk to bosses about their decision,” the source said. “As news of his axing swept through the building there were quite a lot of angry Dingles. The fact that they are planning on killing him off means there’ll be no way back for him either. He’s absolutely gutted.”

Hall took on the role of Samson Dingle from fellow child actor Charlie Pell in 2009, the actor also appearing in the one-off special The Dingles – For Richer, For Poorer. His storylines on the soap have most notably included being a teen dad after a fling, as well as his subsequent struggle with his responsibilities as a young father.

Neither Hall nor the ITV soap has confirmed The Sun’s report at this time. It remains unclear how exactly Hall’s Emmerdale storyline will end, but it will be one of several difficult storylines the soap is set to tackle. Earlier this month, Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw revealed that the show is set to be “totally rocked” by three devastating storylines involving domestic violence (centering around James Chase’s Tom King and his new wife, Eden Taylor-Draper’s Belle), a cancer diagnosis (Billy (Jay Kontzle) and Dawn Fletcher’s (Olivia Bromley) son Evan is diagnosed with leukemia), and an accident that would leave one village resident fighting for their life. For the latter storyline, Shaw only teased that “we’ll see someone in some really serious medical jeopardy – whether they live or die, we’ll have to see,” adding that the storyline will involve two unnamed families.