List of Emmerdale characters introduced in 2006

Samson Dingle, played by Sam Hall, is the son of Sam (James Hooton) and Alice Dingle (Ursula Holden-Gill). He has appeared since January 2006. The character has also been played by other actors in the past, one being Ben Shooter, who was controversially sacked in 2008 for "crying on set". Following this, Shooter's mother Emma slammed producer Anita Turner and claimed that he was treated like a "prop" and that he had to film "horrifying" scenes. After discovering she is pregnant, Alice falls ill with cancer. She is advised to terminate the pregnancy to start chemotherapy immediately, but she refuses to abort. She gives birth prematurely via a caesarean section, and her son is named Samson. After stopping her chemotherapy because it is not working, Alice dies. After Alice's death, Sam vows to bring up Samson on his own and moves into his own cottage. However, he finds it difficult to cope and someone calls social services. Samson is knocked down by Val Pollard (Charlie Hardwick) in her jeep. He soon recovers, but Sam goes on the run with Samson because he is worried he will be taken away from him. An arrangement is later made and Sam is allowed to keep Samson. He later moves back in with Sam and the Dingle family.

It became known that Amelia Spencer was pregnant and that Samson was the father. In October 2022, Esther Spencer was born and although Samson by no means wanted no part in this, he started to come to his senses and helped Amelia for their baby.

In 2024, it was announced that Sam Hall would be leaving the role of Samson Dingle after fifteen years. In June 2024, Samson ended up befriending a boy called Josh Cope (Osian Morgan), who was transphobic. He ended up being stabbed by Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano), who was holding a knife whilst chopping fruits, after Josh pushed Samson into him. Rumours had speculated that Samson was going to be killed off, however Hall confirmed this was not the case. Hall told Inside Soap, "well, I don't want to give too much away, but Samson has some really big stuff coming up. However, don't worry, as he's definitely not being killed off! There are some good stories coming up for him, and I was very excited when I read the scripts." Hall also said he "enjoys playing the 'mean' side of Samson, even while his 'good side' tends to shine through." Hall continued, "Like with the baby storyline, he was worrying about Amelia being okay for Esther because Samson obviously lost his mum – and he didn't want his kid to grow up without a mum. So, he can get angry, but his intentions are always right in the end." Provided by Wikipedia