Emmerdale fans are in for a heartwarming treat this Christmas as Belle Dingle, portrayed by Eden-Taylor Draper, is set for an emotional reunion with her cherished dog, Piper, after being led to believe the pet had perished at the hands of her abusive spouse, Tom King (James Chase).
In upcoming episodes, Belle grows suspicious when she realises she never saw Piper’s remains and begins to doubt Tom’s story about the dog’s demise. She enlists Vinny Dingle’s assistance (Bradley Johnson) to exhume the supposed grave and inspect the contents of Piper’s coffin.
To their astonishment, they find the coffin empty, prompting Belle to contemplate confronting Tom in jail to uncover Piper’s whereabouts.
However, in a magical turn of events on Christmas Day, while visiting her father’s grave, Belle is overjoyed when Piper appears, having been located by Vinny and Gabby (Rosie Bentham). In discussions with the Daily Record and other media outlets, Eden, who has played Belle since 2005, confessed that she was unaware of Piper’s return to the ITV series.
She shared, “Belle doesn’t think Piper is alive, but on Christmas Day, there’s a Christmas miracle, and here she is,” reports Leicestershire Live.
“I didn’t know! It was only probably a couple of months ago, probably three months ago that I got told she is coming back at Christmas. There was a period when it was just, ‘Is she going to come back? Is she not?’ She had to! Fans would have been in uproar.”
Eden further elaborated that Belle had always harboured suspicions that Tom might have lied about her dog’s demise, which led her on a quest to discover the truth. She stated, “I think the main thing is that she never actually saw Piper’s body. She never really saw what actually happened; she was just told. I think she has that in her head, and she can’t get it out of her head.
“He’s obviously lied about so much, so she just thinks, ‘We never saw the evidence. We buried a casket, but who knows what’s in there? ‘ kind of thing. It’s actually Vinny and Gabby who end up tracking her down.
“They contact the people Tom handed Piper over to and explain the situation. They’re like, ‘That is your dog, and we’re really sorry for what she’s been through.'”.
Discussing the significant role Piper has played in narrating the abuse storyline and the backlash Tom’s behaviour towards her has incited, Eden added: “I think everyone’s attached to her. Because Minnie’s so great to work with and so easy, it’s been so nice that we’ve had her in so many scenes, she’s always been a part of it.
“Often, if someone’s got a huge dog, you’re not going to stick them in every scene because they’re so big or distracting or whatever.
“But Minnie’s been in so much of the journey, she’s been as much a part of it as me and James. So I kind of expected that from the viewers but it has been overwhelming how much everyone loves Piper.”
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV and ITVX