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Aaron Dingle is a fictional character and main protagonist of the British soap opera Emmerdale. Originally appearing as a minor character in 2003-2004 and 2006 as a child, he became one of the show's regular protagonists since reappearing on 10th November 2008. Thereafter he served as a major protagonist from 2008 to 2012, an overarching character in 2013, and currently one of the show's main protagonists from 2014 to 2024 onwards.

In his characterization, Aaron is the son of Chas Dingle and Gordon Livesy - the man who had sexually abused and raped Aaron throughout his own childhood. In addition to being a notable member of the established Dingle Family since his main stints on the show, Aaron is also the nephew of Cain Dingle and Caleb Miligan; the cousin of Debbie Dingle; a relative of Charity Dingle; the half-brother of Liv Flaherty; the surrogate son of Paddy Kirk; and the former husband of Robert Sugden.

He is portrayed by Danny Miller and was previously played by Danny Webb back when the character was a child.

Biography[]

Aaron Livesy was born on 5th January 1992, conceived by his parents Chas Dingle and her ex-husband Gordon Livesy back when the pair were married. This happened over a decade before Aaron later made his first presence on Emmerdale Village. It was then he started visiting the village when his father dropped him off to spend time with Chas, but was later forced to take him back home again after Chas slapped Aaron during an argument and Gordon learned about it through her enemy Louise Appleton not long afterwards.

In 2008, when Aaron came back to the village, he had been involved with the MacFarlane Crime Family around the same occasion when corrupt policeman Shane Doyle is attempting to cover his affiliation with said crime family. He was eventually rescued by Chas and her family known as the Dingles, whom had subsequently welcomed Aaron into the fold. However, it was at that stage that Aaron had become a local wayward who frequently causes trouble around the village and lashes out at people whenever they confront him over his anti-social mannerisms. This behavior occasionally sees Aaron being estranged from Chas whenever they get into an argument over it.

By 2009, Aaron's wayward behavior continues as he clashes with Chas' boyfriend Carl King after making it clear that he doesn't like him. Chas also learns that Gordon had kicked their son out for hitting his new wife Sandra during an argument over his behavior. Despite this, Aaron gradually warms up to her mother and her fellow interest Paddy Kirk. It is then Aaron's friendship with Paddy escalates to the point where Paddy acts as a surrogate father for Aaron. Soon enough Aaron begins working at the local garage owned by Chas' niece Debbie Dingle.

In 2010, Aaron finds himself coming to terms with homosexuality after making a pass at his best friend Adam Barton. It is then Aaron gets acquainted with his other companion Jackson Walsh and they begin a relationship. But then Jackson is rushed to hospital after a road collision and train accident leaves him paralyzed. Jackson eventually cannot cope with his condition and asks Aaron to help end his suffering; Aaron reluctantly obliges by helping Jackson commit suicide a year later.

In 2011, Aaron's grief over Jackson leads him to begin self-harming and behaving erratically in order to cope with Jackson's death. This involves taking Chas on a nightmarish car ride that leaves her injured and getting involved in the aftermath of his uncle, Cain Dingle, being attacked by an unknown assailant. Aaron believes that Cain's ex-lover Charity Dingle and her boyfriend Jai Sharma are responsible and begins a campaign against them until Cain's father, Zak Dingle, eventually reveals himself to be the attacker; Aaron calls Zak scum for what he did but later forgives him in the end. Aaron later departs the village that year after taking the blame for an arson attack that Adam started on Cain's garage in an attempt to kill him following the death of his late father John.

In 2013, Aaron does not make an appearance but is referenced several times. Chas mentions him when he and Debbie are being held hostage by their murderous ex-lover Cameron Murray, who had previously killed Carl along with his friend Alex Moss and also Chas' half-sister Gennie Walker before eventually getting killed in the siege.

In 2014, Aaron reappears to help Adam on a heist that both the latter's half-brother Ross Barton and his lover Donna Windsor are doing on behalf of drug lord Gary North. The heist ends with Donna and Gary being killed, and Ross blaming Aaron and Adam for what has happened. Once Aaron is exonerated for the garage fire that Adam started two years ago, he clashes with Ross when the pair are summoned by Charity to steal cars for her in order to recoup financial stability after her marriage with Jai's business rival Declan Macey had ended in disaster.

he meets his future lover Robert Sugden. Their relationship begins in 2015 when they have an affair while Robert is still married to his wife Chrissie White, but this gets threatened when Aaron learns that Robert killed his ex-girlfriend Kate to cover-up the secret and he in turn helped cover up Katie's murder. Aaron soon becomes unnerved by Robert's scheming and exposes their affair to Chrissie before later becoming a suspect in Robert's shooting incident; it is later revealed that Ross shot Robert as requested by Robert's half-brother Andy Sugden in retribution for Kate's murder as she and Andy were married, after which Aaron punches Andy over the fact that Andy's actions led to Aaron being wrongfully imprisoned for the crime.

By the end of 2015 and the start of 2016 altogether, Aaron is reunited with his father Gordon and is unhappy about it. Then he gets rushed to hospital and Robert asks him what is happening. Aaron reveals to Robert that he was raped and sexually abused by Gordon as a child, thus explaining his behavior in the past. Aaron eventually tells Chas about his ordeal and the family support him when they too learn about it. Aaron soon meets his half-sister Liv Flaherty and they bond after she discovers what their father did and Gordon is jailed for his actions; Gordon later commits suicide in prison on the day after he is sentenced to life imprisonment for Aaron's abuse ordeal. Following Gordon's death, Aaron changes his surname from 'Livesy' to 'Dingle' in order to fully cement himself in the Dingle family itself.

In 2017, Aaron gets arrested for assaulting a person and is harassed by cellmate Jason. It is then Aaron eventually stands up to Jason and overcomes his bullying ordeal. Aaron then marries Robert and they survive many troubling obstacles, such as nearly dying in a car crash caused by Adam's relative Emma Barton; the risk of eviction from businessman Joe Tate; getting blackmailed by Chrissie's son Lachlan White; and later coming close to breaking up after Aaron learns that Robert had slept with Chrissie's sister Rebecca and gotten her pregnant with their son Seb. However, their relationship survives up until in late 2019 when Robert is jailed for causing the death of car salesman Lee Posner in retaliation for raping Robert's sister Victoria earlier on. Aaron is distraught when Robert breaks up with him and divorces him in prison off-screen. This happens on the same year as Chas and Paddy reunite and get married before conceiving a daughter name Eve following the death of their unborn child Grace a year ago.

In the 2020s, Aaron copes with losing Robert and focuses on himself and Liv for a while until Liv tragically dies in a storm. This happens at the same time as Chas has an affair with Paddy's love rival Al Chapman, to which Aaron responds by punching Al and disowning Chas as well as blaming her for Liv's death. Then after leaving the village following Liv's funeral, Aaron returns in 2023 when he is discovered by Adam's mother Moira Barton to be kept hostage by Cain and his half-brother Caleb Miligan; this was because Aaron had been doing criminal activities with Adam in Italy at the time beforehand. He decides to stay in the village after rescuing Chas from being held captive by crime boss Damon Harris, but it is clear that Aaron still hates her for her actions a year ago. Soon enough Aaron displays a more ruthless and vindictive side in his grief over Liv's death. This includes bullying her widow Vinny Dingle, clashing with his ex-prison cellmate Billy Fletcher, faking a romance with resident Ethan Anderson, and later getting Charity's new spouse Mackenzie Boyd involved in a criminal job that includes stealing cars from Cain himself.

Trivia[]

• Danny Miller (the actor who currently plays Aaron Dingle) has won numerous awards and recieved several nominations for his contribution to both the character and his high-profile storylines.
• In December 2016, Aaron was briefly portrayed by Bryan Parry in a special episode.

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