Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock Share By Carena Crawford Oct 1 2025 By Carena Crawford Oct 1 2025 As the Dingles claim Best Family prize at The Inside Soap Awards, are they really the top of Soapland? We investigate How much do we love the Dingles? A lot! The Dingle Family Share By Carena Crawford Oct 1 2025 By Carena Crawford Oct 1 2025 Most of the stories in Emmerdale contain Dingles at some point or another – which is hardly surprising given how many of them there are! But as they are crowned Best Soap Family at the Inside Soap Awards, we ask: are they really the best in Soapland? From the Sugdens to the Miligans, Emmerdale has some strong families and Coronation Street and EastEnders also offer some contenders too. Let’s look at the evidence… The competition for the best soap family against the Dingle family in Emmerdale The biggest family in Soapland – and the most versatile (Credit: ITV) Emmerdale Across Emmerdale the Dingles really are the biggies. There’s the Sugdens – once the greatest, but now depleted to just Robert and Victoria. The less said about killer John at this point, the better. They had the potential to be built up again, but with Vic off soon due to Isabel Hodgins maternity leave, we think it’ll be a while before this happens. Meanwhile, the newbies on the block, the Miligans, have certainly been thrown a lot of stories in the last two years. And we’re not complaining – we love them! But are they enough to rival the Dingles? Well, they’re effectively connected to the Dingles, so it’s probably one and the same! article continues below Read all the latest spoilers The Brannings are back (Credit: BBC) EastEnders Over in Walford we’ve got some pretty big clans – the Brannings, the Mitchells, the Slaters and the Beales to name the obvious. The Branning family are on the rise, with Max Branning back in Walford as well as his son Oscar recently arriving. Coupled with Jack and his brood, plus Lauren and her kids they’re a pretty big lot. And now Lauren’s married to Peter, that unites them with the Beales! The first family of Walford, the Beales have been around since the first ever episode of EastEnders. But as we’ve seen with the Sugdens in Emmerdale, longevity doesn’t necessarily mean for the better! The Mitchells of course are the name everyone knows. But Phil is pretty much on his own now. Ben is in prison, Grant is in Portugal, Sam is God knows where and Louise is also MIA. Can this family come back and be great again? And with Stacey Slater heading away from Walford, and Freddie hot on her heels, it also leaves the Slaters a little depleted. But you know who’s not dimishing? The Dingles in Emmerdale, that’s who… The Platts are popular too (Credit: ITV) Coronation Street The Platts and the Barlows spring to mind when you think of Corrie and there’s also the Websters and the Alahans. But are any up there with the Dingles? The Platts aren’t particularly united, especially now Gail is out of the picture. The Websters definitely aren’t on each other’s side with Carl having an affair with his brother Kevin’s wife! And the Alahans consist of just Asha and Dev now. The Connor-Swains may be a force to be reckoned with in the future – if they can just get rid of pesky Becky. Carla, Lisa and Betsy could be contenders for the family crown. But will anyone ever beat the Dingles? What makes the Dingle family in Emmerdale the best in Soapland? They fight, but they always have each other’s back – in the end (Credit: ITV) The Dingle code Okay, it’s a bit pathetic isn’t it, having a Dingle code and being all scary and such? And we can definitely do without the Dingle Court. But, it means they are always on each other’s side. Even when they’re, er, not. You don’t mess with a Dingle. Even if the Dingles are divided, the code will bring them back together eventually. They will always do what is best to protect their own – even if that means sometimes sending them to prison as in the case of Samson and Noah. Take on one, you take on all (Credit: ITV) The sheer volume of them! You can’t walk a metre in Emmerdale without coming across a Dingle! A newcomer in town with a mysterious secret? Probably a long-lost Dingle! Even those who aren’t Dingles want to be part of the Dingles – see Kammy romancing Belle and Gabby marrying Vinny. Paddy’s even married two of them – Mandy twice! It might be a bit overkill, but it makes sense that a family all lives close by and has each other’s backs. Mandy brings the sass and the fun (Credit: ITV) They can do gritty and they can do comedy The Dingle clan in Emmerdale represent a very broad spectrum. From hardman Cain to reasonable Belle, from cheating Chas to hilarious Mandy, they’ve got one of everything. Never has a storyline featuring the Dingles been boring. The actors can all act and the characters all have something special about them. From Belle’s abuse, Chas’ cancer, Charity’s historial abuse and just about every single Aaron storyline to Mandy’s financial dominatrix days we’ve laughed with the Dingles and we’ve cried with them. They always pull together in the end (Credit: ITV) So are the Dingle family in Emmerdale the best in Soapland? Well, there is some competition and we’re not saying we don’t like other families across EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, but the Dingles definitely get our vote. Let’s face it, if you’re joining Emmerdale you secretly want to be a Dingle, don’t you?! Long may the Dingles reign surpreme in Emmerdale – and keep bringing them in, we say! Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns Share Good to Know Share By Carena Crawford Oct 1 2025 By Carena Crawford Oct 1 2025 Previous Story Next Story
