New Emmerdale star Samantha Power has revealed her reaction to joining the cast as Tina Dingle.
Tina returned to the village in tonight’s episode for her dad Zak Dingle’s (Steve Halliwell) funeral. Previously played by Jacqueline Pirie, Tina hasn’t been in the Dales for nearly 30 years.
Before shocking the Dingles with her arrival, they were in the pub reminiscing about Zak and raising a glass to him. His body was then moved to the family land, where he asked to be buried.
As the family gathered around the grave, the peaceful moment was interrupted by Tina, who reckoned she was entitled to part of Wishing Well as one of Zak’s children.
The Dingles were stunned by Tina’s return and as expected, there was a lot of shouting and fighting. For new star of the show Samantha Power, she was thrilled to take over the role from Jacqueline.
‘I absolutely do remember Jaqueline who played Tina. She was absolutely fantastic, I remember her character vividly! So I am very lucky to get the chance to pick up where she left off!
‘My husband said he had never known me to be this nervous, my first scene on my first day was at the graveside with ALL the Dingles! That’s a lot right! Luckily everyone was so nice and welcoming! I have to say a special shout out to Lisa Riley, the nicest human being.
‘When I met her at the screen test I felt so safe, she couldn’t have been more giving and supportive and encouraging and that continued daily on set. I loved working with her! I was so nervous. It’s an iconic role to fill so I wanted to do it justice.’
Reflecting on filming as Tina, Samantha added:
‘There was one specific scene with Lisa where I was face down in a pool of mud. That was extremely memorable and I loved every second of it. There was also a scene which involves an explosion which was so impressive.
‘She has no filters and she will literally do anything to make sure she gets her way including her claim to the house. She is not one to be trusted! I loved it. Tina is really good at manipulating people, especially the Dingles so I don’t think any of them are safe.’
Revealing more about this new Tina, Samantha explained: ‘She is feisty, bolshy, selfish and she always seems to have an agenda and won’t stop at anything to get what she wants. It’s a joy to play a character so far removed from who I am! I felt so at home at Emmerdale and love playing her!’.
‘On my first day it was Zak’s funeral, not only were they saying goodbye to Zak but also to the legendary Steve Halliwell and so to be there on location in the village I felt extremely honoured to be a part of that.’
‘Definitely!’, she added, when asked about the possibility of returning to the show.
‘Emmerdale is an amazing place to work and Tina is just fantastic to play so I would love the opportunity to come back and cause more mischief.’
