ITV viewers are reeling in shock after Samson Dingle’s arrest ended in the teen’s long-awaited exit from Emmerdale after he was sent to prison for four years this Tuesday.

Samson Dingle has been sentenced to four years in prison – but is his exit from Emmerdale permanent?

Actor Sam Hall shot to fame at the age of five, when he debuted in the ITV soap as Sam Dingle’s son. While he quickly became a fan favourite throughout the years, the lad’s baby storyline with Amelia Spencer proved to viewers he also had a mean streak and they were not happy with his behaviour.

But when the 20-year-old was tipped to be on his way out of the Yorkshire Dales, fans of the long-running drama grew increasingly concerned as rumours claimed his exit might be permanent.

Things then seemed to be taking a turn when Samson was accidentally stabbed by Matty Barton (played by Ash Palmisciano ), after the Hide employee was bullied over being a trans man by Samson’s new pal Josh.

The troublemaker wasted no time in calling the police while Samson was rushed to hospital in an ambulance. When questioned over the circumstances of his stabbing, and despite knowing the truth, the lad threw his cousin Matty under the bus, splitting the Dingle clan in half.

Moira Barton (Natalie J Robb) and her husband Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) had taken Matty’s side while Cain’s brother Sam (James Hooton) and his wife Lydia (Karen Blick) were standing by Samson, believing he was telling the truth until he confessed he had been lying for Josh.

Samson Dingle was sentenced to four years in prison after assaulting Josh

Prison betrayal for Samson

Samson recently came to his sense about Matty but his eagerness to get Josh to confess for his involvement in his stabbing caused him to lose his temper, resulting in him attacking Josh off-screen during this Monday’s trip to the Dales (August 5).

The lad was arrested, exposed by an anonymous tipster to the police, and he was escorted out of The Woolpack in explosive scenes, while Cain blamed his wife Moira for grassing on him.

This Tuesday (August 6), the farmer insisted she hadn’t called the police, though she admitted she wished she had before somebody had taken the step before her.

Meanwhile, a distressed Amelia Spencer (Daisy Campbell) was contemplating what Samson’s arrest would mean for her baby daughter Esther, comforted by Noah Dingle (Jack Downham) who vowed to stand by her side no matter what with his mother Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins).

But Amelia’s despair only got worse as a stone-faced Lydia walked into the Woolie, announcing that Samson had been sentenced to prison for four years.

Amelia later found out that Noah, who was once Samson’s friend, had called the police on Samson, proving Moira was innocent all along, and kicked him out of the boozer in a rage.

Tuesday’s trip to the eponymous village ended with Sam paying one last visit to his son as he urged him to behave while behind bars, seemingly anxious he would look up to his violent uncle Cain as an example to follow. Josh also received his own comeuppance as it was revealed the police had found new evidence against him.

The exit marks the end of Sam Hall’s long stint in the Yorkshire-based drama, confirming his previous claims that his character wouldn’t be killed off.

Josh received his own comeuppance in Tuesday’s Emmerdale after the police found new evidence against him

“There were quite a lot of angry Dingles”

Sam Hall was said to have been axed from Emmerdale in April, 2024, with a TV source telling The Sun: “Sam had a meeting with bosses earlier this month where they broke the news. He has been left devastated. He’s grown up with his on-screen Dingle clan and they are all very protective of him.”

The news was said to have caused an internal stir: “Some of the cast even went to talk to bosses about their decision. As news of his axing swept through the building there were quite a lot of angry Dingles. The fact that they are planning on killing him off means there’ll be no way back for him either. He’s absolutely gutted.”

Speaking to Inside Soap a month later, the actor said: “Well, I don’t want to give too much away, but Samson has some really big stuff coming up”, which led him to guarantee: “don’t worry, as he’s definitely not being killed off!” He then added: “There are some good stories coming up for him, and I was very excited when I read the scripts.”

“I like playing mean Samson, but I think his good side always shines through. 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. At the end of the day, he was just a confused young teenager who didn’t really expect to be having a kid so soon.”

Last month, Sam then chatted to the Loose Women panel about his future on the soap as guest panellist, Mariella Frostrup, asked him: “Do you reckon you’ve got another 15 years in you Sam?” He replied: “I hope so!” Will Samson return to the Dales a changed lad?