ITV Emmerdale’s Belle Dingle star unrecognisable during soap debut 19 years ago

Eden Taylor-Draper has played Belle Dingle in Emmerdale for nearly 19 years as fans look back on her first appearance

Emmerdale star Eden Taylor-Draper has captured audiences’ hearts as her character, Belle Dingle, faces brutal domestic abuse.

For an extended period, Belle has been subjected to ceaseless abuse and hostile episodes from her alienated husband Tom King, portrayed by James Chase. Nonetheless, she recently took the brave step to delineate her ordeal to the authorities, aiming to achieve justice over her abuser.

The 26 year old actress, Eden, has confronted a multitude of narratives since she started treading the paths of the village at the tender age of seven. Fans first witnessed her portrayal of Belle in October 2005, when she appeared with on-screen father Zak Dingle, played by the beloved late actor Steve Halliwell.

**Belle Dingle’s world started to tip upside down when Tom King started abusing her** (Image: No credit)

In episodes broadcasted that same year, viewers saw the young Belle embroiled in conflict at school, epitomising the feisty spirit of the Dingles as she boldly clashed with her father.

Seated inside the familiar Dingle van, an irate Belle recounted a taunting episode involving another student: “She kept calling me! She keeps coming up behind me and pulling my hair going, ‘Ding dong’ like it’s supposed to be funny! “, reports the Mirror.

Zak, taking on his paternal role, cautioned her against violence, remarking: “You can’t go round thumping folk! ” But Belle retorted, justifying her actions by referring to family precedent: “Cain does it! “.

In subsequent scenes, Belle found herself in hot water with her mother Lisa Dingle, played by Jane Cox, and had to do the washing up as Sam (James Hooton) and his partner Alice (Ursula Holden-Gill) observed.

**Eden Taylor-Draper was seven years old when she first appeared in Emmerdale as Belle** (Image: ITV)

Over on Reddit, it has come as a revelation to some fans of Emmerdale that Eden has been portraying Belle for close to two decades.

One fan commented: “Oh My God! Eden was such a cutie as Belle. Imagine she will be receiving messages right now on her socials that her younger self made her debut on Classic Emmerdale! She has had a whirlwind 20 years on the show! .”

Another viewer added: “How she got into trouble for fighting bless her.”

**Eden Taylor-Draper was a small child when she joined Emmerdale in 2005** (Image: ITV)

A third fan agreed: “She was really quite comical in her early years. “Belle was such a cutie!”, said another.

Before Eden took on the role, Belle was portrayed by twins James and Emily Mather. Emily played the character from 1998 to 2005, but later pursued a different path, studying sports in college with the goal of becoming a teacher.

When Eden first joined the show and won the British Soap Award for best young actor in 2007, her mum Niki revealed that she helped keep her daughter grounded.

Belle and Tom’s domestic violence storylines continues as Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX