Emmerdale’s Chas Dingle was left devastated earlier this year when she had to step down as landlady of The Woolpack. Having been at the helm of the legendary village boozer for almost two decades, Chas was in her element keeping the locals fed, watered, and very much in check.
However, actress Lucy Pargeter, who plays the feisty Dingle has said she’s too nosey and disorganised to run a pub!
Chas started working at The Woolie shortly after she arrived in the village in 2002, and was an instant hit with the locals. After years of pulling pints, she bought into the boozer and became co-owner alongside landlady Diane Sugden.
In 2016 Diane decided it was time to hand over the reins to Chas, who brought Charity (Emma Atkins) in to help her run the show. However, her cousin’s work-shy attitude and sharp tongue resulted in frequent clashes with the customers and led to Chas refusing to work with her.
Eventually, Chas persuaded Charity to sell her share to Marlon, keeping it in the Dingle family. But their partnership also ended in disaster when shady Al Chapman bought into the struggling business.
Having failed in his plan to turn the building into swanky flats, Al deliberately set fire to The Woolpack at Christmas 2021. And it was last orders for Chas as she was forced to wave goodbye to her beloved watering hole after it was snapped up at auction by Charity and son Ryan.
While Chas had many great years running The Woolie, actress Lucy had a much shorter stint working in a Spanish bar.
She told What To Watch: “I have done bar work before when I was living out in Gran Canaria as a very small person. I was dragging people into bars and supplying them with alcohol, I was alright but think I drank more than I served!”
Unlike Chas, Lucy doesn’t reckon she’s got what it takes to be a successful landlady.
She said: “I would be too nosey to work behind a bar now, I would get stuck in someone’s conversation and then forget everyone else. I also don’t think I am organised enough to work behind a bar.”
Sadly for Chas, her days in charge at The Woolpack have come to an end, but whether her name will ever be above the door again remains to be seen.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays - see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on ITV Hub now.
