| Dawn Woods | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Julia Mallam | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2003–2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 16 February 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 14 July 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Steve Frost | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dawn Hope (also Woods) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale , played by Julia Mallam. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 February 2003 and her last on 14 July 2006.
Dawn arrives in Emmerdale as the fiancée of Terry Woods (Billy Hartman) who he had met on holiday in Spain. It was revealed that she is Bob Hope's (Tony Audenshaw) daughter but she had not seen much of him since he left her, her mother Jean Hope (Susan Penhaligon), and brother, Jamie Hope (Alex Carter), when she was four years old. Bob was against the idea of Dawn marrying Terry because of the 27-year age gap, but she married him anyway in March 2003. They have a son named T.J. Woods (Connor Lee). Dawn and Terry split up after he suffers a stroke just after T.J is born. Unable to cope with a newborn baby and an ill husband at such a young age, Dawn ended their marriage.
When Dawn's mother Jean arrives from Spain to support her following their break-up, she falls for Terry and is jealous of Dawn. She makes a pass at him but he rejects her, so Jean persuades Dawn to get sole custody of TJ. Although Terry appeals for joint custody, the court rules that Dawn should have sole custody as they could not force her to have joint custody as it was not what she wanted to live with. Dawn argues that due to the effects of his stroke, Terry often got tired and was a possible risk to T.J so she applies for sole custody just to be on the safe side.
Dawn then begins a relationship with Scott Windsor (Ben Freeman). They start seeing each other just before she divorces Terry and the only person Dawn tells is Bob, who disapproves due to him being married to Scott's mother Viv Hope (Deena Payne). Scott and Dawn move in together but Dawn is devastated and angry when Scott leaves her to flee to America with Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell), the mother of his daughter, Jean Tate (Megan Pearson). Scott had kept it a secret from everyone and sends Dawn a letter in the post explaining that as she was his step-sister, and if their relationship went further, people would think it was weird, and he had "convinced" himself not to love her, and he was leaving with Zoe to be with his daughter in America, not wanting stay with her and TJ while Zoe left with Jean. Dawn then goes to Spain to stay with her mother because she could not bear to see Scott and Zoe. Dawn ignores Bob's telephone calls, unaware that he is contacting her to inform her that Scott was in critical condition in hospital after being injected with ketamine after attempting to rape Zoe. Viv's daughter Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth) finally manages to get through to Bob in hospital, and he tells her about Dawn's letter from Scott. The letter was then discovered by Viv, and Dawn flies back from Spain just in time for Scott to wake up. Although Dawn initially forgives him, when Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) drops out as a witness against Zoe at her trial, Dawn discovers that Scott had been blackmailing and threatening Paddy, and as a result Zoe is found not guilty of attempted murder. Scott then attacks Paddy and while Dawn and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) try to break up the fight, he punches her by mistake. A shaken Dawn locks herself in her house with T.J and calls the police. Scott is arrested for assault, and he tries to claim he was provoked by Paddy but is shocked to discover that the assault charges were for hurting Dawn. Dawn has seen Scott's true colours, and finally realizes he is capable of what Zoe claimed he had done, and Dawn ends their relationship for good as she is scared he would rape her. While Scott serves a prison sentence for the assault, Dawn dates Danny Daggert (Cleveland Campbell), but breaks up with him after she realizes she isn't ready to settle down. After his release, Scott takes revenge on Dawn for rejecting him by reporting her for benefit fraud. Dawn had been taking odd jobs to better support T.J and is officially charged and serves three weeks of a six-week prison sentence.
Discovering, on her release from prison, that Terry and her mother were now in a relationship, Dawn demands they end things. They refuse and Dawn reminds Terry that her mother had dripped poison in her ear during the custody battle, and that neither of them had a right to T.J as she had sole custody. Dawn bans both Terry and her mother from seeing T.J and takes him to Cornwall on holiday. On her return, she reveals to her family that she had met a new boyfriend in Cornwall and planned to take T.J and move there. Terry begs her not to go but she refuses to listen. She allows Terry to take T.J out for the day on 13 July 2006, the day she is due to leave, so she could pack her and T.J's belongings but Terry is late returning him, meaning she and T.J miss their flight. Wanting something to do, Dawn goes with Marlon and his wife Donna, to view their new house, the King's River Showhome. Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) had sabotaged the building, and when the boiler room door is opened, the house explodes. Dawn is the first to be pulled out of the wreckage, alive. She is taken by ambulance to hospital accompanied by Bob, and is treated by a paramedic, Peter English, who had treated Terry when he had his stroke. Dawn appeared fine and her injuries seemed relatively minor and the doctors prepared to keep her for observation and release her. Bob goes to get a coffee for her, and returns to see Dawn getting wheeled past him by medical staff to the Emergency theatre. Peter then tells him that Dawn had died. Bob doesn't believe it at first due to her seemingly being fine, and Peter tells him that Dawn had gone into cardiac arrest and her death had been due to her suffering internal injuries and severe burns.
Since Dawn's death, Bob has often mentioned her, particularly when he or other characters experience bereavement. Emmerdale revisited Dawn's death in 2021 when Sadie's then husband Jimmy King (Nick Miles) admitted to Bob his family's role in the show home collapse, Jimmy had recently accidentally killed Paul Ashdale (Reece Dinsdale) and was experiencing severe guilt. After Bob and Viv's son Heath Hope (Sebastian Dowling) was killed in a car accident in 2024, Bob revealed to Dr Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) that losing Heath was harder for him than Losing Dawn.
Stefania Sarrubba from Radio Times called Dawn and Terry "one of the village's couples that raised eyebrows back in the early 2000s" and wrote that tragedy was "on the cards for both of them". [1] The explosion that killed Dawn won "Spectacular Scene of the Year" at the 2007 British Soap Awards. [2] [3] Emma Wilson from the Daily Mirror noted how Dawn's relationship with Terry caused controversy due to the 27 year age gap, and also called Dawn's affair with Scott "illicit" and "ill-fated". [4]
Zoe Tate is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Leah Bracknell. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 12 December 1989. Zoe was involved in many major storylines during her time on the soap, including the deaths of her father Frank and brother Chris, the betrayal and departure of her stepmother Kim, coming out as lesbian and a battle with schizophrenia. Zoe became the first lesbian character in a British soap opera when she came out in 1993. She departed on 22 September 2005.
Viv Hope is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Portrayed by Deena Payne, the character first appeared on 10 August 1993, and remained until 13 January 2011, becoming one of the longest-serving characters, after nearly 18 years in the show; her tenure is currently the seventeenth-longest in the history of the show.
Kelly Windsor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Adele Silva. The character first appeared on 10 August 1993. Silva portrayed her from August 1993 until November 2000. In February 2005, it was announced that Silva would be reprising her role and she returned in June 2005. Silva left the soap once again in October 2007, and in November 2010, it was announced that Silva would be returning to Emmerdale in February 2011. Silva reprised the role for a period of three months and left again in May 2011.
Scott Windsor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. From 1993 to 1996, Scott was played by Toby Cockerell. In 1996, Scott left the village to join the army and when he returned in 1998, Ben Freeman took over the role and played Scott until early 2007.
Louise Appleton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Emily Symons. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 June 2001. Louise arrived in the village as a temporary barmaid and ended up as co-landlady with best friend Diane Sugden, before selling to Diane's sister Val Lambert in 2006. The character last appeared in Emmerdale on 28 October 2008.
Jamie Hope is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Alex Carter and first appeared on screen on 16 February 2006. He last appeared on 21 May 2010, after Carter quit the soap to pursue new projects.
Terry Woods is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Billy Hartman. He was one of the longest-serving characters in the show up until he was killed off alongside Viv Hope in early 2011, after 16 years.
Marlon Dingle is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Mark Charnock. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 17 October 1996. Following the departure of Zak Dingle, Marlon currently serves and the second longest-running character featuring in the programme, surpassed only by Eric Pollard. For his portrayal of Marlon, Charnock won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement at the 2023 British Soap Awards.
Jo Stiles is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Roxanne Pallett. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 August 2005 and her last on 22 December 2008.
Bob Hope is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Tony Audenshaw. Prior to playing Bob, the actor had previously made a guest appearance in the show as a security guard. Bob was introduced as a hosiery salesman and love interest for Viv Windsor. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 September 2000. Bob is portrayed as having a happy-go-lucky, cheeky persona, and is Emmerdale's most married character with seven marriages to five women. His storylines have included marriage, divorce, fatherhood, adultery and homelessness plus the deaths of his children Dawn Woods in 2006 and Heath Hope in 2024.
Genesis "Gennie" Walker is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Sian Reese-Williams. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 1 April 2008. Reese-Williams announced her departure from the show on 12 May 2013 and she made her last appearance as Gennie on 26 July 2013.
Brenda Walker is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Lesley Dunlop. She made her first appearance on 2 April 2008. She was introduced as the adoptive mother to Gennie Walker. In 2013, Brenda was diagnosed with a brain tumour, one of the character's biggest storylines.
Donna Windsor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was originally played by Sophie Jeffery until 1997. Actress Verity Rushworth took over the role in 1998. She made her first appearance in the show on 31 August 1993. Donna departed on 30 January 2009. At the time of her departure, Donna was the third longest running character on Emmerdale. It was announced on 8 January 2014 that Rushworth had decided to reprise her role as Donna for five months. She returned on 19 March 2014 and it was revealed that Donna was terminally ill with lung cancer. Donna committed suicide on 14 August 2014, after throwing herself and Gary North from a multi-storey car park to her death, but made her final appearance the following day, on 15 August 2014.
Tom King is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, who appeared on the show from 29 February 2004 before being killed off on 25 December 2006 in a long-running "whodunit" storyline dubbed, "Who Killed Tom King?". He was last seen on 27 December 2006 as a dead body in a morgue. Throughout his time on the show he was portrayed by Kenneth Farrington. Farrington decided to leave the show in 2006 but reprised the role briefly as a ghost in a "Text Santa" special on 20 December 2013.