Buzzin Soap Stars

Mother, Emma Shooter, claims her two-year-old son Benjamin, who played the part of Samson Dingle, was sacked because he cried on set.

Apparently, Benjamin became upset whenever he saw his on-screen-father, after working on a disturbing family row scene, days earlier. His mother claimed the producers were “cruel” for allowing her son to take part in a “horrifying” storyline. She said “He got very upset when his screen dad was confronted by cops and the Dingles. There was a lot of shouting going on. I had to take him straight home to calm down.”

After a few days, Mrs Shooter returned to the studio with her son but he continued to get upset whenever he saw his on- screen-father, James Hooton. “If he’d been able to spend a bit of time playing with James, he would have been fine. They sacked him and didn’t give him a chance to adjust” said Mrs Shooter.

An Emmerdale spokesman said “We frequently re-cast babies and small children if necessary as the child’s welfare is our primary concern.”