Victoria Sugden (also Barton) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was originally portrayed by Jessica Heywood (1994-1997) and Hannah Midgley (1997-2006). The role was recast to Isabel Hodgins, who made her first appearance on 12 October 2006. Victoria is currently the longest serving female character on the soap. In February 2026, Hodgins temporarily left the soap to go on maternity leave.
Her storylines have included surviving an explosion which she caused, being put in psychiatric care, being bullied at school, romancing Daz Eden (Luke Tittensor), marrying Adam Barton (Adam Thomas), accidentally running over Ashley Thomas (John Middleton), coping when Adam goes on the run, falling in love with Adam's brother Matty (Ash Palmisciano), being the victim of rape during a night out in April 2019, leading to her pregnancy, giving birth to a son named Harry, and finding out she has a long-lost half brother called John (Oliver Farnworth).
Characterisation On her character profile on the ITV website, it notes that growing up, Victoria "was easily led by her peers", but nowadays, she "knows how to stand up for herself". Victoria is billed as an "honest, fun, sarcastic, out-spoken, confident" character who enjoys socialising. It adds that she is "not afraid to use her sharp wit", and that she enjoys bossing her boyfriends around, and that if Victoria had one wish, it would be for an easy life.
Development Rape In 2019, producers of Emmerdale announced a special episode in which they planned to "experiment with non-linear storytelling and flashbacks", where it was confirmed that multiple characters' lives will "change for good" on a night out. It was later confirmed that the episode would explore Victoria getting raped. After Victoria is raped by Lee, actress Hodgins appeared on This Morning to speak about the storyline. She stated that it has been the "grittiest" storyline she has been involved in to date, and although it was a "journey", she enjoyed being part of the story from an acting perspective. Presenter Phillip Schofield asked if she felt pressure portraying a victim of rape, to which she stated that she "massively" felt it. She explained that due to the relevance of an issue-led storyline which "happens to thousands of men and women", herself and the producers had a "big responsibility" to cover it well. To prepare for the storyline, Hodgins spoke with real-life victims, who recalled their experiences with rape to the actress. She stated that they were brave for being able to share their stories with her, noting that some were similar to her character's experience. Hodgins also spoke about the lack of support that Victoria receives from Robert, stating: "She's in one of the hardest positions someone can find themselves in, and who do you need to support you? Your family. So when Robert isn't supportive, that breaks her heart. Robert's her brother, she needs him there, she wants him there." In real life, Hodgins cut her "very thick, curly, unruly hair" due to wanting a different appearance, and when she told producers, they replied that her short hair "ties in with the story". She joked that life is "so much easier" due to the shortened time spent by hairstylists on set. Hodgins told producers to make her look "as awful" as they could possibly make her in the scenes where she realises she has been raped. She stated that in that scene, she was embarrassed to cry, since she has never been given the opportunity to have overly emotional scenes on the soap. While appearing on Loose Women, Hodgins recalled: "Afterwards when [the director] said cut, I just threw a blanket over my head. They asked what's going on and I said 'I'm embarrassed'". She noted that the scenes were "challenging" for her. Hodgins also detailed that the production team had to "negotiate" what they could show of the attack, since Emmerdale is transmitted before the 9pm watershed. She explained that they wanted to "get the message across [that] it was a brutal horrendous attack", while also respecting the watershed guidelines.
Lee's mother Wendy arrives in the village to confront Victoria, as she believes that Victoria is lying. Hodgins explains that Victoria is "shocked and scared" due to Wendy's arrival, and that immediately after meeting her, "Victoria knows that Wendy is an enemy". Hodgins notes that Wendy "has got her son's interests at heart", but since her beliefs contradict Victoria's experience, she knows it will be difficult to interact with Wendy "from the off". Victoria receives defence from her friends and family, but is "left feeling a little bit shellshocked" and "crumbles" due to not expecting Wendy's confrontation. Wendy brings Lee with her, and since it is the first time she has seen him since the rape, she "feels genuine fear", especially since they know where she works and lives, and can show up at any time. Hodgins states that Victoria hates having "no control" over the situation, adding that the village being so small means that she is easy to find. A "harrowing twist" and "new trauma" for Victoria was later confirmed when it was revealed that she would discover she is pregnant with Lee's baby. Victoria decides to keep the baby, and feels that when it comes to informing Lee and Wendy, "it's none of their business". Hodgins states that Victoria is "more than happy" to raise the baby on her own, as she fears the pair will either "bully her into getting a termination", or that Lee may want to be involved. When Wendy moves to the village, Hodgins states that her character will feel "exhausted" and "frustrated" due to Wendy not allowing her to move emotionally to "the next chapter of her life". She explains that Victoria tries not to be too stressed due to her pregnancy, but that "hating someone is exhausting". Wendy's house is vandalised due to her reputation as the mother and defender of a rapist, to which Victoria feels "a little bit guilty". Due to her confrontations with Wendy and Wendy's vandalism, Victoria feels like the pair of them are "being punished" for what Lee has done. Hodgins stated: "She thinks surely the best thing to happen would be for Wendy to leave and then they can both have a nice life."
Becoming a mother Following the decision to keep the baby, Victoria goes into labour in the episode transmitted on 31 December 2019, New Year's Eve. Prior to filming the scenes, Hodgins stated that she is finding it "nerve-wracking", accrediting her nerves to the fact she had never given birth in real life. She approached her sister, who has had two children, as well as Emmerdale co-star Charley Webb, a mother of three, for advice. Also in preparation, she used a day off from work to watch the Channel 4 documentary series One Born Every Minute, as well as birthing vlogs on YouTube. She added: "I take my hat off to anyone who's had a baby – well done, you are amazing!" Speaking about her character's maternal skills, she opined that Victoria would be a good mother, labelling her "mother earth". However, she explained that it "takes a village to raise a child", and if she shuts people out due to her rape ordeal, she may struggle to cope. She expressed her wishes for Victoria's journey with birthing to be "smooth sailing", due to her hard times in recent months, adding: "She can't take any more!" Following the scenes being filmed, Hodgins admitted that she was "exhausted". She described the filming process as "honestly the most exhausting day in [her] Emmerdale history", and stated that she went to sleep immediately after returning home. She joked that she had "earned her money that day" due to the " fake pushing, grunting and moaning". Hodgins found the birthing vlogs helpful, as it showed her that the "intense pain" of childbirth comes from within. She attempted to emulate the behaviour that she saw in the videos, since she "wanted the scenes to look real". On working with a real baby, she stated that she was not phased, since she has experience working with babies on set. However, despite her experience, she tried hard to interact with the baby as accurately as possible, so that viewers would not think "oh, she's clearly never had a baby before", as she felt that "would have detracted away from the enormous moment when Victoria meets the baby". Hodgins joked that she would miss wearing the fake baby bump, since it kept her warm in the winter, but expressed her excitement at "the next chapter" of Victoria's story.
Storylines Victoria is first introduced on 31 March 1994 after being born to Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) and Sarah Connolly (then Madeleine Howard). When Victoria stops breathing due to a hole in her heart, she requires an operation, and later makes a full recovery. Andy Hopwood (Kelvin Fletcher) visits the farm with other children from a care home and becomes friends with Victoria's brother Robert (Christopher Smith), and the Sugdens eventually adopt him. The Sugdens struggle financially so Richie Carter (Glenn Lamont) becomes their new lodger; Sarah and Richie begin an affair and she left Jack for him, moving into Pear Tree Cottage together. Jack and Sarah (now Alyson Spiro) battle for custody of the children and Sarah wins custody of Victoria. Victoria collapses and is rushed to hospital, where she is diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. Times are difficult for the Sugdens but life is made easier by Jack's relationship with Woolpack landlady, Diane Blackstock (Elizabeth Estensen).
Victoria befriends Kayleigh Gibbs (Lily Jane Stead) at school and helps get her father, Martin Crowe (Graeme Hawley) together with Louise Appleton (Emily Symons). The girls misbehave, gatecrashing Jamie Hope's (Alex Carter) rave and starting a campaign of terror against pensioner Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox), culminating in Edna slapping Victoria. They also tell Aaron Livesy (Danny Webb) about Carl King's (Tom Lister) one-night stand with Del Dingle (Hayley Tamaddon). Victoria (now played by Isabel Hodgins) returns from Annie in Spain, later than expected, prompting Jack and Diane to worry but returns safely. Victoria and Kayleigh go clubbing but Kayleigh leaves early. Victoria flirts with an older boy and he tries to force himself on her but Billy Hopwood (David Crellin) stops him. Billy drives her home but his brakes fail, due to Kelly Windsor (Adele Silva) sabotaging them, and they crash into a lake. Victoria almost drowns, only escaping as Jack, Andy and Daz arrive. Jack blames Billy until Victoria told him that Billy had saved her life. Victoria's fear of water returns to haunt her on a canoeing trip where she freaks out and hits her instructor, Christian Schwarz and is suspended as a result.
Victoria searches for the truth about Sarah Sugden's (Alyson Spiro) death, but nobody is willing to discuss it. Jack is evasive, but Jasmine Thomas (Jenna-Louise Coleman) shows her an article in the Hotten Courier about Sarah's death seven years earlier. She then investigates after Jack becomes more and more evasive. She tracks down Richie who tells her Jack was not responsible but she doesn't believe him and on her return to the village, she steals a can of petrol from the garage and douses the house with it, threatening to set the place alight unless the truth is told. Andy confesses but when Jack tries to clean Victoria's bloody head after a fall with water from the hot tap on a flannel, it makes the house explode. The Sugdens escape, assisted by Billy and Jonny Foster (Richard Grieve). Victoria is charged and placed in psychiatric care, which gets her bullied at school. Andy is arrested and jailed for three years but eventually freed. When Andy begins beating his ex-wife, Jo (Roxanne Pallett), Victoria refuses to have anything to do with him.