Victoria Sugden (also Barton) is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played since 12 October 2006 by Isabel Hodgins.

Victoria is first introduced on 31 March 1994 after being born to Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) and Sarah Connolly (then Madeleine Howard).

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.

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).

They also tell Aaron Livesy (Danny Webb) about Carl King's (Tom Lister) one-night stand with Del Dingle (Hayley Tamaddon).

Billy drives her home but his brakes fail, due to Kelly Windsor (Adele Silva) sabotaging them, and they crash into a lake.

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.

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 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.

While under the water, Victoria finds a corpse which is later identified as missing police officer Shane Doyle (Paul McEwan).

When she feels she has made a mistake, Victoria tries to get Alex back but is horrified to discover he is involved with Moira Barton (Natalie J. Robb).

Victoria befriends newcomer Finn Barton (Joe Gill), who reveals that he is gay and has feelings for David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden), who owns the local shop.

Robert (now played by Ryan Hawley) returns to the village in October with fiancée Chrissie White (Louise Marwood), her father Lawrence (John Bowe), and her teenage son Lachlan (Thomas Atkinson) in tow.

Initially, Victoria is, like a majority of the village, bitter towards Robert, but as time passes, she warms to him again and comes to accept his return along with Andy.

Victoria is heartbroken to learn that Adam has slept with local vet Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick), and has impregnated her.

Victoria later begins a relationship with David however this ends in November 2022 when he lies to her over a Speeding Ticket he was given however had put in her name.

In August 2024, Victoria discovers she has a Long Lost Half Brother called John Sugden [3] she initially attempts to establish contact with him however he shows no interest in doing so.

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".

[1] In 2019, producers of Emmerdale announced a special episode in which they planned to "experiment with non-linear storytelling and flashbacks",[2] where it was confirmed that multiple characters' lives will "change for good" on a night out.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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!

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.