Benjamin Shooter, the tot who plays Samson Dingle in Emmerdale, has been sacked from the ITV1 soap for crying on set. The frightened two-year old was given the chop by Emmerdale axe-woman Anita Turner after he burst into tears when he saw screen dad Sam Dingle days after the pair has filmed some emotional scenes, according to The Sun. Ben's furious mum Emma said her son had been treated like a 'prop'. And she has slammed 'cruel' soap execs for forcing Ben to star in the 'horrifying' scenes during a recent storyline where armed robber Sam – actor James Hooton – turns himself in. Emma 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." Emma, of Tadchester, Yorks, returned Benjamin four days later. But she said: "He wouldn’t go anywhere near his screen dad without crying. “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 chance to adjust." Ben, who joined Emmerdale last April, was replaced by another tot in February. Emmerdale insiders said Ben did cry too often and 'needed a break from the show'. A show spokesman said: "We frequently recast babies and small children if necessary as the child's welfare is our primary concern." Anita also sacked Christopher Villiers and Richard Grieve, who play gay villagers Grayson Sinclair and Jonny Foster, last month.
