Emmerdale confirms they will pay tribute to Steve Halliwell who played Zak Dingle in the soap

Speaking to The Sun Emmerdale producer Sophie Roper confirmed that the ITV Soap will air a funeral for Zak Dingle in the coming months. She said: “The Dingles have been at the heart of our show for 30 years now and will continue to be so.

And as many of you will know, of course, we lost Steve recently... So we're going to be marking Zak's passing, [the] iconic Zak Dingle character, in the coming months with a Dingle funeral.

Sophie added that it will be “difficult for a lot of people who work on the show and, obviously, for a lot of our viewers who have grown and loved Zak for many, many years. But it will be a hugely fitting tribute to such an iconic character coming up."

Steve Halliwell sadly passed away in December 2023 aged 77 after a period of ill health. He played the iconic character from 1994 until his death.  

The Dingle family are one of the most famous families in TV soaps from married couple Zak and Lisa Dingle to their children Cain, Sam, Butch and Belle. Plus all the Dingle cousins such as Mandy, Marlon, Charity, Chas and their offspring Debbie and Aaron. The list for the Dingle family tree is never ending so we are sure the funeral will be a packed out family affair.  

Emmerdale airs on weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV1, and ITVX.

Natalie Dixon is NationalWorld’s Lifestyle reporter. If you liked this article and want to read more about soaps, celebrities and lifestyle you can follow Natalie Dixon on X here. 

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