Exclusive: Emmerdale stars’ real life tears over Zak Dingle funeral scenes and off-screen promise to Steve Halliwell
Emmerdale's Mandy Dingle-Kirk actress Lisa Riley has spoken about her heartbreak filming memorial scenes for Steve Halliwell's character Zak Dingle and how the Dingle cast celebrated him when the cameras stopped rolling
Lisa Riley has spoken of her “anguish” filming friend and on-screen uncle Steve Halliwell’s funeral scenes on Emmerdale.
The Mandy Dingle-Kirk actress – who starred alongside the Zak Dingle actor for decades – confirmed that the heartbreaking scenes would air later this month. She also revealed that the Dingle cast had promised to refer to Halliwell as though he’s still with them on set to keep his memory alive.
Speaking to the Mirror at the Inside Soap Awards after winning Best Family, she said: “We never take it for granted and we appreciate it even more than ever because we’re doing Steve [Halliwell’s] memorial episode. We really want to put it on the mantelpiece but it’s too posh for the house. But it means the most this year, definitely.”
Opening up about filming the scenes, Lisa said: “There’s moments you’ll see when it’s transmitted where you can see sometimes it’s us, it’s our own anguish where we’re missing him so much.”
She continued: “We promised from now on, whether we’re inside of the house or out on the set, we want to talk about him like he was always there, like he’s still there because of his energy. He taught us so much when we were young that we’ve taken and we can pass onto the next generation of Dingles.”
Lisa Riley and Steve Halliwell worked together for decades ( Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Zak Dingle, played by the late Steve Halliwell ( Image: ITV)
Paddy Kirk actor Domic Brunt hailed filming as a “remembrance of Steve” and said it was a “celebration of his life”. “The real funeral was very emotional,” he said. “The filming of the funeral and the burial was actually more of a remembrance of Steve – we were swapping stories and it was very upbeat actually because we knew he’d gone. He’ll be missed forever but it wasn’t sad. It was a real celebration of his life.”
After filming, the Dingle cast enjoyed a meal to come together after the scenes and relive their memories with Steve. “We always have Dingle meals – we do that as a Dingle family,” Lisa said. “It’s not to ostracize anyone but we are like a screen family and we do love each other’s company so every once in a while we have a Dingle meal.”
Steve died with his loved ones by his side in December 2023 at the age of 77. He first appeared in the ITV soap in October 1994 as the Dingle patriarch and became the show’s longest-serving cast member after a 29-year stint. He last appeared in the soap in June 2023 for a special week of episodes centred around his troublesome family.
The actor’s family held a private funeral for him in January this year, with his on-screen son James Hooton (Sam Dingle) and other cast members in attendance. Sharing a photo of them both together the day afterward, James wrote on social media: “So yesterday we said goodbye to this iconic Emmerdale legend. Today marks the 29th anniversary of my first day on Emmerdale and it was this man, Steve Halliwell that I worked with on that day, 10th Jan 1995. Miss you Steve, rest in peace….. Oh and Ritharsoil. (Dingle, in joke).”
