It’s the day we knew was coming following the death of actor Steve Halliwell last year – it’s the onscreen death of his character and Emmerdale legend, Zak Dingle.
While Steve sadly passed away in 2023 at the age of 77 having played Zak for 30 years, his onscreen counterpart has continued on in Scotland with granddaughter Debbie (Charley Webb).
But sadly, having recently suffered ill health and breathing problems, Zak is set to succumb to illness and leave a gaping hole in his family.
Cain (Jeff Hordley) has been off visiting his dad in Scotland, but satisfied that he’s ok, he returns home. A tragic decision. Just prior to his return, wife Moira (Natalie J Robb) suffers yet another seizure and is lucky enough to be given an operation for the next day, but before she can tell Cain, she takes a call from Debbie – Zak has died.
Moira decides now is not the time to tell Cain about her op as she relays to him Debbie’s sad news.
It’s Cain’s job to break the news to the rest of the family, and the closeknit group are brought together in their shared grief. With everything that’s going on with the court case and Tom (James Chase), Belle (Eden Taylor Draper) takes the loss of her dad the hardest.
Cain and Sam (James Hooton) find her outside and the three reminisce together about their family’s patriarch. Things will be different for them all now.
The villagers gather on Main Street to see Sam and Cain off as they set off on their voyage to bring Zak home.
The day of the funeral rolls around and it’s the maudlin affair everyone expects it to be, but as the Dingles are lost in their grief, an unexpected relative appears at the graveyard and leaves everyone in utter disbelief. Who’s back?
‘There’s really poignant moments in it. And whilst we were filming, we were all focused and giving the script everything it needed’, actor Jeff Hordley said.
‘But off camera as well – and Steve would have enjoyed this, because Steve always liked to have a giggle behind the camera – whilst we weren’t rolling, we made sure we had some laughs as well. Because when we do get together as a group, we do make sure that it’s fun to film.
‘What I’m trying to say is that the mood wasn’t just downbeat, we were making sure that we were having a laugh, and Steve wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.’
