Emmerdale’s Jeff Hordley details ‘intense and poignant’ special Zak Dingle episode as his death is announced

Emmerdale’s Dingle household are preparing to accidental goodbye to their legendary patriarch, Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell), successful upcoming episodes.  

Beloved histrion Steve Halliwell died aged 77 past year, with his household paying tribute to the ‘most astonishing begetter and gramps you could ever privation for,’ successful a connection issued astatine the time. They added that ‘family was everything to him.’ 

Steve’s change ego, Zak Dingle, appeared connected the amusement regularly betwixt 1994 and 2023 and was past seen connected screen successful June past year. Recently Zak has been successful Scotland, staying with his granddaughter Debbie (Charley Webb). Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) precocious travelled to sojourn his dada aft quality that Zak was unwell. 

Jeff Hordley told Metro that Cain gets the bittersweet and shocking quality of Zak’s decease soon aft helium returns to the village. 

‘He’s conscionable travel backmost from Scotland that morning, I think, and Zak’s benignant of told him to spell and, you know, it’ll beryllium fine. And he’s promised him that helium won’t bash excessively much, due to the fact that his doc said for him to rest, due to the fact that he’s not been well. I deliberation that’s wherefore it’s truthful contiguous for Cain, and truthful shocking – it’s similar seeing idiosyncratic successful the morning, isn’t it? And past successful the afternoon, they’re gone.’ 

The amusement volition item the value of Zak arsenic a quality and Steve arsenic a formed subordinate successful the writing, by having Cain delivering the bittersweet quality to antithetic members of the household arsenic they each effort to process what’s happened and what Zak means to them. 

‘The mode they’ve written it, determination were small scenes wherever I had to spell to assorted members of the Dingle family,’ Jeff recalled. ‘It was good, you know? It was a bully small piece. They respond successful assorted degrees of reacting to bittersweet news. Nobody was expecting it.’ 

Following this, there’s a peculiar occurrence involving Cain, Sam (James Hooton) and Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper). 

‘I’m definite it’s beauteous overmuch a dedicated occurrence wherever they conscionable enactment up 1 nighttime and speech astir what’s going connected successful their lives, and subordinate it each to Zak, and speech astir Zak arsenic well,’ Jeff said. 

‘It’s a truly beauteous episode. It reminded maine a batch of the lockdown 2 hander episodes that we had wherever it’s conscionable characters talking. It’s a spot similar doing a play, it’s rather intense.’ 

To honour Steve, who his household said was ‘making america laughter to the end,’ these bittersweet and aggravated scenes are balanced by immoderate emblematic Dingle mayhem astatine the ceremonial itself, arsenic Jeff described. 

‘Sam and Cain spell up to Scotland to bring Zak home, and the ceremonial takes place precise soon after. The ceremonial has got Dingles written each implicit it. That’s each I tin archer you, really. If you could accidental shotgun wedding, oregon shotgun funeral, you’d benignant of get a representation of what it’s like.’ 

As they were filming, Steve was ne'er acold from their minds arsenic the formed members who’d worked with him for truthful galore years knew that he’d person wanted them to person immoderate amusive arsenic they filmed the bittersweet scenes. 

‘There’s truly poignant moments successful it,’ Jeff said. ‘And whilst we were filming, we were each focused and giving the publication everything it needed. But disconnected camera arsenic good – and Steve would person enjoyed this, due to the fact that Steve ever liked to person a giggle down the camera – whilst we weren’t rolling, we made definite we had immoderate laughs arsenic well. Because erstwhile we bash get unneurotic arsenic a group, we bash marque definite that it’s amusive to film.  

‘What I’m trying to accidental is that the temper wasn’t conscionable downbeat, we were making definite that we were having a laugh, and Steve wouldn’t person wanted it immoderate different way.’ 

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