Emmerdale's Lisa Riley reveals 'anguish' of late co-star's funeral

Emmerdale's Lisa Riley has revealed the 'anguish' she and her co-stars struggled through while filming the late Steve Halliwell's onscreen funeral.

The actor, who played Zak Dingle in the soap for 29-years peacefully passed away in a hospice surrounded by his family last December aged 77.

Now Lisa, 48 who plays his niece Mandy Dingle, said that some of her fellow actor's tears were real as they filmed their farewell to the iconic character in scenes that will be transmitted later this month. 

Telling The Mirror: '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 also revealed that her fellow Dingles, who won Best Family at Monday's Inside Soap Awards, made a secret promise to each other following Steve's tragic death. 

 '[We said] 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'.

It comes following reports that Steve left £63,000 in his will, with all the proceeds of his lengthy career going to his family. 

The veteran actor had originally joined the village in 1994 and reportedly earned as much as £200,000 a year during his stint, according to The Sun. 

Stars of the show can get up to £2,000 per episode but official documents reveal that the star only had £63,000 to his name. 

The actor was also living at the St Helenas Caravan Park in Horsforth, near Leeds, before his death last year.

In Steve's will he left all the proceeds from his acting career including future royalties to his second wife and widow Valerie and his daughter Charlotte, 40.

Steve married Valerie in 1984 before he found fame on Emmerdale and after splitting briefly in the 1990s, reconciled and had a long marriage. 

The soap actor battled alcoholism and depression during his life and believed he could be suffering with bipolar disorder but admitted he had never been officially diagnosed. 

He gave a candid confession about this in his autobiography If the Cap Fits: My Rocky Road to Emmerdale.

The star entered rehab in 2003 to combat his alcohol addiction. 

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Inside Emmerdale star Steve Halliwell's life off screen with soulmate wife Valerie  - following the Zak Dingle actor's death aged 77

He also fell in trouble with the law and at one point he was arrested for sleeping rough in an empty government building in London.

Steve shared: 'I was sent to Ashford remand prison for two weeks and then I was put on probation and sent home.'

Speaking to The Mirror in 2014, he opened about his demons, saying: 'There's depression, drinking and having to fight your way out of situations. I've lived all those things – and more.'

Steve told the TV Times: 'I can see a pattern to me leading to playing Zak. I went on a journey and it seemed to be my destiny to play this man who I understood.

'Everything the Dingles had been through, I had too – trouble with the police, fighting, being evicted. And if there were any aspects of Zak's life I hadn't lived, I knew people who had.'

Before launching his acting career, Steve was an apprentice at the cotton and paper mills in Bury, Lancashire, where he was born.

He later honed his craft at the Mountview Theatre School in Peckham, South London, of which Dame Judi Dench is the president.

Before landing his role in Emmerdale, Steve starred on shows such as Here I Stand, Heartbeat and Coronation Street.

Steve's role on Emmerdale as Zak Dingle was only meant to be temporary but he quickly  became an integral character and was loved by fans of the show.

The iconic character was known for his flat cap, wellies and wax jacket and he  featured in a number of dramatic storylines, including divorcing his first wife Nellie, played by Sandra Gough, and marrying Lisa, portrayed by Jane Cox.