Emmerdale's Lisa Riley shares poignant Zak Dingle funeral details viewers won't see

Emmerdale star Lisa Riley has shared poignant details about the filming of Zak Dingle's funeral as news of his death is set to hit the beloved family.

The much-loved character's death comes following the real-life passing of actor Steve Halliwell. The soap star, famed for playing the Dingle patriarch, died in December.

A statement issued on December 15, 2023, confirmed Steve had died while surrounded by his family at the age of 77 and after 29 years of service on the ITV soap. They said: "It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that Emmerdale can confirm that Steve Halliwell, our beloved Zak Dingle, has peacefully passed away.

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"All our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and loved ones through this very difficult time, and we’d request that their privacy is respected as they grieve for his loss."

Emmerdale fans may know Dingle family first appeared on screen in 1994. Since then, the show's largest family, with 11 generations of known family members, have had their fair share of drama causing chaos as soap's most garish and close-knit family.

But in upcoming scenes, thirty years later, the Dingles are saying farewell to their patriarch Zak. Despite their sadness, the Dingle family are doing what they do best, pulling together.

The Dingles may be social outcasts in the village of Emmerdale, but off-screen the soap family are multi-award winning with many stories left to tell.

Asked about how it was to film the upcoming scenes, Lisa, who plays Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale, said: "The best part for us, as the Dingle family, was the way that this went through production. From Laura (Shaw), our producer, who's known us for years, grown up with us, and then Peter Kerry who has written the script, who was part of the development team of the Dingles all those years ago.

"Finally, Jeff Naylor, our director, directed Steve Halliwell and Zak's first-ever episode! So you've got all that thrown in the mix, it's so nostalgic! So for us, as a family, it was obviously the biggest blessing and we're so happy that it all happened in this way."

She added: "Also, when you think of Steve Halliwell and the character of Zak, you always think of his love of music. So the team has brilliantly incorporated his music into this episode. Zak's love of music and the nostalgia are all there for the viewers to see."

Sharing details about Zak's funeral, Cain Dingle star Jeff Hordley shared: "Sam and Cain go up to Scotland to bring Zak home, and the funeral takes place very soon after. The funeral has got Dingles written all over it. That's all I can tell you, really. If you could say shotgun wedding or shotgun funeral, you'd kind of get a picture of what it's like…"

On filming the poigning tribute, the actor added: "There's really poignant moments in it. And whilst we were filming, we were all focused and giving the script everything it needed. 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."