Emmerdale's Dingle family celebrate 30 years on screen and pay tribute to Steve Halliwell

  • Lisa Adlam visited the famous Emmerdale village to hear about the celebrations.

Emmerdale's iconic Dingle family are celebrating 30 years on-screen in an episode which pays tribute to the late actor who played long-standing head of the family Zak.

One of soap's most loved families come together in tonight's episode as they prepare for the funeral of one of the show's most popular characters.

Steve Halliwell, who played Zak Dingle for three decades, died in December 2023 at the age of 77.

He was the patriarch of the brash Yorkshire family and his loss was felt both on and off screen.

Lisa Riley, who plays Mandy Dingle, said: "Steve Halliwell - my second dad, my work dad. He looked after me, cared for me, and gave me advice.

"The fact he's not here, we have to keep that legacy alive as the Dingles, and we want to. We want to keep his energy alive here, and that's the Dingles all over."

Steve Halliwell died aged 77. Credit: ITV

Lucy Pargeter, who plays Chas Dingle, said: "We all kind of got together and said we wanted him to have a day where if he was there it would have been a normal Dingle day. So we had a lot of laughs.

"It was very poignant but we had already grieved for Steven. There had been a passage of time so I think it was the right time to do it.

"I wouldn't want to be in any other family than the Dingles, and long, long may they continue."

In the show's 30 years there have been 11 generations of Dingle family members and that is set to grow even further.

Lisa said: "To be a Dingle, I'm so proud. I say 'Dingle till I die', and that's true. It runs through my blood."

She shared details on what viewers can expect from the show following the character's death this week.

"The next head of the Dingles is our Cain through and through, as it should be. But do you know what's even better? We've got the next generation - the young ones.

"You've got Danny Miller, Eden and Vinny. Those three, we are in safe hands with them as the future next generation of Dingles."

She teased Thursday's episode will see the shock arrival off a Dingle from the past.

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