Emmerdale stars Karen Blick and Danny Miller – who play Lydia and Aaron Dingle – on the ITV soap have opened up about the sad loss of their co-star and friend Steve Halliwell, who played Zak Dingle
Two Emmerdale stars have opened up about the heartbreaking death of their co-star.
Steve Halliwell passed away several months ago, and now Zak Dingle’s life will be remembered with an on-screen funeral, which will bring the Dingles closer together. Actors Danny Miller and Karen Blick – who play Aaron Dingle and Lydia Dingle on the ITV soap – hafe opened up about bidding an emotional farewell to their co-star in sad upcoming scenes.
Producer Sophie Roper previously revealed what fans could expect from the emotional goodbye. She said: “The Dingles have been at the heart of our show for 30 years now, and will continue to be so.
Zak and Lydia with Sam Dingle (Image: ITV)
“We lost Steve recently, so we’re going to be marking Zak’s passing in the coming months with a Dingle funeral. It will be very difficult for a lot of people who work on the show and obviously a lot of our viewers who have grown and love Zak for many, many years – but it will be a hugely fitting tribute for a great character.”
Speaking about the emotional scenes, Karen told The Mirror: “We knew that everybody at Emmerdale was going to honour the iconic character that gave as Zak Dingle. I read the script and it made me cry. The first few scripts are coming through and I cried and I thought, the audience are in for a treat. It’s very sad but it’s heart-warming and it’s a wonderful tribute to Steve and to Zak Dingle.”
Aaron Dingle star Danny also opened up about his connection with Steve, as he reflected on the upcoming scenes.
“We’ll touch on Steve Halliwell’s passing. God bless him. Zak will become the heart of the show once again for a short time and bring the Dingles even closer together, which is great because I think Emmerdale have always been good at making the Dingles at the heart of the show and representing the audience, which is great. I think for us it’s a nice way – we’ve grieved Steve,” he said.
“He was one of the first people I met when I joined Emmerdale; he was always a big figure for me and a big shoulder and an ear for me.” Adding of what’s to come, he shared: “This is a lot more about doffing the cap with Zak and it’s more of a happier affair then dwelling on it. He wouldn’t want that; he’d want a bit of a laugh with it.”
