The Dales have been left grief-stricken following the death of patriarch Zak Dingle, but fans of the ITV soap are all asking the same question following his passing

Emmerdale fans have been left baffled over the absence of one character following the death of Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell).

Last week, the Dales were left shocked when Moira Dingle (Natalie Robb) received the tragic news that Zak had died at his home in Scotland.

In real life, actor Steve sadly passed away in December last year, aged 77. Due to Steve’s death, soap bosses confirmed a final storyline for the legendary character leaving viewers in tears.

Zak’s passing left the Dingle’s past coming back to haunt them as Tina (Samantha Power) returned for the first time in nearly three decades with two bombshells. In a showdown, she confirmed she wanted a share of her dad’s estate before telling Mandy (Lisa Riley) that she is the real mum of Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson).

Since the funeral, Cain has since been struggling to come to terms with his dad Zak’s passing.

The mechanic is also now the head of the Dingle family and on Monday (October 21) wore his dad’s iconic flat cap as he became the clan’s new patriarch.

But fans have been left wondering why Nathan Dingle, Zak’s eldest son, did not return for the funeral.

Nathan is the son of Zak and Nellie Dingle (Sandra Gough) and despite the character never being seen on-screen, he has been mentioned over the years.

Tina Dingle (Jacqueline Pirie) mentioned her brother during the 1990s before he was brought up again at the funeral of Butch (Paul Loughran). It is thought Nathan is completely cut off from the Dingles and his whereabouts are unknown.

Taking to Reddit, one Emmerdale fan asked: “Is Nathan Cain’s brother ever gonna turn up in the village?”.

A second replied: “He was only ever mentioned, not seen, and I think the last time his name was spoken was way back in the nineties. I honestly think he’s been erased from existence.”

While a third chimed in: “I hope so!! The show could do with a few more Dingles to fill up the village!!”.

“He’s actually Sam and Tina’s brother. He’s only Cain’s half-brother”, pointed out another.

“Are they ever gonna cast Nathan Dingle Cain’s brother to turn up seeing as he’s never been onscreen as well that could be a good storyline to pursue for em and it’d have a lot of potential”, added another.

One fans suggested the character had died: “It seems he died and writers have definitely forgot he existed.”

Will Emmerdale fans ever get to the bottom of Nathan Dingle’s backstory, and existence?

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX