Speaking to Ranvir Singh this Thursday on Lorraine, Emmerdale legend Lisa Riley revealed that the cast and crew had began filming an emotional episode in honour of Zak Dingle.
Zak Dingle star Steve Halliwell will get the tribute he deserves as Lisa Riley confirmed the Emmerdale cast and crew recently started to film a special episode.
Ranvir Singh was back at the helm of ITV’s Lorraine this Thursday, August 15, as she welcomed the soap star and grilled her over the latest drama in the Yorkshire-based programme.
The Mandy Dingle actress notably revealed that her on-screen alter ego will face heartbreak ahead of her wedding with Dominic Brunt’s Paddy Dingle as her dire financial situation pushed her to sell her services as a financial dominatrix.
But during their exchange, Lisa Riley also shared details about an upcoming memorial episode, filmed as a tribute for the late Steve Halliwell, an “ultimate icon of Emmerdale” according to his former co-star.
Lisa Riley branded Steve Halliwell ‘the ultimate icon of Emmerdale’ as he starred in the soap as Zak Dingle from 1994 until his death in 2023 (Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
“We started shooting the memorial episode, actually, Monday just gone (August 12)”, Lisa first announced, adding Steve Halliwell was like a father to her.
“And our beloved Steve Halliwell, you know, he’s like my father for years in the show, he taught me so much and we’re doing a dedicated episode for him. That’s what he deserves. Yeah, he is the ultimate icon of Emmerdale, the king of the Dingle family and he deserves everything and more. We’ll do him proud.”
Steve portrayed Mandy’s uncle Zak Dingle on the show from 1994 until his death in 2023, though he hadn’t appeared in the show months prior to his passing.
The actor died on December 15, 2023, at 77 years old after a long period of ill health, prompting many of his co-stars – including Lisa – to pen him emotional tributes. Months after his passing, soap bosses confirmed Emmerdale would air a funeral episode for his character Zak Dingle.
But before viewers can see what Emmerdale bosses have in store for the head of the Dingle clan, they will first have to find out if Mandy and Paddy are headed for the rocks as the latter’s father Bear Wolf, played by Joshua Richards, has recently found out about her secret online activity.
In an extract from this Thursday’s episode, aired on Lorraine, Mandy and Paddy’s wedding is left on the brink of disaster as Bear confronts her to find out if she’s put an end to her secondary job.
And while she will maintain that she has taken action, Bear will remain sceptical, forcing her to swear on her son Vinny’s (Bradley Johnson) life – which she refuses to do.
Before long, Bear does the unforgivable, sliding his phone out from his pocket and calling local vicar Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin) in front of Mandy to let him know the wedding ceremony has been cancelled.
This comes after Lisa Riley’s co-star Dominic Brunt discussed the storyline on Wednesday’s Loose Women but he also revealed he had once lied to her to get her back onto the set of the show.
The actor has worked with Lisa since 1997 until she left the soap in 2001 before returning 18 years later in 2019, where she has been a village staple ever since.
Dominic told the Loose Women panel: “Oh I just told her a lie, yeah, she said: ‘Is it still full on, is it still really busy?’ I think we were filming two or three episodes a week at that point when she left. I said: ‘No, no, no, it’s calm. You can be busy then you go quiet then you go busy then quiet.'”
“Then two years later she was going: ‘You lied to me!’ and I was like” to which he shrugged his arms. Explaining his reason for the lie, he added: “I just wanted her back because I really missed her!” But how will Paddy and Mandy get back to one another (and potentially down the aisle) after this Thursday?
