Emmerdale star Jeff Hordley has shared some further clues over
the mystery character who turns up at Zak Dingle’s funeral.
Show bosses have revealed that the Dingles are in for a shock in
Thursday’s episode, as a long-lost relative turns up to pay respects to Zak. Jeff’s character Cain Dingle is currently taking control of the arrangements for Zak’s send-off following the sad news of his death. The storyline has been written in as a tribute to actor Steve Halliwell, who played Zak for an incredible 29-year run and passed away at the age of 77 last December.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine today (October 16), Jeff confirmed that Emmerdale’s mystery arrival is a female character.
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He teased: “I can tell you that she’s a good friend of some of us in the cast. Zoe Henry’s worked with her on stage. William Ash and I have done a play with her.
“So it was really great to welcome this character to the show and she’s very, very good indeed.”
Asked about filming the emotional episodes, Jeff recalled: “It was very poignant. It was really well written. A great testament to Zak the character and a great tribute to a dear friend, Steve.
“We did have some laughs as well, though – in the true tradition of Steve Halliwell, because he liked a joke on set and to have fun.
“So as much as it was poignant when the camera was rolling, off the camera we were putting lots of Steve-isms, making each other laugh and telling stories of Steve throughout the week that we shot it. So it was a really lovely time.”
Jeff noted that Steve’s down-to-earth nature on set made him a positive influence on the rest of the cast.
He revealed: “I’ve said recently that we here as a company have got a lot to thank Steve for, because he was such a gentle, humble, non-egotistical, grounded human and that helps to permeate that kind of culture throughout the cast.
“So I think we have a lot to thank Steve for here. We miss him dearly, but I think this is a really fitting tribute this week. The episodes that are to come are brilliant.
“There’s this typical Dingle mayhem in this funeral as well, which again is a great tribute to the family and also to Steve as well. So it’s a lovely week’s episodes, this week.”
