Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) was left very emotional in Emmerdale after

Cain (Jeff Hordley) told her what dad Zak (Steve Halliwell) often used to say about

her. The former events planner, as viewers know, has had an incredibly tough

year, with her marriage to Tom King (James Chase) having descended into chaos when the groom showed his true colours. Belle received a final parting gift from dear dad Zak – and it will prove instrumental in the fight against Tom King (Pictured: ITV) Tom demonstrated time and again that he was a controlling abuser, leaving Belle in fear of her life as she felt trapped. After months of torment, Belle walked away from the marriage, telling her loved ones what being married to Tom was really like. The Dingles have since rallied together, making it quite clear that Tom won’t get away with his crimes, while Belle made the brave decision to take back control as she reported the abuser to the police.

The investigation is on-going and, with Belle also under the spotlight following the axe incident last month, her fate remains up in the air. But the popular character received yet another blow this week when she learned that her beloved dad Zak had died. What followed was just about as quintessentially Dingle as one could get, with patriarch Zak transported from Scotland back to the village, where he was buried just outside of Wishing Well – where he was ‘happiest’. Friday’s (October 18) offering of the ITV soap dealt with the aftermath of the farewell as Belle and Sam (James Hooton) tried to help struggling Cain, hoping to make him see that he was more than capable of stepping into Zak’s shoes as head of the family.

Cain proved stubborn at first but ultimately he realised that his siblings were just trying to help him. Belle, meanwhile, reflected on her own tough year, putting herself down – but Cain was quick to step in, giving her a final parting gift from Zak. In emotional scenes, Cain told Belle that Zak branded her the ‘strongest’ person he’d ever met, having admired how she dealt with everything that was thrown at her in such a short space of time. Belle was overwhelmed with emotion, touched to know that her father thought so highly of her. And it seems that this was exactly what she needed to hear as she prepares for the fight of her life in getting justice for what Tom has put her through.