Emmerdale rocked as beloved villager's tragic death confirmed in heart-wrenching scenes

Emmerdale have confirmed that Zak Dingle's death will be written into the ITV soap.

In recent times, there had been chatter about whether Zak's death would feature on the programme so that fans could bid farewell to their beloved character, this following the death of much loved actor Steve Halliwell, who passed away at the age of 77.

As it stands, Zak has currently been off-screen living with his granddaughter Debbie in Scotland but many of the Dingle-clan still remain in the iconic village and have made the lengthy trip to visit him. His family, who are based in the Yorkshire Dales, will receive the tragic news later on the year to confirm Zak's death.

Sophie Roper, an Emmerdale producer verified to Digital Spy that a tribute storyline for both Zak and Halliwell, to mark his special contribution to the show. She told the publication: "The Dingles have been at the heart of our show for 30 years now and will continue to be so."

"We lost Steve recently – the very sad loss of Steve. So we're going to be marking Zak's passing – the iconic Zak Dingle character – in the coming months with a Dingle funeral," added Sophie.

She also explained that filming had been emotional for staff and co-stars, with Halliwell having been such a huge part of the production for so long. Sophie explained that the funeral scenes were "very difficult for a lot of people who work on our show and a lot of our viewers who have grown and loved Zak for many, many years.

"But there'll be a hugely fitting tribute for such an iconic character coming up," she confirmed. Halliwell, who played the fan-favourite for 29-years, passed away peacefully last December.

Following the announcement of his death, there was an outpour of love from devastated fans, co-stars and Emmerdale bosses, that had worked with the actor over the years.

A representative for the soap said: "Steve will forever be synonymous with Emmerdale. The proud defender and head of the Dingle family. Heart and humour in all he did, it has been and always will be impossible not to smile when you think of him."

Lisa Riley, who played Mandy Dingle for many years took to her platform to pay thanks for "years of laughter" adding that he was "adored, loved [and] respected by us all". She concluded: "A LEGEND in my eyes, that's for sure – we have stories and memories to last for many more years to come."

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.