Emmerdale's Zak, the background of the Dales
Soaps

Emmerdale fans heartbroken as Zak is referenced after Steve Halliwell’s death

Lydia and Kim referenced the iconic Dingle

Last night’s episode of Emmerdale (Monday, January 8), saw Kim visit Lydia. She wanted to make things right with her following her return.

Lydia then caught Kim scrubbing the floor with a rather peculiar item that belonged to Zak.

Emmerdale fans have now been left teary-eyed after the Dingle character was mentioned last night.

Emmerdale's Kim is cleaning the floor
Kim thought that Zak’s undies were a rag (Credit: ITV)

Emmerdale: Kim scrubbed the floor with Zak’s undies

Last night, Kim wanted to try to make amends with Lydia after finding out that she’d returned home from her mum’s.

Will gave Kim a gift hamper that he’d been gifted, hoping that Kim could win Lydia over with it.

As Kim turned up at Lydia’s house, she gave her the hamper and tried to make things right.

Lydia then started rejecting the hamper and making a mess of it on the floor, angry at the situation and at Craig for turning her against her own friend.

After some time, Lydia calmed down and watched Kim clean up some of the mess with what she thought was an old rag.

However, Lydia then corrected her with a chuckle, confirming that she was scrubbing the floor with a pair of Zak’s old undies.

Zak in Emmerdale sits in a chair looking perplexed
Steve Halliwell passed away at the end of 2023 (Credit: ITV)

Emmerdale fans emotional as Lydia references Zak

Zak hasn’t been seen on screen for some time now, with the actor Steve Halliwell passing away at the end of last year (Friday, December 15, 2023).

Now, with Zak being referenced after Steve’s real-life death, fans of the ITV soap have shared their heartbreak over these scenes online.

One Emmerdale fan commented: “Not ready for the village to find out about Zak’s death.”

Another Emmerdale viewer was emotional and exclaimed: “Uncle Zak mention!!!!”

A third person said: “Zak mention! Oh [bleep] the episode of his death being announced/funeral is going to be sad when the time comes at some point this year.”

Steve Halliwell next to soap tribute
Steve was 77 years old (Credit: ITV)

Steve Halliwell died in December, 2023

Mid-December 2023, Steve Halliwell sadly died after battling with his health for some time.

Soap fans were devastated by the news, after watching Steve play the Dingle legend, Zak, since 1994.

As a special tribute to the late actor, ITV dedicated an episode of the soap to him.

Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2024?

Emmerdale - Kim and Lydia Argue (8th January 2024)

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour episode on Thursdays.

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Tamzin Meyer
Assistant Soap Editor