Zak Dingle is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Steve Halliwell. He first appeared on 20 October 1994. Halliwell initially joined the show as part of the Dingle family and was only initially supposed to appear for a few episodes, but has become a key part of the soap since his introduction. He has been nominated for several awards for his portrayal of Zak. Some of Zak's storylines have included his wife Nellie (Sandra Gough) divorcing him in 1997, marrying Lisa Clegg (Jane Cox) in 1998, having a daughter, Belle (Emily Mather; Eden Taylor-Draper) in 1998, the death of his son, Butch (Paul Loughran) in 2000, Lisa being raped in 2011, assaulting his son Cain (Jeff Hordley) and leaving him temporarily paralysed in 2011, suffering a mental breakdown in 2012, trying to control his rebellious daughter and dealing with the death of Lisa.
Storylines
Zak arrives in the village in October 1994 and immediately challenges old bare-knuckle boxing adversary Ned Glover (Johnny Leeze) to a bare-knuckle fight, which he goes on to lose. Zak's family start a feud with the McAllister family over the death of his son, Ben (Steve Fury), following a fight with Luke McAllister (Noah Huntley) two months earlier. Despite discovering that Ben died as a result of a heart defect, the Dingles still blame Luke and force the family, except Luke, to leave the village. He is enraged to discover his daughter, Tina (Jacqueline Pirie) is in a relationship with Luke and attacks him until Tina tells him she is expecting Luke's baby. The truth is revealed when Tina humiliates Luke at the altar and tells him that there is no baby, in revenge for Ben's death. After Luke is killed in a car crash in August 1995, just seconds after Tina had jumped from the car, the Dingles and McAllisters put the feud aside. Zak's wife, Nellie (Sandra Gough) attends to her sick father, Jimmy in Ireland but does not return.
Lisa Clegg (Jane Cox) enters Zak's life and they begin a relationship, and despite a few hiccups, they eventually marry. Lisa gives birth to a daughter, Belle (Emily Mather) at Christmas 1998, which is a shock as she did not know she was pregnant. Zak's and Lisa's happiness is tested when Nellie (now Maggie Tagney) returns and tries to win Zak back but is unsuccessful. When a bus crashes in the village, Butch is injured and his condition rapidly deteriorates and he dies, leaving Zak devastated at the second death of one of his sons. Fresh trauma comes when Zak learns Lisa worked on the bus's engine before it was roadworthy, leading to Zak blaming her for his son's death for a while but he eventually relents. Zak reveals to Cain (Jeff Hordley) that he is his real father as the result of an affair with Cain's mother, Faith (Gillian Jephcott; Sally Dexter). After some violent words, the two men accept the situation and a bond develops between them.
In 2001, Zak discovers he has testicular cancer, confiding in long-time friend Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards), although Seth originally gets the wrong idea. Zak decides to not get treatment but Seth, his son Sam (James Hooton) and nephew Marlon (Mark Charnock) kidnap him and force him to come to his senses, he goes to hospital. As soon as he recovers, domestic harmony is shattered when his elderly mother, Peg (Jeanne Hepple), comes to stay. Zak blames Peg for the death of his father, Jed (Richard Mayes), believing she murdered him but when she reveals that Jed deserted them, they declare a truce. Zak later tracks down a dying Jed, who tells him of a fortune in Chile. Zak leaves to find the fortune, much to the shock of his family and in his absence, Lisa becomes close to Eddie Hope but realizes she still loves Zak and they reconcile on his return. Zak attacks Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) when he learns he is having an affair with his granddaughter Debbie (Charley Webb). When Debbie gives birth to a daughter, Sarah, Zak and Lisa help Debbie but she gives Sarah to Emily Kirk (Kate McGregor) as she is not ready to be a mother. Zak's youngest son, Sam (James Hooton), returns with his fiance, Alice Wilson (Ursula Holden-Gill) and they are expecting a child. Sam and Alice marry but Alice develops cancer and dies shortly after their son, Samson (Bradley Milnes) is born. Zak and the family rally round to help Sam.