Zak Dingle

He arrived with the rest of the Dingle family and along with the family was to "run riot through the rural tranquillity and put the muck back into the mix". The family where originally supposed to be "nothing more than a bit of spot of bother over a couple of episodes" but later were kept.[1] In 2003 it was announced Halliwell was to take a break. This led him to comment that he had "no axe to grind" and it wasn't "about salary or storylines" and added "I love Zak, I love Emmerdale, but I've asked for a spell out to spend some quality time with my family and friends".[2] In 2010, Halliwell said that his casting in Emmerdale was "the greatest break in my professional life".[3] In September 2018 Halliwell had to take five months off from Emmerdale for health reasons, which he later revealed was due to having heart surgery.[4] Halliwell returned to play Zak on 13 May 2019. Halliwell then left again in October 2019 with a storyline where he leaves to help Debbie in Scotland. Due to return sometime in 2020, Halliwell’s return to filming was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Zak made his first reappearance alongside relative Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2021.

ITV describe him as the "patriarch" of the Dingle family, adding he is "ostensibly a scrap dealer and pig farmer" although he spends "most of his time either doing nothing at all, or dreaming up scams and schemes". They also labelled him as occasionally being "a violent man" who is "prone to jealousy, however, he will do anything for a quiet life and a pint in the Woolpack!"[5] Halliwell said that Zak was "brought in as a violent nutter, then after they introduced the rest of the family, this workshy, loveable rogue started to emerge, and they started writing more comic elements for the Dingles".[3] Halliwell described the family saying they are "petty thieves" and "a bit part of the under class of life" who "still hold those old values that people are more important than money". He added that "[The Dingles] do strike a chord with a lot of people. Most of us will never be rich, so they can identify with the Dingles much easier than rich characters".[6] What's on TV described him as a "General dodgy dealer" who is an "all round wrong 'un" and the "keeper of the 'Dingle code' – which basically means that he makes sure all Dingles live on the wrong side of the law".[7] Holy Soap described him as "head of the Dingle clan, Zak is the scallywag you can't help but have a soft spot for" before adding that he "has had several odd jobs over the years, but he tends to fill his coffers by masterminding several dodgy deals with his brother, Shadrach (Andy Devine)."[8]

At the British Soap Awards in 2002, Halliwell was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of the part, and Zak was nominated for Hero for his testicular cancer storyline.[9] In 2007 he was again nominated for Best Actor.[10] In a poll to find the "top soap bloke" of all time which was run by Loaded, Zak came fourth.[11] The character was selected as one of the "top 100 British soap characters" by industry experts for a poll to be run by What's on TV, with readers able to vote for their favourite character to discover "Who is Soap's greatest Legend?"[12] Fellow Emmerdale cast member James Hooton commented that said Steve Halliwell often gets recognised for his alter ego saying "Steve can't tie his shoelaces in the street without people noticing. It's the beard".[13] A writer from Holy Soap named Zak's most memorable moment as being his introduction into the series; challenging Bernard McAllister to a bare knuckle fight.[8]

• Zak Dingle at itv.com
• Zak Dingle at Holy Soap