Emmerdale’s Zak Dingle star Steve Halliwell’s colourful life off-screen from rehab to jail
Emmerdale star Steve Halliwell has tragically died aged 77. The long-serving soap star spoke publicly about his colourful life away from the camera that saw him spend time in rehab and jail
Zak Dingle star Steve Halliwell endured a troubled life away from Emmerdale.
The actor joined the ITV soap in October, 1994 as Zak Dingle and was a prominent member of the Dales ever since. Steve’s character was initially only supposed to be temporary, but the Emmerdale patriarch soon became a beloved member of the Dingle clan.
However, away from the Dales, Steve was just as troubled off-screen as his fiery Dingle character was on-screen. Before joining the ITV soap, Steve battled with alcoholism and depression for 50 years which left him at rock bottom.
In a previous interview with TV Times magazine, the actor explained how he saw similarities between his own demons and Zak, admitting he felt he was born to play the role because of his own experiences. He said: “I can see a pattern to me leading to playing Zak. I went on a journey and it seemed to be my destiny to play this man who I understood.
“Everything the Dingles had been through, I had too – trouble with the police, fighting, being evicted. And if there were any aspects of Zak’s life I hadn’t lived, I knew people who had.”
The beloved actor passed away peacefully, his family said
The actor also opened up on the time he was arrested when sleeping rough in London. He told the publication he was “so hungry and got very thin”. “Back then, it was illegal to be homeless and I was arrested for sleeping in an empty Government building,” he recalled.
“I was sent to Ashford remand prison for two weeks and then I was put on probation and sent home.” This was the only time he found himself in trouble with the law, with Steve recalling a time he was arrested after an incident with a gang he used to be involved with.
“We were wandering home at 11.30pm when one of the gang [members] threw a brick through an off licence window,” he said as he explained the group ran off with some booze from the shop before somebody called the police saying “they had seen a bearded youth running away”.
Steve explained he “took the rap and got sent to a detention centre for three months”.
Landing the part of Zak helped Steve turn his life around. In an interview with The Mirror in 2014, Steve said: “I was born to play Zak Dingle – the cap really does fit. Then there’s depression, drinking and having to fight your way out of situations. I’ve lived all those things – and more. I can’t blame anyone else. I pressed the self-destruct button.”
However, he continued to struggle with his demons and in 2003 he admitted himself to rehab to help tackle his issues with alcohol, stepping away from Emmerdale for a brief period. In 2018, Steve was forced to leave Emmerdale temporarily again as he underwent heart surgery and had a pacemaker fitted.
He then took an extended break last summer amid the coronavirus pandemic, but made his comeback to the Dales on January 18 2021.
In a statement from Emmerdale, the ITV soap confirmed Steve’s death on Friday. “It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that Emmerdale can confirm that Steve Halliwell, our beloved Zak Dingle, has peacefully passed away,” the statement read.
“All our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and loved ones through this very difficult time, and we’d request that their privacy is respected as they grieve for his loss.
“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.”
