Emmerdale viewers were left feeling emotional after the Dingles paid tribute to a beloved family member
Sara Baalla Screen Time TV Reporter
13:48, 15 Oct 2025Updated 13:54, 15 Oct 2025
Emmerdale has paid a touching tribute to a character, one year after their heartbreaking death.
It’s been a busy few weeks on the ITV drama, following John Sugden’s (Oliver Farnworth) crimes finally coming to light.
The evil army medic notably pulled himself and his husband, Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), off a cliff, before blackmailing Caleb Miligan (William Ash) into helping him escape abroad.
Caleb’s brother, Cain (Jeff Hordley), soon left the village to search for John in Europe after learning that the villain had killed his son, Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter), the previous year.
The ITV stalwart returned to the Dales on Wednesday (October 15) after being arrested in Dover, which left his wife, Moira (Natalie J Robb), beside herself with worry, reports the Daily Star.
Cain Dingle returned to the Dales on Wednesday(Image: ITV)READ MORE: Emmerdale fans ‘uncover’ worrying reason Moira and Isaac are really unwellREAD MORE: Why isn’t Emmerdale on tonight? Schedule shake-up explained as fans left ‘fuming’
Moments after his homecoming from France during today’s instalment, now accessible for streaming on ITVX, Moira cautiously reminded Cain of his duties and the first anniversary of his father Zak’s (Steve Halliwell) passing.
Nevertheless, Cain appeared determined on a path of self-sabotage, whilst his siblings Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) and Sam (James Hooton) paid their respects at their father’s grave in his absence.
Whilst consoling one another and reminiscing about Zak, the duo found themselves increasingly troubled about their brother, who disclosed his unsuccessful search for John during his time abroad.
“He did warn us, Cain, this time last year he said, ‘You never forget seeing a dad grieve for his son’, and look at us,” Belle said.
Belle and Sam visited their dad’s grave(Image: ITV)
“Why is this happening? Have we not been through enough already?”
Later, the Dingle siblings delivered a touching homage to their father, with Sam remarking: “Alright, Dad. Don’t know why I’m saying it like I don’t come and see you every day. It’s weird, isn’t it? An anniversary makes it feel worse, like everything’s just gone back in time to how it was, how it felt when it first happened.
“Sometimes I feel it would be easier to just forget, but I wouldn’t want that, not really. I’d rather miss you and care and feel sad than not.”
Belle continued: “We love you, Dad. I don’t think we ever appreciated everything that you did for us. You were the glue, and you made it look so easy, but we’ll get there. And we’re gonna look after Cain, even if he doesn’t want us to.”
Zak Dingle passed away last year(Image: ITV)
The residents of the Yorkshire Dales village memorably came together to bid farewell to Zak last year, several months after the death of 77-year-old actor Steve Halliwell.
After watching today’s poignant scenes, numerous viewers found themselves moved to tears, with many expressing their reactions across social platforms.
“Aww, the tribute to Zak was so lovely,” one person wrote on a Facebook fan page.
Another added: “I was tearing up watching Belle and Sam at Zak’s grave,” while a third said: “Can’t believe it’s been a year since Zak died.”
A fourth fan echoed the sentiment, saying: “Really lovely scenes on tonight’s Emmerdale. Just a shame Cain wasn’t at his dad’s grave with Belle and Sam.”
Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 at 7.30pm and is available to stream from 7am on ITVX
