Emmerdale viewers emotional as more past Dingles 'return' in 'powerful' episode

viewers were moved on Friday night, as a powerful and touching tribute to saw multiple past characters back on screen.

In a sweet twist fans dubbed "powerful" and "perfect", spoke onscreen just days on from . A past clip showed Zak, played by late actor , telling his family what love is.

Just seconds before this sweet moment, we saw a montage of some of Zak's big moments with his family from across the past 30 years. In the clips we saw a younger Belle, Cain and Sam Dingle, but we also saw a number of past characters.

Several Dingles made a return of sorts for the scenes, as past clips showed them onscreen for the first time in years, some decades. As well as some former Dingles featuring in the special episode, we also saw some past village residents who are no longer on the show.

Zak's death was confirmed on Monday with his funeral taking place on Thursday, while actor Steve passed away in December 2023. The characters gathered to pay their respects to Zak in a moving farewell, while this was a moment for the cast to also say goodbye to Steve.

Following 's shock return after 28 years, Friday's episode saw her siblings Cain, Sam and Belle grieve for their dad. In a special three-hander style episode, most of it only featured the trio as they discussed their grief and how they move forward.

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Cain read out a message he had written, and referenced past characters including his late brother Butch Dingle. Belle and Sam listened to him as he spoke of his chats with his dad, honouring Zak.

It's then that viewers saw a series of sweet flashbacks, with a number of past characters appearing onscreen including Debbie Dingle, Butch, Belle's late mother Lisa Dingle and even Solomon Dingle. Other former characters included soap legend Seth Armstrong and late vicar Harriet Finch.

The moving montage saw fans remembering Zak's time on the show, as well as some familiar faces who were sadly no longer alive. There was some serious nostalgia, with the clip ending with Zak speaking in a touching moment.

Viewers watching the moment praised the episode and the cast, sharing how emotional they were over the 'returns', nods to the past but also the amazing tribute to Zak. One fan posted: "@emmerdale have got this weeks episodes with the Dingles 100% right, it has been so moving and perfect in how it’s been written right down to the music as always the acting was faultless too."

Another fan agreed: "WOW!!!! Tonight's #Emmerdale is extremely powerful! In all the 8 years I've watched this show - tonight's episode is by far the best. Gorgeously acted by Eden Taylor Drapper James Hooten and & tenderly written. Steve Haliwell would've been proud!"

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on , , , , , and .