Steve Halliwell, renowned for portraying Zak Dingle on Emmerdale, led a turbulent life marked by dramatic peaks and troughs, encompassing a period of homelessness and time spent in prison. The beloved actor, who joined the Emmerdale cast in the 1990s, passed away in December 2023 at the age of 77. Prior to joining the Yorkshire-based soap, Steve struggled with alcoholism alongside depression, which plagued his life for five decades.

At one stage, the star was a destitute teenager sleeping rough on London's streets, pleading for food. In his autobiography, If the Cap Fits: My Rocky Road to Emmerdale, Steve recounted leaving his factory job to chase a fresh start in the nation's capital. Yet, he wrote: "I would walk the streets looking for money or food."

While residing in London, he became "very thin" owing to extreme hunger. He was detained for squatting in a government building, resulting in his incarceration at Ashford Remand Prison, subsequently followed by probation.

In a frank interview with TV Times, he outlined the remarkable parallels between his personal life and that of his on-screen character.

He said: "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."

According to various interviews Steve has given, Emmerdale proved instrumental in helping him turn his life around, as he poured his energy into playing Zak. Nevertheless, the actor ultimately checked himself into rehab in 2003 to address his struggles with alcohol, which forced him to take a temporary step back from the soap.

He stepped away from acting in 2018 to undergo heart surgery and have a pacemaker fitted, before making a welcome return to the show in January 2021 following an extended absence.

Steve appeared in more than 2,000 episodes of Emmerdale, and his passing left both his co-stars and those closest to him utterly devastated. His family said following his death: "He went to sleep, peacefully, with his loved ones around him. He was making us laugh to the end, the most amazing father and grandfather you could ever wish for. Family was everything to him.

"We would like to thank the wonderful staff at St James Hospital and the Wheatfield Hospice for their love and kindness in his final days. He didn't want sadness, just to rejoice in a life well lived."