6 Emmerdale Spoilers for Next Week – 14th to 18th October

Next week on Emmerdale, a long-lost relative appears as the village comes together to give Zak a send-off, Moira makes a huge sacrifice, Billy plans to fight again and Ruby discovers the truth about her mother’s death.

1) The village mourns Zak Dingle

The village is heartbroken next week when they receive the tragic news that Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell) has died.

Zak’s passing comes 10 months after the death of Steve Halliwell back in December, who last appeared on-screen in June 2023.

In a particularly fitting tribute, next week not only marks Emmerdale’s 52nd anniversary, but the 30th anniversary of Zak’s first appearance on the show, which aired on 20th October 1994.

Zak has recently suffered from ill health whilst living with granddaughter Debbie (Charley Webb) up in Scotland, with eldest son Cain (Jeff Hordley) having gone to visit him last week.

Cain heads back to the village next week, but mere hours after his return Moira (Natalie J Robb) receives a phone call from Debbie with the sad news of Zac’s passing.

“Cain’s just about to get on with his day and then Moira imparts the news to him,” Jeff Hordley tells us. “It comes as a bit of a bolt from the blue, especially seeing as he’s just come back from Scotland that morning. Zak’s kind of told him to go and, you know, it’ll be fine.”

“Zak’s promised him that he won’t do too much, because his doctor said for him to rest, because he’s not been well.

“I think that’s why it’s so immediate for Cain, and so shocking – it’s like seeing someone in the morning, isn’t it? And then in the afternoon, they’re gone, and he’s trying to process it.”

In moving scenes airing on Tuesday, Cain takes his time to go around the village telling all of the Dingle family of Zac’s passing in person. “It’s a nice little piece,” Jeff explains. “They react in various degrees of reacting to sad news. Nobody was expecting it.”

The grieving family all gather at Wishing Well Cottage, taking comfort in having each other as they struggle to come to terms with the news.

Soon enough, Cain, Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) and Sam (James Hooton) find themselves standing outside overlooking the fields as they reminisce about their father.

As per Zak’s wishes, Sam and Cain quickly arrange to drive up to Scotland to bring their dad home, with many family members and villagers gathering outside Wishing Well to wave them off on their poignant journey.

Later in the week, the village comes together at The Woolpack to give Zak a very befitting send-off.

“The funeral has got Dingles written all over it,” Jeff reveals “That’s all I can tell you, really. If you could say shotgun wedding or shotgun funeral, you’d kind of get a picture of what it’s like…”

“There’s really poignant moments in it,” Jeff adds. “Whilst we were filming, we were all focused and giving the script everything it needed, but the mood wasn’t just downbeat.

“Steve always liked to have a giggle behind the camera – so we made sure we had some laughs as well. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

“The best part for us, as the Dingle family, was the way that this went through production,” Lisa Riley adds. “From Laura (Shaw), our producer, who’s known us for years, to Peter Kerry who has written the script, who was part of the development team of the Dingles all those years ago.”

“Finally, Jeff Naylor, our director, directed Steve Halliwell and Zak’s first ever episode! So you’ve got all that thrown in the mix, it’s so nostalgic! For us, as a family, it was obviously the biggest blessing and we’re so happy that it all happened in this way.”

“Also, when you think of Steve Halliwell and the character of Zak, you always think of his love of music. So the team has brilliantly incorporated his music into this episode. Zak’s love of music and the nostalgia are all there for the viewers to see.”

As the proceedings continue off-screen in The Woolpack, Friday’s episode will see us return to Wishing Well where Cain, Sam and Belle are making their own toast to Zak.

“It’s pretty much a dedicated episode where they just stay up one night and talk about what’s going on in their lives, and relate it all to Zak, and talk about Zak as well,” Jeff reveals. “It’s a really lovely episode. It reminded me a lot of the lockdown two hander episodes that we had where it’s just characters talking. It’s a bit like doing a play, it’s quite intense.”

2) Who turns up at Zac’s grave?

Naturally, whatever the occasion, it wouldn’t be a Dingle event without some unexpected drama thrown in. As such, the family are stunned when, in a truly shocking twist, a long-lost relative appears at Zak’s graveside!

Whilst our lips are firmly sealed as to the identity of the family member, Jeff can at least give us a hint as to what the audience can expect.

“It’s someone you might know,” he teases. “They’re not going to make things go smoothly for the Dingles. Could it be someone back from the dead?”

3) Moira makes a huge sacrifice

Amongst all the family heartache, Moira is secretly dealing with a big dilemma, after the hospital inform her that an operation slot has become available.

Moira is currently living with a non-cancerous brain tumour, with her doctors having opted to follow an active monitoring treatment plan for the moment, with medication to help reduce Moira’s seizures.

However, with Moira’s seizures becoming more frequent, she has a big decision to make next week when she is unexpectedly told that she could have the operation the very next day.

Moira has already suffered a further seizure that morning, and at this point Cain is still up in Scotland.

When Cain does return that morning, Moira delays telling him about the operation, but is then thrown when Debbie calls with the news about Zak.

Having confided in son Matty (Ash Palmisciano) about the op, he is concerned when Moira then announces that it’s no longer the right time to go ahead with it.

“She keeps it to herself,” Jeff explains. “The sense behind it is that she knows that Cain’s got so much on his plate with the funeral that she doesn’t want to burden him with it. So she makes a massive sacrifice for herself to make sure that Cain can get through this day smoothly.”

Will Moira come to regret her decision further down the line?

4) Billy plans to fight again

Elsewhere in the village next week, Billy (Jay Kontzle) is determined to continue with his illicit side hustle in order to provide for his family, but is it solely about the money anymore?

It was revealed this past week that Billy has been taking part in unlicensed boxing matches as he and wife Dawn (Olivia Bromley) struggle to make ends meet. Billy had confided in Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb) about the matches, and was forced to go to him for help after he was seriously injured.

Next week, Billy reveals to Mack that he will have to continue with the matches despite the danger, and begs Mack to continue keeping his secret. Knowing that Billy will need support however, Mack tells him that he’ll help out any way he can.

“At times he does lie to himself because he thinks that it is predominantly just for the financial gain, but it is more,” Jay Kontzle tells us. “He doesn’t really say much about it, but it’s going to be relieving a lot of stress.”

Tonight’s (Friday) episode sees the introduction of Twinnie-Lee Moore as ruthless boxing promoter Jade, who will continue to push Billy to participate in fights over the coming months, but at what cost?

Meanwhile, Dawn’s relationship with dad Will (Dean Andrews) could be on the way to being repaired as he gives her some money to help out, with a promise to help organise a loan for her. But will his efforts be undermined?

5) Will provides some comfort for Kim

Will’s now-toxic relationship with wife Kim (Claire King) could also take a turn next week, when he finds himself comforting her over the death of old friend Zak.

The pair have been at loggerheads since Kim was dramatically revealed to be the one who was blackmailing Will over his one-night-stand with ex-wife Rose (Christine Tremarco).

Both as stubborn as each other, Will has refused to leave Home Farm whilst Kim has started plans to divorce him and leave him penniless.

So it’s quite the surprise to Kim when she finds herself thawing to Will, as he comforts her over the sad news.

But it doesn’t take long before we see that Will is still playing his own game.

No doubt feeling quite lonely up at the big house, with only her estranged hubby for company now that Dawn, Billy and the kids have moved out, Kim invites Gabby (Rosie Bentham) to move back in with Thomas.

Will questions Kim’s motives in asking Gabby to return, but she is quick to put him in his place. With it seeming as though normal service has resumed, Will goes to Caleb (Will Ash) in the hope that they can enact their plan to bring down Kim sooner rather than later…

6) Ruby discovers the truth

Also next week, Caleb’s in the firing line when Ruby (Beth Cordingly) discovers the truth about her mother’s death.

Having been estranged from mum Helen (Sharon Maughan) for decades, since she kicked her out as a teen over her relationship with Caleb, Ruby was thrown when she received a call from the hospital asking her to come to her mother’s bedside.

Little did Ruby know that terminally ill Helen had earlier been in touch with Caleb, and had begged him to convince Ruby to come and see her. Caleb had gone to the hospital himself, and claimed that he would only ask Ruby to visit on the condition that Helen transfer £100k to him.

However, unaware that her mum had already tried to get in touch, by the time Ruby got to the hospital Helen had already passed away. In the meantime, Caleb noticed the cash had been transferred to his account, but kept his guilty secret.

Next week, Ruby is thrown to receive a delivery of Helen’s ashes, and makes a very bold decision on what she is going to do with them.

But the question of what her mother had wanted to say to her after all these years continues to play on Ruby’s mind.

As she laments the situation over a drink at The Woolpack, Chas (Lucy Pargeter) suggests to Ruby that she should get back in touch with the hospital to see if they could shed any light on Helen’s final hours.

Ruby heads to Hotten General in the hope of some closure, but is stunned when she learns that Caleb had paid Helen a secret visit shortly before her death.

As she heads home and confronts her husband, will Caleb come clean about the cash?