High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Zachariah Bartholomew "Zak" Dingle is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Steve Halliwell. He first appeared on 20 October 1994 and has remained since except for a brief break from 2002-2003. On his time in the show he has been involved in a testicular cancer storyline and becoming a father late stage in his life. Halliwell joined the show as part of the Dingle family and was only initally supposed to stay for a few episodes. Halliwell has been nominated for several awards for his portrayal of Zak.