In October, Emmerdale's Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) received the devastating news from Debbie (Charley Webb) that his father Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell) had died.
In a week full of episodes paying tribute to Steve, the Dingles came together to hold Zak's funeral in the village.
His body was then transferred from the Woolpack to Dingle Land, where Zak requested that he be buried. As the family gathered around the grave, they were stunned when Zak's distant daughter Tina (Samantha Power) returned.
As Tina subsequently clashed with Mandy (Lisa Riley), Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) tried to move forward and come to terms with the loss of her mother and father.
However, in the midst of this trauma, Belle's mental health has already been affected by abuse from Tom King (James Chase). Belle turned around and hallucinated Zak, desperate for some comfort.
The holiday season will look very different for Belle than most of this year. After Tom is arrested, she faces a time in the village that will give her time to reflect and heal.
“It’s a different Christmas,” Eden Taylor-Draper told us.
“We just shot it this week with a last minute pickup. The Dingles are not well represented and there are only Belle and Vinny at home, the Dingles are all scattered this year. Belle and Vinny reflect on their year and she clearly can't believe it's the first year without both parents.
“That's why she has that moment outside where she's chatting with her dad when Piper runs up to her.”
“It was probably my biggest year and I loved it,” she said with a smile.
“I would say as far as highlights go, I enjoyed the dinner party.” That seemed to be the first real challenge for me and James, as it was the starting point for how dark the story would become. This is very clear. I think the episode where Belle imagined different scenarios will forever be a huge highlight for me. It felt very special.
“And the hut. I loved doing the cottage stuff. I think they're probably the things that catch my eye the most. “Starting the year with Torvill and Dean and ending it here has been a rollercoaster.”
Eden added: “It's been a huge honor and I feel so blessed, challenged and motivated. “Every day I come to work and just have the best time. To say how dark it was, I feel like we really tried to embrace and tell that story. We just put everything into it. For that reason, it was probably my most magical year here.”
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When asked about Belle's hopes for 2025, Eden replied:
“I think justice would be the most important thing she wants and she wants to fully understand what she's been through and begin the journey of healing and understanding and accepting that this is not on her, that this is not her fault, that this happened to her, she did not create this and there is nothing wrong with her.
“I think probably just to get life back together.” Apparently Tom has stopped working, so she doesn't really have anything.
“I think she has to start from scratch and rebuild.”
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