Emmerdale's Belle Dingle star issues emotional ITV soap update as fans fear worst

Emmerdale's Belle Dingle actress shared an emotional update as she reflected on her time on the ITV soap. Eden Taylor-Draper looked back at a scene that she shared with the late Steve Halliwell, best known for playing the role of her on-screen dad, Zak Dingle.

Eden, 26, has portrayed Belle on the much-loved ITV soap since taking over from Emily Mather, almost 20 years ago, back in 2005. Reflecting on an older scene, showing her acting as a young child alongside Steve, she posted to Instagram captioning the image with an emotional emoji.

Sharing the snap to her Stories, Eden wrote: "I made it to classic @Emmerdale!!" Belle has featured in various storylines throughout her time on the soap, such as falling down a mineshaft, killing her best friend Gemma Andrews (Tendai Rinomhota), having an affair with doctor Jermaine Bailey (Micah Balfour), and later faking a pregnancy to stop him from leaving.

Most recently, the character is embroiled in a gripping storyline after Belle married Thomas King (James Chase), before becoming wrapped up in a coercive control storyling.

Fans of the ITV soap have watched on as Tom has been deliberately trying to cut her off from family and friends, messed with her mental health and on several occasions has been violent.

Viewers at home ave been left wondering if Belle's journey might end in tragedy or whether the Dingles will step in to save her from her harrowing situation.

Speaking about the storyline, producer Sophie Roper told Express.co.uk: "Belle and Tom is a huge storyline for us at the moment.

"It’s an incredibly important, if not difficult, storyline to watch at the moment. It’s resonating with our audience because it’s such a huge and real issue."

She continued: "Tom is very much isolating Belle from her family, from her surroundings of everything that she knows and loves which is very much unfortunately a typical trait of abusers. It will be difficult drama at moments, but a really important message and story that we are keen to continue to tell."

The producer also teased a special episode to remember actor Steve Halliwell after he died back in December.

Addressing Zak's departure from the ITV soap, Sophie said: “The Dingles have been at the heart of our show for 30 years now and will continue to be so. As many of you will know, we lost Steve recently. [Who played Zak Dingle.]

“We’re going to be marking the iconic Zak Dingle character and his passing in the coming months. It will be very difficult for a lot of people who worked with him on the show and obviously for a lot of our viewers who have grown to love Zak. It will be a fitting tribute to such an iconic character.”