Lisa Dingle returns to Emmerdale with SHOCK secret... she is dying!

But in a special ALL-female episode of Emmerdale, shown on Friday 8 March, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) was seen arriving at a mystery cottage armed with flowers.

As the episode continued it was revealed Charity was visiting Lisa, who had asked her to come and help plan her funeral!

An emotional Lisa revealed she is dying. She has a condition called amyloidosis which is causing heart failure. She's been having chemotherapy but the treatment isn't working and Lisa now fears she may not have long left to live...

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As Charity began to help write a eulogy speech for "the legendary Lisa Dingle", Lisa revealed she and ex-husband Zak have reunited since he also left the village. But he is not taking the news of her health crisis well.

Lisa swore Charity to secrecy about her shock news and wants to keep it from her mentally-fragile daughter Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) for now. But feeling Belle is missing out and has a right to know, will Charity stay true to her word and keep Lisa's heartbreaking secret to herself?

The secret twist will mark the exit of Jane Cox after 23 years as the Dingle matriarch. Lisa will return to the village in the coming weeks and reunite with her family before the character eventually enters the final chapter of her life.

"Lisa is so close to my heart and has been a huge part of my life all these years," says Cox of her imminent departure. "I will shed more than a few tears when it comes to filming her final scenes, but I'm looking forward to returning to the show to give the character a deserving farewell. I will miss her."

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