Dying Lisa Dingle returns to Emmerdale
The matriarch tells her family she is terminally ill
Lisa Dingle (Jane Cox) returns to Emmerdale to live out her final days on Monday 13th May when Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell) brings her back to Wishing Well Cottage, but the much-loved matriarch's homecoming party takes a tragic turn as she delivers her upsetting health news.
Revealing to the assembled Dingle clan she has a condition called amyloidosis which is causing heart failure, and that a course of chemotherapy hasn't worked, Lisa admits she does not have long to live.
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Daughter Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) is absolutely devastated, but feels betrayed when it emerges Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) has known for months and lashes out at being kept in the dark about something so huge.
Struggling to forgive Lisa and Charity for their deceit, Belle is unsure whether she can put her hurt aside for the sake of ensuring her mum's remaining months are as peaceful as possible.
Meanwhile, Zak buckles under the pressure and does a runner, despite trying his best to comfort Lisa in her time of need. Has he gone for good? Will he return to care for his soul mate?
Cox announced she was leaving the role of Lisa after 23 years during a surprise appearance in Emmerdale's all-female International Women's Day episode on Friday 8th March. The actress had been on an extended break since April 2018, and in her cameo almost a year later she and Charity discussed arranging her funeral, while honouring Lisa's wish to keep her diagnosis secret from the rest of the family for the time being.
“Lisa is so close to my heart and has been a huge part of my life all these years,” says Cox. “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.”
Can Belle, Zak and the clan make Lisa's last memories happy ones?
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