Emmerdale fans have been left devastated after watching Friday night's episode of the soap, only to find out that Lisa Dingle has a terminal heart condition. The show's special, all-female episode to mark International Woman's Day saw Charity Dingle head to Scotland to secretly meet with her aunt and learn about her diagnosis. In heartbreaking scenes, Lisa asked Charity to prepare a eulogy as she got everything in place, and made it clear that she didn’t want the rest of the family, including her daughter Belle, to find out about her illness. Viewers took to Twitter to reveal their shock at the unexpected storyline, which will see actress Jane Cox bow out of the soap.
Emmerdale's Lisa Dingle has a terminal heart condition
One fan wrote on their Twitter page: " So sad .. she's an Emmerdale legend but everything comes to an end at some point but she'll be sadly missed .. she was a favourite of many viewers." Another said: "No, not Lisa, she's a great character. Sorry to see this. Loved the all female episode." A third added: "Fantastic episode. Wonderful surprises, Charity and Lisa's one-to-one so touching, great acting." A fourth wrote: "That was a powerful and moving scene with Lisa telling Charity that she's dying. I'm a complete mess."
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Lisa is played by actress Jane Cox
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Both Lisa and her husband Zak Dingle have been away from the Dales for the past few months, but the couple are set to return to Emmerdale soon as filming gets underway for the final chapter of Lisa's life. Actress Jane – who has been in the soap since 1996 – spoke out following the emotional scenes, and opened up about leaving the soap. She said: "Lisa is so close to my heart as she's been such a huge part of my life for the past more than 23 years. So I know I will shed more than a few tears when it comes to filming her final scenes. But I'm really looking forward to my return to the show to tell this story and to give the character of Lisa a deserving farewell. I will miss her."
Emmerdale in 60 seconds
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