Dales' Halliwell: I'm happy to stay

Emmerdale's Steve Halliwell has revealed he still feels like a newcomer - despite almost two decades on the soap.

The star - who was nominated for Best Actor at this year's TVChoice Awards - plays show stalwart Zak Dingle on the ITV soap, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

"I still feel like a bit of a newcomer but when it comes up to 40 years and I realise I've been in it 18 or 19, I've been there nearly half of that. It's unbelievable how time flies," he revealed.

"It's odd when young actors and actresses come on and say, 'I've been watching you since I was that height,' and I think, 'Have you?'."

Steve said he enjoyed tackling grittier storylines this year, with Zak suffering from depression and a mental breakdown.

"You can only do what's written, and a lot of it over the years has been the comic side of things, and our current producer Stuart (Blackburn) is very keen on making it serious drama so he gave me the chance to show other things that I can do," the actor said.

He added: "I've got to an age now where I don't want to be chasing work just to show people I can do something else, I did all that in the theatre and I love playing the character, so as long as they want me, I'll stay."