ITV Emmerdale's Zoe Henry on why Rhona won't become a…

ITV Emmerdale's Zoe Henry on why Rhona won't become a Dingle like her real-life husband

Emmerdale fans will be trying to hold back the tears next week when Rhona Goskirk and Marlon Dingle finally marry after their relationship was rocked by the chef's shock stroke earlier this year. Viewers of the ITV soap were elated when the pair got engaged after both planning proposals.

The happy occasion, however, ended in tragedy as a giddy Marlon headed home to pick up his forgotten engagement ring for his new fiancée, only to collapse at home before being found by his daughter, April, and whisked to hospital where it was confirmed he suffered a stroke.

And after months of putting effort into his long road of recovery, with the help and support of his family and best friend Paddy Kirk, Emmerdale fans will see Marlon walk down the aisle in emotional scenes before he and Rhona finally become husband and wife, more than 10 years after the pair briefly dated.

But there is one thing that isn't going to change - and that's Rhona's surname. During a press event at the Emmerdale village, Zoe Henry, who made her debut in the soap in 2001, was quizzed about her previous comments in which she said she didn't want her character to share the same last name as her real-life husband's character.

Zoe has been loved-up with Cain Dingle star Jeff Hordley. Fans of the ITV soap will probably be aware that the acting couple are happily married but the pair have actually been together for 28 years having met way before finding fame in the Dales. Sparks flew between the pair at drama school in 1994. The pair then married in 2003 and share two children together, daughter Violet who was born in 2005, and son Stan who was born in 2008.

Marlon and Rhona will tie the knot in upcoming scenes (ITV)

Speaking about not wanting her character's name to be the same as Jeff's, Zoe told the Manchester Evening News and other press: "I said, 'Don't want to be a Dingle'. I don't want to be the same surname in the show as my real husband is. Anyway, my wish has come true as she doesn't become a Dingle."

As she reflected back on Rhona's previous marriages to Paddy Kirk and Pierce Harris, Zoe said that not changing the character's name to Dingle was in keeping with the character she has helped shape over the years. She added: "I thought long and hard about this, because she's never changed her name.

"She's always been a Goskirk. [Her son] Leo is a Goskirk. She has stayed the same and her mum is here now. I like the fact that she has retained her name. She's never changed her name to Kirk or Harris."

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