Dale Meeks death: Who was the beloved actor and what was his role in Yorkshire soap Emmerdale? Tributes pour in as Dale Meeks dies aged 48 from ‘heart failure’

The Geordie actor, who appeared in the soap between 2003 and 2006, has died from “heart failure” on Saturday evening (April 22) at South Tyneside Hospital, Newcastle, just two weeks shy of his 49th birthday. His brother, Philip Meeks, said that he was due to celebrate his birthday on the day of the King’s coronation on May 6.

His death was announced by his brother-in-law, Nick Boaden, on Facebook. The post read: “So unbelievably sad. Brother-in-law, mucca, sidekick and just the BEST friend a lad could have wished for. RIP Dale Meeks. So much less to laugh about now you’re not there to share it with.”

Tributes have poured in from fans as well as his former Byker Grove co-stars Ant and Dec. They tweeted: “We are so incredibly sorry to hear the very sad news of Dale’s passing. He was the lovelies of guys, even though he was a Denton ‘Burner’, the arch nemesis of the Byker ‘Grovers’! A sad loss at such a young age. RIP Dale. Sleep well bonny lad.”

Who was Dale Meeks?

Dale was a TV and theatre actor from South Shields, Tyne and Wear and his career began in 1990 where he played the role as the leader of a gang from rival youth club Denton Burn on Byker Grove for five series.

He went on to star on a TV mini series called The Wingless Bird, where he played the role of Mike Felton and another show called Downtime as Sammy in 1997.

His breakthrough role came in 2003 when he played the role of Simon Meredith on Emmerdale for three years. Since then he has appeared in a variety of other TV shows including Casualty, Comedy Lab, Hebburn, The Dumping Ground, Inspector George Gently, Just Life, Reg and more recently in the ITV true crime drama series The Hunt for Raoul Moat as Moat’s friend Rory Sutcliffe.

Just five days before his death, Dale tweeted about his role in the series: “Sadly watching tonight’s episode from this equally mysterious and sinister location. It’s fantastic to feel the love. Thanks gang. Keep it coming xxx”

He also made another memorable TV appearance when he and Emmerdale co-star Mark Charnock won Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes and has toured the UK with the musical Chicago, as well as appearing in the West End production of Love Never Dies.