Emmerdale actress secretly quits soap as exit date revealed

EMMERDALE is set to lose another cast member as one of its actresses is thought to have quietly quit the ITV soap.

Actress Paula Lane has played the role of Ella Forster in Emmerdale since the beginning of the year, but looks to be leaving the ITV soap just a year later.

ITV

Actress Paula Lane plays Ella Forster in Emmerdale[/caption]

ITV

Paula Lane joined the ITV soap at the end of 2023[/caption]

Lane, who previously acted in ITV soap Coronation Street as Kylie Platt, joined Emmerdale in late 2023 with her first scenes airing in January 2024.

However she now appears to have quietly exited Emmerdale, with an update to her Spotlight talent page revealing she will stop filming in February 2025.

The subtle update to her talent profile suggests the star will disappear from the soap in spring next year.

In her brief time on Emmerdale, Lane’s character has had a rollercoaster storyline with soap fans watching as she first arrived on the scene as feisty receptionist Ella Forster.

She swiftly became pals with Mandy Dingle (Lisa Reilly) and then falling for Dr Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson).

Viewers watched as Ella’s wild backstory was revealed and she was revealed to have been behind a friend’s death during childhood.

The storyline revealed she had struggled to readjust into society, and it made for awkward moments with the rest of the Dales residents.

At the time the storyline aired, Lane revealed she had signed a further contract with the ITV soap.

She spoke to us in August as she revealed: “When I took the part of Ella, I didn’t know that this storyline was going to be the storyline it is now.

“But any actor worth their salt will take something very gritty. And that’s going to give you full exposure and run with it. 

“So I knew that it was in safe hands, I knew that they wanted to do a really great job with it. Combined with the writer, and the director, I just knew that they were going to make it something really magical. 

“So initially, I think I was quite nervous to play it out. Because you just never know which way the audience is going to go. 

“But ultimately, I just always look for the truth in it. And then hope that everything kind of follows on from there.”

In more recent times in Emmerdale, Ella was found to be pregnant with Dr Liam’s child before tragically miscarrying, as the doctor returned to his true love Chas Dingle (Lisa Pargenter).

The actress is originally from Hebden Bridge, and graduated drama school in 2008 before landing her first TV role.

Prior to landing her role in Emmerdale, Lane has also had roles in BBC’s Call The Midwife, ITV medical drama The Royal and ITV’s Heartbeat.

The Sun has contacted ITV for comment.