Emmerdale fans furious as soap ‘wastes’ actress with bizarre backstory and storylines

EMMERDALE fans have slammed the ITV soap for squandering the axed actress with an absurd backstory and random plotlines.

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

Her character experienced some dark storylines – including murder and being locked up for assault.

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 Riley) 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.

Ella was found to be pregnant with Dr Liam’s child before tragically miscarrying, as the doctor returned to his true love Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter).

Now, Emmerdale fans are fuming, saying the soap has wasted a potentially good character like Ella with her bizarre backstory and weak storylines.

Taking to Reddit, one fan wrote: “Ella was a concept that couldn’t really amount to anything.

“Her backstory is entirely irrelevant since she has nothing to do with the show’s history so the weight of her actions don’t come through at all.”

Another added: “The writing for her veered from dark to miserable with little in between and her outburst at Liam and Chas was astonishing I thought as she had only been with Liam for five minutes and he had made it clear that he had finished with her. Perhaps they didn’t know what to do with her?”

A third penned: “They wasted a great actress with an awful back story.”

Before she arrived on the Dales, Paula Lane previously appeared on rival ITV soap Coronation Street.

Unlike Ella, her character Kylie Platt was full of personality and constantly found herself in scraps with the other women on the cobbles.

Her love story and marriage to David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) was iconic and beloved by fans.

Some of her most memorable storylines included cheating on David with his brother Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) and murdering her ex-boyfriend Callum Logan (Sean Ward) in the soap’s live episode.

Kylie was tragically killed by Clayton Hibbs (Callum Harrison), who stabbed her, leaving David to raise their children, Max and Lily.

Will Ella be killed off in Emmerdale? Or will her exit be more tame?

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.