Emmerdale star retiring after being brutally axed by soap bosses in shock Christmas death plot

EMMERDALE star Dean Andrews opened up about being axed from the soap earlier this year.

The actor – who played Will Taylor in the ITV soap – was killed off on Christmas Day when his character suffered a heart attack.

Viewers watched as Will’s scheme against wife Kim Tate was exposed by the man secretly pulling his strings – Joe Tate.

But as Will tried to insist that he’d stopped his plan and really did love Kim, it all became too much and he collapsed with chest pains.

However in a tragic twist, Kim didn’t believe him and waited too long to try to save him, ultimately watching him die.

Joe lied for Kim and claimed she had immediately called for help, putting her in his debt while hiding his own dark secret.

Viewers saw him struggling in his hotel room and knocking back medication desperately.

And now he’s set to come under suspicion for Will’s death with Billy and Dawn convinced he returned to kill Will.

Meanwhile actor Dean has previously opened up about leaving the show – admitting he would need to be axed.

And he revealed plans to retire once bosses deciding to kill off Will.

Speaking earlier this year, he told The Sun: “I feel very settled. 

“With other stuff that we do [other acting jobs] we’re there for three to five months or whatever, and then we all disappear and we all go and do other stuff and then we come back. 

“But here it really, I remember before I came in and hearing people say it’s like a family at Emmerdale and thinking blah, blah, blah, but it really is. 

“Because we are together. I definitely see Claire more than I see my own wife, and Olivia more than I see my own daughters so we are like a little family. 

“I do feel settled here. When the producers initially asked me to come in and asked me how long I’d like to stay and I said: ‘If I come in now, you’ll have to kick me out.’ 

“I’ll stay as long as they want me to stay but how long they want to stay is up to them. 

“I’m of an age now where I’m in my sixties so I’ll probably retire after this job.”

Dean’s final scenes aired on Boxing Day.