Samantha Giles is leaving ‘Emmerdale’ after 25 years.
Samantha Giles is leaving Emmerdale
The 52-year-old soap star - who brings to life the sassy Bernice Blackstock - is said to be departing the long-running ITV1 series set in the fictional Yorkshire village for the fourth time after making her first apperance in 1998.
A source told the Sun newspaper’s Bizarre Showbiz column: “Bernice Blackstock has been in and out of Emmerdale village more than they change the barrels at The Woolpack.
“She’s always welcomed back with open arms by ITV and fans alike, but it’s now becoming a bit of a running joke.
“It wouldn’t pay to bet on whether Samantha will one day be back, but for now she will leave the soap later this year.”
Samantha- who first appeared from 1998 until 2002 and returned in 2004 only to depart again to star as Valerie Holden in the Channel 4 soap ‘Hollyoaks’ in 2012 before making a comeback in 2019 and again in 2021 - has been involved with a number of storylines on the show like instigating food fights, swallowing Kate’s engagement ring, attempting to swipe a wedding dress and a drunken rager in a JCB and her iconic tantrum at her 50th birthday bash.
When she came back the last time, Samantha labelled her homecoming as “meant to be”.
She said: “As an actress leaving a role that you love is always a hard decision and I’d been lucky to work so consistently for so long which is rare in our business, so I knew the time had come to be brave and take the leap back in 2019 to pursue my other passion of writing and focus on getting my first book published.
“I’ve now had such a lovely response with Rosemary and The Witches of Pendle Hill and the down time of the pandemic meant I was able to complete my next two books. I’m a big believer in fate so when Emmerdale offered me the chance to return as Bernice I took it as a sign that it was meant to be.”