Gaynor Faye left 'Emmerdale' specially to star in her mum's play 'Band of Gold'.
Gaynor Faye
The former Dales actress left her role as Megan Macey in the ITV soap after making a "big" decision to depart the show to star in her mother Kay Mellor's theatre production, which she penned after creating the late 90s TV series.
She said: "I was working on 'Emmerdale' at the time and got involved in workshopping 'Band of Gold' and people just loved it ... absolutely loved it.
"Then I got asked if I would be in it, but I was still in 'Emmerdale', so then I had to make the choice whether or not I was going to leave 'Emmerdale' or not - and that was a big choice to make."
Asked if she left 'Emmerdale' specifically to be in 'Band of Gold', she replied: "I did. It was a big thing. But I'm absolutely loving it. I'm having a great time - doing theatre again is just fantastic."
Gaynor - who has also starred in 'Coronation Street' - admits she didn't make the decision to leave 'Emmerdale' "lightly".
She said: "She really wanted me in it. She really liked my version of Rose. So, for her, she really wanted me to do it.
"But it was a big decision I had to make and I didn't make it lightly.
"It would've been great for me to able to go back to 'Emmerdale', but I had to leave to do the theatre job, so it was a very big decision."
But she loves teaming up with her mum - who also created 'Fat Friends', which Gaynor starred in and co-wrote some episodes with her mother - and has praised her "amazing" directing skills.
Speaking to SoGlos, she added: "Working with my mum, Kay Mellor, is fantastic.
"She's an amazing director - ask any of the actors ... she gives us the freedom to discover what we wanted to play and she cares so much about the character.
"Everybody in the cast was cherry-picked, lots of people were desperate to play the parts because it's such a huge opportunity."