Charlie Hardwick is leaving 'Emmerdale' after 11 years.
Charlie Hardwick
The 54-year-old actress - who plays Valerie Pollard on the ITV soap - has revealed she is leaving the show to start "another chapter" of her life.
Charlie discussed her exit on 'Loose Women', saying: "I'm not at liberty to stay, and luckily I haven't read the scripts because I thought if I started then I knew I'd start talking about it.
"While I've got a spring in me step, I thought, let's have another chance at another chapter at my life. But really you just know when it's time to go."
Val's traumatic storyline began when her ex-boyfriend turned up to tell her he was HIV-positive.
Subsequently, her husband, Eric Pollard - played by Chris Chittell - and herself had to be tested.
The results of their tests showed Charlie's on-screen had contracted the virus, and the actress has admitted she'd be "angry" if her exit from the show was linked to her character's positive test.
She said: "I'd be very very angry if it was HIV-related. Because I think the whole point of having Val as HIV-positive is to show that you can live a healthy and happy life."
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