The actress Katherine Dow Blyton of Emmerdale has talked candidly about her time on the ITV soap opera and her character’s unexpected exit.
From 2013 until 2022, the actress portrayed Harriet Finch, a character whose life came to an abrupt and terrible end after the Emmerdale storm.
Things dramatically changed when Harriet tumbled down a steep hill and got caught under the quad bike while searching for Amelia Spencer (Daisy Campbell) in the woods after jumping on one.
After Harriet was located and freed by Kim Tate (Claire King), a lightning bolt struck the bike, killing Harriet.
Almost two years on from the dramatic scenes and her exit, Katherine Dow Blyton has spoken about the final scenes.
‘I got so many lovely messages after Harriet died. People going, she hasn’t even had a funeral, where’s her body? I just felt a bit sorry for Harriet, it is what it is’, she told,
‘You have to suck it up and go, that’s showbiz! The irony is that was the first super soap week I’ve been involved with!’
Reflecting on the conversation she had with bosses that confirmed Harriet would be leaving, Katherine explained:
‘I went up and they basically said, “We love Harriet and we’re going to give her a good death”. I did sit there for ten seconds thinking, have I done something wrong? They say don’t take it personally but it’s impossible not to.
‘I was taken aback. I said, “Well you don’t know what to do with me anyway, do you?”. I tried to get out of the building, sat in my car and burst into tears because it was a shock.’
She added: ‘I had been ready to go for a while, to be fair, but to make the decision to leave a good job is a big decision and I’m glad they made it because I possibly wouldn’t have been brave enough.’
The actress also went on to speak about Harriet’s character arc. Before her death, she suffered a breakdown and returned to her role as a police officer after working as the local vicar.
‘Going back to being a policewoman on the beat at my age was, I think, a bit left field’, she said.
‘For the first time in my nearly ten years, I felt uncomfortable in my own skin because it just felt wrong to me. When Harriet came in she was such a fabulous character, she was a bit naughty, a bit off the wall, she had a sense of humour. When did you last see Harriet laugh?’
She continued: ‘I think the problem is everything seems to be very sensational now, when you watch the old episodes, it was very much character-based.
‘You just think why has everything got to be conflict, murder, affairs? You can have a character that’s single or a happily married couple. I don’t know whether soaps are a victim of their own success because there is a limit, when you’re doing six episodes a week, what do you do to keep people interested?’
‘It just seems more of a competition between soaps to do the best stunts and the best trauma and tragedies rather than characters.’
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