EMMERDALE icon Leyla Harding was left horrified when she discovered Meena Jutla was the person who murdered her stepdaughter Leanna Cavanagh but she could soon find herself in danger as she makes a deadly departure from the ITV soap.
Since she first stepped foot into the town 14 years ago, Leyla (played by Roxy Shahidi) has been a vital character on Emmerdale, and she has been at the center of some high-profile dramas. She has recently been attempting to assist her husband, Liam Cavanagh (Johnny McPherson), in his grief over the loss of his daughter Leanna (Mimi Slinger).
Meena (Paige Sandhu) was revealed to have killed the youngster and several other people during her reign of terror in scenes that aired last week on the ITV serial. After her secrets were revealed, the villain escaped the community, but she could return to take everything from Liam, including his wife.
Liam will have to go through the grieving process all over again after realizing his daughter was murdered and not by accident.
He doesn’t appear to realize his wife is also struggling, despite the fact that she has been by his side for the past year, during which they had also lost their own baby.
Leyla will be devastated to witness him fall once more as she attempts to figure out whether she can get Liam to seek professional treatment.
However, finding out that his wife has gone missing in the next several weeks and is nowhere to be found could knock him back much more.
What he may not realize is that Meena has returned and has gotten her hands on Leyla, forcing her to play a long game before killing her.
Meena might turn it into a nasty, twisted game, seeing whether Liam can discover them in time like he did the last time.
It may only be a matter of time before Leyla succumbs to the villain’s nefarious methods as the clock ticks down and Liam strives to intercept Meena’s information via text.
Liam’s wife could be dead by the time he locates her after through a horrible ordeal at the hands of the serial killer.
This would be a sad loss not only for Liam, but also for the hamlet, as they would be saying goodbye to a community pillar.
Viewers will have to wait and see whether Meena gets away with her misdeeds, but she would enjoy knowing Liam is suffering.
Producer Laura Shaw shared what’s in store for some of the show’s most adored villagers with Express.co.uk and other media, and Leyla was at the top of the list.
The head of the soap said: “In 2022, Leyla will have a major plot.
“We’ve seen her be a big help to Liam after his daughter Leanna died, but is everything as it seems? Is Leyla really as well-adjusted as she appears to be?
“Or is there something else going on there that we’ll find out about?” Could this have anything to do with Meena, she began to explain?
With such a dreadful scenario planned for the character, it’s possible that this will be her final appearance after more than a decade.
leyla has left the show multiple times throughout the years due to the actor that plays her, Roxy, focusing on other things in her life.
In 2011, the soap star took a two-year hiatus from the show before returning in 2013 to finish the drama she had left behind.
She took a temporary break in 2017 to go on maternity leave, but she returned to the Dales a year later in 2018.
Following her choice to leave in 2011, the actress pursued a variety of career avenues before settling on live theatre.
Roxy described her time away from the Dales as follows: “It was fantastic. I’d never done a Shakespeare before, but then I got the opportunity to play Bianca in Othello at the National Theatre with some incredible performers and actresses.”
The serial actor revealed, “We were on the Olivier stage, which was great, and there was an amazing cast and director.”
“I’m delighted I did that, and I also did a yoga DVD that is currently available.
“I believe that taking on those new projects prepared me well to return to this character with more energy and excitement than before.
In an interview with Digital Spy, she remarked, “Sometimes you just need that little getaway,” and the actress has continued her yoga career as an instructor and has her own YouTube channel.
But could evil Meena bring Leyla’s time on the show to an end, permanently?
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