Emmerdale actress Louisa Clein is reportedly leaving the soap after the end of Maya Stepney’s grooming storyline.
The plot line saw the teacher groom her underage student, Jacob Gallagher – and has been one of the ITV soap’s most controversial storylines of the last few months.
But following Maya’s arrest earlier this week, Clein has reportedly wrapped up her time in the ‘dales.
A soap insider told The Sun she had been given a send-off by her fellow cast members last week.
They said:
“Louisa’s had fans glued to their seats with her brilliant performance.
“They’ve been wondering what the future might hold for Maya and savouring the potential for her to continue to feature.
“But it seems they’ll be disappointed. Her arrest for grooming Jacob spelled the end of a chapter on the soap — for Louisa and Maya.”
It’s worth noting that most of the soaps film scenes well in advance. So the fact that Clein is said to have wrapped up her time on the show last week means Maya may be appearing on-screen for a little while yet.
In dramatic scenes that aired on Tuesday, Maya was finally arrested after a showdown with Jacob’s father – and her ex-boyfriend – David Metcalfe.
Thinking she was meeting with Jacob, Maya was left shell-shocked when her ex showed up instead. After he accused her of manipulating and abusing his son, Maya claimed she and Jacob were actually in love.
She also warned David that she would reunite with Jacob when she came out of prison, taking the teen away from him for forever.
But David stood his ground, watching as the police arrived and led Maya away – just as Jacob arrived.
