Emmerdale fans ‘work out’ Roxy Shahidi’s soap exit after it’s revealed three stars will be at risk at Christmas
EMMERDALE is set to air a car crash into a frozen lake, leaving three characters, including Leyla Harding fighting for their lives.
Viewers will have to wait to learn if the two characters trapped in the sinking car with Leyla survive.
The dramatic scenes, involving a meticulously created icy field, are scheduled to air in January.
Fans are now speculating that Leyla’s son, Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant), might be involved in saving his mother’s life during a special one-hour A&E episode.
Sharing The Sun’s story on Reddit, one said: “Yep it will be her Jacob has to attend to in his hospital, I call it.”
Another agreed: “I reckon this will be the end of Leyla.”
The Sun revealed Leyla Harding, played by Roxy Shahidi is one of three women who will be seen fighting for their life as the vehicle sinks.
Emmerdale bosses have announced a special one-hour episode in January that follows Jacob on a shift in a busy A&E ward, where he will be “pushed to his limits professionally and personally” as he deals with crises involving fellow villagers.
One soap insider said: “The bosses want viewers to have their hearts in their mouths when they see the car career off the road and into the water.
“It’s a nightmare scenario and everything was done to make sure this was a scene with real impact.
“Hours were spent creating a layer of ice, then the actors spent hours out on the frozen field in the pitch black trying to do the storyline justice.
“It will be a real heartstopper moment when it airs in January.”
It comes as The Sun on Sunday revealed earlier this year that Emmerdale favourite Roxy was being killed off after 16 years on the ITV soap.
Until now, the explosive circumstances of her exit had been kept secret.
Roxy, who filmed her first scenes in Emmerdale in 2008, is the third star confirmed to leave the soap this year as bosses look to reduce cast numbers.
Lesley Dunlop, who plays Brenda Walker, is also leaving the Dales after 16 years.
Elsewhere, Emmerdale appeared to reveal who is returning to destroy Kim Tate – and it’s a very familiar face.
The soap superbitch – who is played by actress Claire King in the ITV soap – has been secretly targeted by someone from her past.
They recruited her business partner Peter and her husband Will in a sick Christmas revenge plan.
And today the soap seemingly confirmed who it really is.
The ITV soap has been teasing the identity of the villain for weeks amid the secret revenge plot.
Kim Tate's biggest Emmerdale storylines
First appearing in 1989, Kim Tate (Claire King) is an iconic Emmerdale character. Here's a look at some of her biggest storylines over the years.
MARRIAGE TO FRANK TATE
Kim has been married three times in the soap, but her first, volatile pairing was with Frank Tate (Norman Bowler)
They were an on-screen partnership for almost a decade – including divorcing and remarrying.
However, Frank ultimately suffered a fatal heart attack, brought on by Kim’s return to the village after being presumed dead.
During the marriage, Kim had affairs with Neil Kincaid (Brian Deacon) and Dave Glover (Ian Kelsey).
FAKING HER OWN DEATH
Kim disappeared from the village in February 1997. A few days later, Frank identified a woman found dead at the wheel of her car as Kim.
However, everyone was in for a shock after Kim revealed she was still alive – and the full extent of her plan.
While she’d fled to the Caribbean, Kim had paid a lookalike prostitute to drive her car around the village to fool people into thinking she was still there. It was, in fact, her body that Frank previously identified.
JAMES’ KIDNAPPING
Kim’s business partnership with Lord Alex Oakwell (Rupam Maxwell), resulted in the death of Linda Fowler (Tonicha Jeronimo), in a car crash.
As an act of revenge, Linda’s mother Jan (Roberta Kerr) kidnapped Kim’s son James.
DEPARTURE
After a decade of causing chaos, Kim left Emmerdale in 1999 as she fled in a helicopter with her son James and £190,000 of Chris Tate’s money.
LATER MARRIAGES
Upon Kim’s return in 2018, she was first revealed to be married to Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough).
However, he was later killed off in a whodunnit storyline.
She later pursued a relationship with her employee Will Taylor (Dean Andrews), marrying him in 2022.