The actress reveals more about her reason for leaving during an Instagram Q&A.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Debbie Dingle on Emmerdale, and it looks like a comeback in 2022 isn’t on the cards for the long-standing character played by Charley Webb.
The news shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to fans of the soap. Though she was mentioned over the festive period, with Paddy (Dominic Brunt) suggesting the Dingles go to Scotland for the holidays – which is where Debbie is currently living – it’s been a while since fans saw Debbie on screen. The last time she visited the Dales was during a brief stint in February after Webb’s maternity leave.
Now, the actress confirmed she won’t be coming back during a Q&A on her Instagram.
“This is always my most asked question,” she said in an Instagram Story, “but I’ve never answered it before because I’ve never wanted to make a big deal of it.”
She added: “I left to have [son] Ace 2 years ago. I went back at the end of last year for 10 weeks to complete a storyline. So, I guess officially it’s been a year. I never felt the need to announce it which is why we didn’t.”
The actress has three children and also went on maternity leave from the soap in 2010 and 2016.
Webb played Debbie for 19 years, and she has come a long way since she arrived in the Dales in 2002, from being revealed as Charity and Cain’s biological daughter and becoming a teen mum, to spearheading a get-rich-quick scam and being imprisoned for Shane’s murder.
Though it’s clear a return is unlikely any time soon, there’s still a chance we could see Debbie again in the future, especially considering she is very much alive in Scotland.
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