The rumour mill’s been in overdrive about Carly Hope’s exit from Emmerdale ever since actress Gemma Atkinson took on a new radio hosting gig.
Despite Gemma insisting she was going to juggle both jobs, reports of her pursuing a Bollywood dream also surfaced, and it looked like her time in the Dales was going to come to an end.
And scenes set to be screened next week, where Carly fails to save April from choking, could be gearing up for Gemma’s exit.
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It’s Marlon’s birthday and April wants to help Carly prepare all the food for a party for her dad.
As they’re in the kitchen putting on a brilliant spread, cheeky April helps herself to a sweet. But then it gets stuck and she starts to choke.
Carly is the only other person in the room, and she does nothing to save the little girl.
Marlon, Bob and Brenda come in, and when they realise what’s happening, Marlon rushes to April’s aid – and fortunately saves her before it’s too late.
So, why on earth does Carly do nothing?
Speaking to Digital Spy, Gemma explained Carly’s side of things:
“She freezes with fear and she doesn’t help April at all. April is really seriously choking and it’s life-threatening.
“Deep down, Carly hasn’t dealt with the guilt of losing her own son Billy.
“She still blames herself for Billy’s cot death. She’s convinced that she did something wrong and that she’s not cut out to be a mother.
“Now that Carly has failed in helping April, it’s a repeated pattern. It subconsciously brings all these memories back that her son died and she couldn’t do anything about it.”
With both Marlon and April incredibly upset with Carly, and April even refusing to be around her dad’s girlfriend after the incident, Carly feels totally isolated and alone.
As things get increasingly tough for her, Carly starts to think fleeing town is her only answer. As she packs her things, is this the last we’re going to see of her?
“It could well be,” Gemma revealed. “Obviously everyone knows she’s run away from relationships previously, but on the other hand it’s Emmerdale and there are twists and turns, so you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Is that confirmation from the horse’s mouth that she is leaving?
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When Gemma begun hosting Key 103’s breakfast show, she told co-hosts Mike Toolan and Matt Haslam she’d renegotiated her Emmerdale contract so she could do both roles.
But she also added Carly Hope wouldn’t be going anywhere “for a while” – is that while up already? We hope not!