Emmerdale fans who tuned into BBC One drama Bloodlands spotted former soap actor Asan N’Jie. But why the Ellis actor from Emmerdale sacked?
The first episode of Bloodlands aired last night (Sunday, February 21).
However viewers quickly recognise a character called Larry who appeared at the star of the episode before returning again later.
Read more: Emmerdale: Who has pregnant Gabby dated in the past?
Many recognised the character was played by former Emmerdale Asan N’Jie, who originally played Ellis Chapman.
https://twitter.com/ryanG_tweets/status/1363618815448391686
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Original Ellis #Emmerdale #Bloodlands
— Emma 💋 🏒🍻 (@coxyhockeychick) February 21, 2021
Great to see @AsanNjie aka the real Ellis Chapman on tv again. #Bloodlands #emmerdale
— Ash (@ashhan83) February 21, 2021
But why did get Asan sacked from the ITV soap?
Why was Ellis actor from Emmerdale sacked?
Asan first appeared in Emmerdale in 2018, playing Jessie Grant’s son Ellis.
He later went on to become the stepson of Marlon Dingle when Marlon married Jessie.
During his year on the soap, Asan’s character was involved in a hard hitting plot which saw him stabbed outside of a nightclub.
But in 2019, at the TV Choice Awards, Asan was caught on camera threatening to stab and kill Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas in a reported row “over money.”
According to the Mirror, Asan said to Jamie: “Do you think you are a [bleep] big man? I’m going to [bleep] kill you. I’m going to [bleep] knife you.”
It was later confirmed that Asan had been axed from the ITV soap following the incident.
Back in September 2019, ITV issued a statement saying: “Emmerdale suspended Asan N’Jie yesterday pending further investigation into an incident at a central London hotel on Monday night.
“ITV executives have met with him this morning and as a consequence, Asan’s contract has been terminated with immediate effect.”
According to reports, Asan phoned Jamie to apologise. But he later thanked his fans for support following being fired.
Who plays Ellis Chapman now?
Not long after Asan’s contract was terminated, the character went off-screen as he went to Dubai to visit his mum Jessie.
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But when he returned a few months later, the character had been re-cast with Aaron Anthony taking over the role.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
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