Emmerdale have confirmed that Louisa Clein, who played child abuser Maya Stepney, has left the soap and will NOT be returning. It comes after last night's episode (Thursday) saw the character sentenced to one year in prison for her improper relationship with 15-year-old Jacob Gallagher.
In the dramatic scenes, Maya pleaded guilty to sending inappropriate messages to Jacob. The youngster then declared his love for Maya, saying he would wait for her until she gets released. The schoolteacher didn't respond.
Instead, Maya was placed in a police car and that was the last fans of the soap saw of her.
An Emmerdale spokesperson confirmed Louisa's exit, revealing she is no longer part of the cast and that the character will be staying in prison for the foreseeable future. However, Maya's life inside won't be documented on-screen.
The show's spokesperson added upcoming episodes will cover the fallout of the trial as Jacob's family attempt to make him understand that he was groomed by the schoolteacher.
Check out all the latest Emmerdale arrival and departures!
CLOSER: Emmerdale arrivals and departures
1 of 13Joe Tate
Joe Tate met a grisly end in October when he was shot dead by Graham Foster. Nice. Actor Ned Porteous is swapping the rolling hills of the Dales for the Hollywood hills!
2 of 13Matty Barton
Hannah Barton left Emmerdale for London a few years ago. After sex reassignment surgery, he returns to the village as a man called Matty - the show's first transgender character. It's a groundbreaking, progressive storyline for the show, so how will mum Moira Barton react?
3 of 13Kim Tate
Super villain Kim Tate is back for a havoc-wreaking week and she's badder than ever before. Yaaaas!
4 of 13Leyla Harding
Leyla left for Greece without saying bye in January, but she's due back in the summer (actress Roxy Shahidi took maternity leave). She returned on October acting very shifty...
5 of 13Lachlan White
Teenage murderer Lachlan White brutally killed Gerry Roberts. The folk behind Emmerdale have promised that he will get his comeuppance, one way or another...
6 of 13Lisa Dingle
Ahh, lovely Lisa left the farm for Scotland in May after telling Zac that she loved him more than she's loved anyone else in the world. Aww. Come back, Lisa.
7 of 13Sandy Thomas
Cuddly Sandy Thomas left the Dales for Australia in February - lucky so and so. But we think the 90 year old actor, Freddie Jones, probably deserves to put his feet up down under.
8 of 13Priya Sharma
After a very testing time with social services, pretty Priya Sharma is said to be leaving the show this year.
9 of 13Gerry Roberts
Poor Gerry was at the receiving end of Lachlan's murderous hands in May (he finished him off with a rock - nice).
10 of 13Mandy Dingle
Could Emmerdale favourite Mandy Dingle be returning to the village? Actress Lisa Riley has hinted that the rumours might be true. That would really shake things up in the Woolly.
11 of 13Ross Barton
Ross has had it pretty tough since being involved in an acid attack earlier in the year. There are rumours that he'll be exiting the show later, but we don't know why or how.
12 of 13Rebecca White
January saw a BIG crash in the village (caused by that menace, Lachlan White), which meant the end for two White family members. First up: Lachlan's mum, Rebecca White.
13 of 13Lawrence White
Next, Lachlan's grandad Lawrence.
And the fallout wasn't just on-screen. Fans took to Twitter to express their shock that Maya had only been sentenced to one year. One user said, 'I can't believe Maya only got 1 year, she should have gotten more time than that' [sic] whilst another wrote, 'Did Maya really only get one year inside???'. [sic]
Emmerdale airs every weeknight at 7pm on ITV, with a second showing on Tuesday nights at 8pm.
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