Emmerdale's Fiona Wade opens up on Priya's exit
Priya is leaving the Dales after 11 years.
Emmerdale's Fiona Wade has weighed in on her character Priya Sharma's final scenes, explaining why the wedding planner has decided to leave the Dales.
Priya first came to the village in 2009 and was initially played by Effie Woods before Wade took over the role in 2011.
The businesswoman has been at the centre of some important storylines, ranging from her struggle with eating disorders to last year's PTSD ordeal following the maze fire caused by Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu).
In upcoming scenes, Priya decides to move to London after receiving a job offer. Prior to her big move, her PTSD flares up when a veil accidentally catches fire during a Take a Vow event. For Wade, however, the incident isn't why Priya is so eager to leave everything behind.
"There are so many things that lead up to someone deciding that they need to move on. Later, when someone actually offers her a job, it's that that is the trigger," she told RadioTimes.com and other press.
Another reason for Priya's desire to relocate to the capital is her strained relationship with her best friend and business partner Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi). The two pals don't confide in each other as much as they used to, with Leyla failing to tell Priya she was in the run for the same job.
"[Priya]'s getting through this setback that she's had after being so distraught at the event and feeling trodden on by Leyla, so when someone offers her an opportunity she grabs it with both hands.
"Had she known Leyla had been offered the job she would have been more considerate but she wasn't aware of it.
"Also, the way Leyla reacts to her accepting the job makes Priya think this is her time and she's going to grab the opportunity because she's been taken advantage of. She feels empowered rather than guilty because of the way Leyla has treated her."
However, it seems that there's still hope to patch things up for the two women as Leyla proves to be crucial when Priya's daughter with David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden) goes missing.
David isn't thrilled Priya is moving to London and is taking Amba (Ava Jayasinghe) with her. Whilst he has the little girl for the day, Priya senses something is off when nobody knows when they'll be back and no one can get hold of David.
"They never stayed at their B&B and Priya puts two and two together. She realises that David was so angry about her leaving and taking Amba and that they had not resolved the argument," Wade said.
"Priya panics because he could be anywhere with her daughter. Amba is everything to Priya. She freaks out and wants to call the police."
As she decides to give her ex a bit more time to rethink his actions, Leyla has gone off in search of David and Amba, unbeknownst to Priya. Could Leyla taking things into her own hands help mend her friendship with Priya?
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