Emmerdale fans are wondering if Debbie Dingle has left the soap permanently, following an emotional farewell for the character on Tuesday 13th August to explain actress Charley Webb's maternity leave.

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Deb drove off into the sunset to run a garage in Scotland left to her in Lisa's will, with mum Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) just managing to catch her to say goodbye after failing to persuade her to stay.

The usually volatile mother/daughter duo's final scene together was teary and beautifully delivered, as Charity begged her not to go while her wise-beyond-her-years daughter pointed out it was high time she flew the nest – now that mother is finally settled in a stable relationship with girlfriend Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick), Debbie finally doesn't need to worry about her any more.

Despite being free of any big bust-ups – much to the confusion of drama-magnet Charity, who eventually made peace with her offspring's decision – Debbie's exit was quietly moving and mature.

emmerdale debbie dingle sarah sugden

Will Debbie Dingle be back?

Webb gave birth in July to a third child for her and co-star husband Matthew Wolfenden (who plays David Metcalfe). They have two sons, Buster, aged 9, and Bowie, 3. The couple have not publicly confirmed the gender or name of their recent arrival, with the actress posting about the birth of 'BaByWolF#3' on Twitter.

It is expected she will return to the soap after her maternity leave, although there has been no official confirmation and Debbie herself said: "I can't say I'm definitely coming back…"

When asked about Webb’s future on the show by RadioTimes.com, Emmerdale declined to comment.

However, seeing as Webb returned to the soap after her last two periods of maternity leave, it seems pretty safe to assume she will be back on screens next year…

In fact, one of Debbie's biggest storylines came about as a result of how she was written out for the birth of her first child: Deb went to work in the Channel Islands where she hooked up with Cameron Murray, who followed her back to the village and turned out to be a psychotic serial killer.

We wonder what Emmerdale have up their sleeve to top that so they can explain what Ms Dingle gets up to if - or when - she comes home?

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Authors

Johnathon HughesSoaps Writer, RadioTimes.com
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