Sacked Emmerdale actor Asan N'Jie to continue to appear on screen in coming weeks
Ellis Chapman's existing scenes will air as planned
Emmerdale bosses are currently working out how to address the sacking of Asan N'Jie from his role as Ellis Chapman, following the actor's altercation with Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas at this week's TV Choice Awards, but it appears the character will continue to appear on screen in scenes filmed before the incident.
As with most soaps, Emmerdale shoots around six weeks ahead of transmission, and with Ellis involved in a burgeoning romance with Belle Dingle in the coming weeks material for his storyline will already have been shot.
There was speculation that the show would seek to remove N'Jie as soon as possible and scrap existing footage in which he appeared, but RadioTimes.com now understands any completed scenes will air as planned, meaning Ellis remains in the village for up to until late October.
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Reports of N'Jie's heated argument with Lomas sparked an investigation from ITV bosses, who announced his contract had been terminated with immediate effect on Wednesday 11th September.
In a statement via the network, the apologetic axed actor said: "My behaviour was completely unacceptable and very much out of character. I sincerely apologise to everybody who has been affected, especially Jamie Lomas, the whole Emmerdale team, our audience, ITV, my family and the organisers of the TV Choice Awards. I am devastated, accept full responsibility for my actions and I am determined to learn from this."
Beyond the next six weeks it remains unclear how Ellis will exit Emmerdale, as the production team hammers out amendments to plots which could have progressed as far as six months ahead in long-term planning. It's entirely possible the part could be recast with a new actor.
N'Jie joined the soap in October 2018 as the misunderstood son of teacher Jessie Dingle, played by Sandra Marvin who announced she had quit the show in the summer. Ellis's brother Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) and recently introduced estranged dad Al Chapman (Michael Wildman) are currently set to stay in the show, but their future storylines are sure to be impacted by N'Jie's departure.
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