Emmerdale favourite quits while on maternity leave - with "no plans to return" to ITV soap
Actress Georgia Jay was expected to return.
Georgia Jay has quit Emmerdale after just one year on our screens - and her final scenes have already aired.
The actress, who first appeared as Steph Miligan in the ITV soap in November 2024, took a break from the soap for maternity leave in August last year.
During her time in the village, Steph - the daughter of Caleb and Ruby (William Ash and Beth Cordingly) - discovered that she had actually been fathered by her vile maternal grandfather Anthony.
While Caleb and Ruby initially tried to hide this from her, the sickening plot line unfolded after Ruby smothered her father. Steph believed that she was visually similar to her mother's abuser, and attended an appointment to have cosmetic surgery to change the way her face looked.
Unable to cope with the horrifying reality looming over her, and after also finding out that her ex Ross (Mike Parr) had slept with Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker), the character departed for a retreat in Rome.
With the door left firmly open, Jay was expected to return to the serial, though The Sun has now reported that she has no intentions of making a comeback.
A source told the publication: "Georgia loved her time at Emmerdale but she has no plans to return now. She’s loving being a mum and that’s her focus for now.
"Obviously she’s open to opportunities but returning to a full-on soap schedule full-time is just not something she can do at the moment."
An Emmerdale spokesperson declined to comment when approached by Radio Times.
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Last month, Jay shared a picture of her newborn baby on Instagram, writing: "First Mother’s Day and my heart is already so full. Loving you is my favourite role yet."
At the same time, she teased a return to the soap with a sneaky snap. In the photo, Jay can be seen in a salon chair about to start reading a blurred-out script, which many have taken to mean it could be indicating that she was reading for upcoming Emmerdale episodes.
One user commented: "That best be an Emmerdale script," while another admitted that they "can't wait to see you back on Emmerdale soon".
Read more:
- Emmerdale airs heartbreaking Moira Dingle scenes as she makes sad discovery following prison release in early ITVX release
- Emmerdale airs distressing Bear Wolf scenes as new Ray Walters theory emerges in early ITVX release
- 5 Emmerdale spoilers next week: Charity Dingle undergoes a dramatic childbirth
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and from 7am on ITVX.
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Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
