Emmerdale's Charley Webb discusses exit 'regret' after leaving ITV soap

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Emmerdale
Emmerdale's Charley Webb discusses exit 'regret' after leaving ITV soap

For nearly two decades former Emmerdale actress Charley Webb has played Debbie Dingle and has been part of some major storylines.

The 35-year-old star and mum-of-three has been involved in a number of huge storyliens in the ITV soap including a teenage pregnancy, which saw her give birth alone in a shack in the woods, to being involved in Cameron's reign of murder. But in 2021, the actress, who is married to her former co-star Matthew Wolfenden, quit the soap to pursue other acting roles. And it didn't take her long to land a part in ITV's gripping crime drama The Long Shadow, which is based in the hunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe.

Emmerdale's Charley Webb discusses exit 'regret' after leaving ITV soap qhiddkiruikeinvCharley Webb opens up on her Emmerdale exit (Mark Bruce)

Surprisingly, Charley has revealed that she has no regrets of turning her back on the soap to spread her wings. Speaking to whattowatch.com she said: "It felt like the right time for me personally to make that jump from Emmerdale and I don’t have any regrets about it. I’m ambitious to push myself and it’s just about choosing the right projects from now on. It’s hard to say no to work, but I trust my agent and I trust the process. Hopefully, I’ve made some good choices so far."

And we can certainly see why she felt it was the right time for her to wave goodbye to Emmerdale as she is now part of an impressive cast in The Long Shadow. Charley is now starring alongside Line Of Duty star Daniel Mays, former Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly and David Morrissey from The Walking Dead.

Charley plays WPC Anna Lawson, who like many of the police force at that time, dedicated their professional careers to finding serial killer Peter Sutcliffe.

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In 1981, the killer, known by the press as the Yorkshire Ripper, was sentenced to life after being found guilty of the murder of 13 women and the attempted murder of a further seven. But one of his victims, Marcella Claxton managed to survive his brutal attack – but has been left with permanent brain injuries including painful headaches and blackouts.

She was only 20 when the attack occurred but, now 67, Marcella says that she has finally found closure after he died in 2020, aged 74. Peter Sutcliffe mistook Marcella for a prostitute as she was walking home from a party in 1976. After offering her a lift home, she realised he was going in the wrong direction. On getting out of his car to have a wee, he used a heavy spanner to hit her over the head, causing her to have more than 50 stitches to her head.

He then left the scene assuming she was dead but returned soon after. But at this point she had managed to crawl into a phone box and hide. And that was the only reason why she was not one of his murdered victims.

In an interview three years ago, Marcella said: "I’m happy he’s gone. I’ve thought about what he did to me every day since and although the news that’s he’s died brings those horrible memories back at least now I may be able to get some closure. I’m hoping it will bring me a little peace knowing he’s no longer with us. I have to live with my injuries, 54 stitches in my head, back and front, plus I lost a baby, I was four months pregnant. I still get headaches, dizzy spells and black outs." Marcella worked as a cleaner but was forced to retire after suffering from one of her many blackouts which saw her suffer a major fall.

Lucretia Munro

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