Emmerdale star takes aim at BBC bosses after 'c**p' exit from legendary show
Emmerdale star Louise Jameson is still not over her Dr Who exit as she slammed BBC bosses again for how they axed her character back in 1978.
The 72-year-old, who played Leela, the fourth Doctor's companion on the show, remains unhappy about how her departure was handled 45 years ago. She feels the loyal assistant deserved a better ending after falling for a native Gallifreyan after she and the doctor went on an expedition, staying behind to begin a new life.
As the Time Lord continued his adventures, his sidekick for 40 episodes decided to remain and married - but the actress was really unhappy with how she said goodbye. A guest at the BFI Southbank Doctor Who screening, she told fans why she feels things could have been concluded a lot better than they were.
She played the fourth Doctor Tom Baker's companion Leela until she fell in love (Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
She says getting married was an awful way to end the character's time on the show (Mike Marsland/WireImage)Louise, best known for Mary Goskirk on the ITV soap, said: "It was a c**p ending, wasn’t it? I think she should have died saving the Doctor’s life, something really heroic. Or you travel forward and she’s got a football team of children. I mean, it’s so cliché, isn’t it, that she’s fallen in love, that’s how we get rid of her."
Show writer Pete McTighe addressed the issue and agreed with her, saying: "For such an iconic character and such an amazing actress – one of the best actresses we’ve ever had in the show – to be married off to a posh Gallifreyan guard she’s had six words with never quite seemed right to me."
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It's not the only character's exit Louise was frustrated with after Rosa di Marco's sudden departure from EastEnders more than two decades ago. Louise appeared in over 200 episodes of the BBC soap, playing the matriarch of the Italian family before suddenly being booted from the show after two years in 2000.
She has revealed her frustrations over how producers scrapped her character, telling Inside Soap: "I was annoyed about the way it was announced. I was only told the night before it appeared in the papers. I thought they could have run it by me first so I could tell my family. It wasn't respectful."
Rosa left Walford for Leicester with the entire di Marco family except for son Bonnie in August 2000, after her daughter Nicky claimed she was assaulted by her mathematics teacher. Louise expressed her disappointment at the time of the axing, admitting, "I'll really miss Rosa. It's like parting from a lover. I can't help thinking that she's not quite played out. A fling would have been nice with Frank, or even Roy when he was on Viagra and rampant."
Two years after Rosa left, it was revealed that she had died of a heart attack, which in turn led to Beppe's (Michael Greco) departure. "It is always unpleasant having to say goodbye to people who have given loyal service to the show for a number of years. But John Yorke [the new executive producer at the time] feels it is time to make his mark on the show. Every new producer likes to do the same," an inside source told the Mirror.
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