Emmerdale bosses have plenty of drama lined-up for the rest of the year but some ITV viewers have slammed the soap over Laurel Sharma's lack of involvement in the spotlight.
The beloved character portrayed by Charlotte Bellamy made her first appearance in the Yorkshire-based drama in 2002, becoming involved in a plethora of action-packed storylines, from her dramatic alcohol addiction ordeal, which turned her into a shell of herself, to a highly publicised cot death storyline with the late Ashley Thomas, during which their adoptive baby son Daniel died.
But in more recent months, Laurel has been pushed back to the side-lines as other villagers in the likes of Belle and Tom King, Manpreet Sharma, Dawn and Will Taylor take centre stage - and fans haven't been happy to see the Hide assistant manager overshadowed.
Many viewers have taken to X, otherwise known as Twitter, to share their disappointment as they demanded a new storyline focused on Laurel.
"Honestly, Laurel is being robbed of storylines. Like, can she get something actually good please ‘cause I’m sick of her just being there", one angry soap watcher commented. "It’s so hard to root for one of your fave characters when they don’t get owt." A second fan added: "When will they give Laurel a storyline she's not had one of her own in ages."
Recent storylines have seen Laurel take on the role of support character after her 2023 wedding with Jai Sharma (played by Chris Bisson). She notably tried to help her other half cope in the aftermath of his adoptive father Rishi's death and has been his rock as he faced his treacherous biological dad Amit.
Laurel also tried her best to comfort her stepdaughter Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) following the breakdown of her engagement with a dishonest Nicky Milligan (Lewis Cope) but no recent storyline has allowed her to shine alone in the spotlight.
Recognised as a soap legend due to her long stint in the long-running drama, Charlotte Bellamy was awarded with the British Soap Award for Best Actress in 2017 for her portrayal of Laurel - but when will be her next storyline?
In recent scenes, Jai Sharma's former stepmother Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) was caught by Ella Forster (Paula Lane) drunkenly flirt with married personal trainer Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle). The boozy encounter prompted Ella to confront the village GP, by asking her point blank if she was harbouring feelings for the hunk, amid her issues with partner Charles Anderson.
Elsewhere, Belle King (Eden Taylor-Draper) faces more heartache as her husband Tom (James Chase) continues to try and gain control over her life and friendships, with a new episode featuring the couple and fellow Dales couple Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) set to turn things up a notch.
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