A former Emmerdale star has opened up about their reason for leaving the ITV soap.
Emmerdale favourite Fiona Wade has taken the time to look back on her two years away from the soap. Millions know Fiona Wade, 46, as Priya Sharma in Emmerdale, a role she portrayed in the show between 2011 and 2023.
Following her Emmerdale exit, Fiona has enjoyed a variety of acting parts, on stage and screen. She has tread the boards in 2:22 - A Ghost Story and now audiences are watching Fiona appear in Picture You Dead. In Yorkshire, Picture You Dead has recently completed a stint at Sheffield’s Lyecum Theatre. It is also being staged at Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre later this summer from Tuesday, July 8 until Saturday, July 12. You can find out more and buy tickets here.
The play has been adapted from writer Peter James’ bestselling novel about Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. Never before seen on stage or screen, Picture You Dead’s story was inspired when Peter James met real-life former master art forger, and now acclaimed copyist, David Henty.
Fiona plays Freya Kipling who naively attracts the attention of dodgy dealers after buying a potentially multi-million-pound masterpiece at a car boot sale. We recently chatted to Fiona Wade about why she felt leaving Emmerdale came at the right time.
During our interview, she said: “I think that’s what I craved (variety after leaving Emmerdale). There’s so many positives to playing a character, like I did in Emmerdale, for so long. You really get to stick with a character and grow with that character.
“I think that’s incredible. As, a lot of time for actors, you have to leave that character after six months or three months, you don’t get chance to explore it much further.
“I felt like I’d explored it (the Emmerdale character) as much as I could for that era. So, as amazing as it was, for me now having that varied work is what I really craved.
“And, also you want to know that you can do another character. After so long, you think ‘oh my goodness’ and I just wanted to try something new. Freya is a very different character to Pyria and that’s been really exciting and a challenge. I know I keep saying that word but it’s been great.”
As well as appearing on stage, we’ve also seen Fiona Wade in TV show Going Dutch after leaving Emmerdale.
You can see Picture You Dead at Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre later this summer from Tuesday, July 8 until Saturday, July 12. You can find out more and buy tickets here.
You can see Picture You Dead at Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre later this summer from Tuesday, July 8 until Saturday, July 12. You can find out more and buy tickets here.
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