The Emmerdale world is feeling a bit shell-shocked at the moment as the dramatic events of the catastrophic limo crash continue to play out. Following the death of Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) in the immediate aftermath of the crash, we then learned that Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) had died on her way to hospital.
The grief of Leyla’s son, Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant), when he discovered that his mum had died was raw and real.
Trainee medic Jacob was on shift as the casualties from the accident were brought in, and his desperate attempt to try to help Leyla – although it was already far too late – was distressing to watch.
As the news spread around other people at the hospital and back at the village there were shocked and distraught reactions.
And in real life, Roxy Shahidi’s cast mates have been equally upset by her departure as they paid tribute to their friend and colleague.
Roxy made her debut in the show in 2008, when she was only 17 years old. Her character has been at the centre of a lot of the drama, including her struggles with drug addiction as well as her colourful romantic life. Witty, funny and vivacious, Leyla was always fun to watch and was a huge fan favourite.
However, her final scenes didn’t quite go to plan, as Roxy was forced to miss some filming after coming down with a virus, she has since revealed.
‘We filmed the crash at night and unfortunately I was ill for four day,’ she told The Sun.
‘I’d only ever had one day off in the 16 years I had been there, and I was worried this would cause a big issue. But our producer, Laura Shaw, was amazing.’
She added how emotional her final scenes with Joe-Warren Plant, who plays on-screen son Jacob Gallagher, were, admitting that they both struggled to stop crying, even when Leyla was supposed to be dead.
‘I have watched Joe grow up on the soap and, when we were filming these scenes, I would see him have a little wobble. And then I would go.
‘We were awful because we were just constantly crying! It really worked well for Joe with his scenes, but at one point, I was supposed to be dead and I had tears streaming down my eyes. I was a weeping corpse.’
Following her on-screen death, Roxy posted a series of messages from her fellow cast members on her Instagram stories. And the tributes were emotional.
‘I sobbed,’ Laura Norton (Kerry) admitted. ‘The love is so real @roxyshahidi my queen.’ Laura also added in a mention for Joe-Warren Plant, saying, ‘You smashed it.’
Lucy Pargeter (Chas) praised Roxy’s performance in her final scenes. ‘Beautifully acted and this woman is the most incredible strong friend and hilarious human. Gutted x’.
Lisa Riley (Mandy) was effusive in her admiration for her friend, saying, ‘Love this wonderful human to pieces. Thank you for your authentic YOU, your endless comedy, always, always, making me laugh… and your cheeky twinkle!! Never ever ever change – you are FABULOUS, going to miss you loads can’t wait to watch you fly.’
Another cast member departing the Dales in this tragic incident, Martelle Edinborough shared the love by telling Roxy, ‘Gonna miss this Queen so much!! @roxyshahidi (crying face) An absolute ICON! The best of the best!!’ Roxy replied, ‘Right back at you xxx but I’ll be seeing you.’
Finally Amy Walsh (Tracy) summed everything up by saying, ‘My beautiful angel, my bestie and my yogi queen. I love you, I miss you and I’m so grateful for you. ’Tis not goodbye, never will be.’
She also added a cheeky PS: ‘How come you still look that beautiful when you’re dying?’
Roxy recently spoke about how much she’s going to miss her Emmerdale family.
‘It’s been an incredible journey. The people I’ve worked with over the years have become like family, and I’ll always cherish the memories we’ve made together.’
And it’s quite clear the feeling is mutual.
