Emmerdale star Adele Silva has split from long-term lover Anthony Costa.

The actress decided to call time on her relationship with the former Blue singer after the pressures of maintaining a long-distance relationship began to take their toll. While Adele spends most of her time filming for the ITV1 soap in Yorkshire, Anthony has been busy performing in Blood Brothers in London's West End.

"Adele and I have split. It's very sad. But we will always remain the best of friends," Anthony told the Sunday Mirror. "No one else is involved. It's an amicable split."

A friend added: "They were both madly in love, but it just wasn't working out. It got to the stage where they rarely saw each other. That caused a lot of tension. Ant and Adele both decided it was for the best to end it."