Suzanne Shaw to leave 'Emmerdale'

Suzanne Shaw has announced that she is to leave Emmerdale after more than a year with the soap.

The actress joined the cast of the ITV1 show in January 2010, taking on the role of flirtatious Eve Jenson. She made her first appearance in the village a few months later.

However, in a statement released on Emmerdale's official website this evening, the mother-of-one confirmed that she has decided to bow out from the programme for the sake of her family.

She said: "Playing Eve has been a wonderful experience for me. I have had the opportunity to work with some incredibly talented people and to learn from them.

"After much soul-searching, we decided that as a family we wanted to be based in one place at this point in our lives. My family must come first and I have therefore decided to leave the show in the summer.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed playing the role of Eve and have been lucky to have had some incredible storylines and I'll terribly miss the cast and crew."

Eve proved popular with the village's male residents when she arrived last year, but it was her affair with Carl King (Tom Lister) that had the biggest impact on life in Emmerdale - infuriating the businessman's partner Chas Dingle and leading to a Christmas Day wedding showdown.

Emmerdale's series producer Stuart Blackburn commented: "Suzanne has been a valued and respected member of cast and was at the forefront of one of our biggest stories last year. She has a real presence on screen and will be greatly missed. However, we fully understand her decision and wish her all the best for the future."

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