'Emmerdale' Leyla 'cried over exit scenes'

Emmerdale star Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi has admitted that she was in "floods of tears" when she filmed her final scenes for the soap.

The actress decided to bow out from her role as Leyla Harding earlier this year and her last episode airs at the end of next week.

Leyla is currently struggling with her motherly feelings towards son Jacob, who has been raised by her sister Alicia (Natalie Anderson). The situation is expected to reach a dramatic conclusion in Leyla's exit plot.

"I cried the whole time on my last day. Luckily, I was filming lots of sad scenes - but Natalie Anderson and I were in floods of tears constantly," Ghawam-Shahidi told Inside Soap.

"I've had a great time at Emmerdale - it's such a beautiful place to work and so much fun. But I've enjoyed three great years there and now it's time for me to do something different - so I'm really excited about what might be coming up in future."

Leyla's relationship with fiancé David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden) reaches breaking point in next week's episodes after she pulls another stunt by taking Jacob away on a trip without telling anybody.

"He tells Leyla she has to give up Jacob or they're finished," Ghawam-Shahidi added. "That's something Leyla could never do - if she has to stop seeing her son to be with David, she could never love him in the same way ever again. It's an impossible choice - Jacob will always come first for her."

Emmerdale's series producer Stuart Blackburn recently told Digital Spy that Leyla's departure will be "so emotional, so powerful and so full of consequences".

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