Emmerdale legend breaks silence on returning to itv soap after unexpected death

Emmerdale legend Matthew Wolfenden has broken his silence on returning to the ITV soap after a shock death. Back in February, 17 characters' lives were left in the balance after two

limos, driven by Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) and Caleb Miligan (William Ash), were involved in accidents. Charity's vehicle plunged into an icy lake, with Suzy Merton (Martelle

Edinborough) dying on impact. Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) was the second villager to pass away after she lost too much blood in the ambulance, before Amy Barton (Natalie Ann Jamieson) later

succumbed to hypothermia in hospital. Matthew notably played David Metcalfe, who acted as a father figure to Leyla's son, Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant). David left the Dales in

November 2023 after he found out that Jacob was having a secret romance with his ex-girlfriend Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins). Speaking to Inside Soap magazine, Matthew revealed that he

would be open to returning to Emmerdale and exploring David's grief after Leyla's death. David's father, Eric Pollard, has notably been helping Jacob manage his emotions

following the loss of his mother, but many fans have called for David to return and support his son. "I would definitely go back to Emmerdale. The big pull would have been to revisit

the relationship again with Leyla," Matthew said. Matthew currently co-hosts a podcast with Roxy Shahidi, who played Leyla, after the pair became friends on the set of the ITV soap.

Celebrity Side Hustles sees the pair interview celebrity guests about their childhood, life off-screen and their surprising and inspiring inner passions - also known as "side

hustles". "In our downtime between filming, we were chatting about what else we could do - and we both love listening to podcasts," Matthew explained. Roxy added: "We

were always doing these side hustles - I had yoga and Matt had a toy business - and we wondered what out friends were up to. Then that turned into Celebrity Side Hustles!" A number of

Emmerdale stars have appeared on the podcast, including Danny Miller, Lisa Riley and Jessie Elland, plus Coronation Street's Brooke Vincent and Hollyoaks actor Ross Adams. EMMERDALE

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