Dead Emmerdale character stages return for final ever scene in poignant video

Ash Percival

Published March 2, 2025 9:00am

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Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) stages a return of sorts to Emmerdale this week, this new spoiler video reveals.

The character was killed off in dramatic scenes last month when she became one of the victims of the ITV soap’s frozen lake stunt.

In the days since, her son Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant) has struggled to come to terms with the death of his mum.

On Thursday, the day he and many others are dreading arrives, and the villagers prepare to say goodbye to Leyla at her funeral.

In this clip from the episode, Leyla reflects on her life in a voiceover provided by Roxy, who reprises the role for one last time.

Leyla looks subdued in a limo in Emmerdale — Leyla Harding was one of the casualties of the limo crash (Picture: ITV)

‘It was one hell of a ride,’ she says. ‘Way too short, though.’

We then see footage of other grieving locals, as they also mourn the losses of Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) and Amy Barton (Natalie Ann Jamieson), who were also killed in the crash.

Leyla previously discussed how emotional her final scenes with on-screen son Joe-Warren, admitting that they both struggled to stop crying, even when Leyla was supposed to be dead.

Emmerdale residents Chas, Liam, Belle and Charles watch Jacob scatter flowers onto Leyla's grave — Leyla’s loved ones lay her to rest this week (Picture: ITV)

She said: ‘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,’ she added to The Sun.