An Emmerdale legend has spoken of her shock discovering her character would be killed off.
The death of Viv Hope, back in 2011, still angers some viewers of the ITV soap. It sounds like the manner of her axing was handled far from sensitively, the Metro reports.
Deena Payne played the loveable village gossip for 18 years. Viv was killed off in a fire, after getting drunk and passing out in her flat. Friend Terry Woods, played by Billy Hartman, attempted to rescue her, but was also killed in the inferno.
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“That was a bit of a funny thing about my death,” Deena said. “I wasn’t furious, I was a bit hurt I think because I had ridden so many waves and really enjoyed it.”
Deena joined Emmerdale in 1993, with Viv becoming one of the longest-running characters in the soap’s history.
“I was a bit taken aback when I got the script,” Deena added. “I was waiting for a storyline to work up and I’d got pantomime because I knew I was going.
“I just went up and asked if I was in anything that week because I’m starting pantomime and she said, ‘Oh you’ve gone, you’re not in it’.”
What a way to find out you’re leaving.
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