Natalie Anderson took her ‘Emmerdale’ character "as far as she could go".
The 38-year-old actress departed the ITV soap in 2015 because she wanted to spend more time with her son Freddie, who is now seven years old, and she also thought her alter-ego Alicia Metcalfe didn’t have many more miles left in her in the Dales.
She said: "It was a challenge as she is very different from me, but I wanted to be a proper mum to Freddie and I also felt that I had taken the character as far as she could go."
Since leaving the show, Natalie has launched lifestyle brand The Capsule – which includes a fashion and beauty website and blog – and while she is now working "17-hour days", she is able to fit her time around her son.
She added to The Yorkshire Post newspaper: "I am working 17-hour days but I can fit them in around Freddie which is important to me.
"The website gives me a platform to share therapies, articles and products that help women feel better about themselves and The Capsule live events allow me to bring women together to let them know they are not alone in the fight against anxiety and mental health issues.
"Through a variety of different mediums, our online content, podcast and live events my aim is to empower women and help them feel connected and not isolated and confident in their own skin."
In 2017, Natalie admitted she would "love" to return to ‘Emmerdale’ "later on down the line."
She said: "I love Alicia and I loved playing her. She was so much a huge part of my life. Again, another great, fun, character to play. I was so lucky with storylines.
"If that [a return] were to happen down the line then yeah but at the moment, I’m really with where I’m at. I want to learn more, I want to learn more about acting.
"If that were ever to happen in the future, I would like to come back with a bit more of experience, a bit more knowledge of different characters so that she won’t necessarily be the same character. But, at the moment, I’m happy doing what I’m doing at the moment but who knows what will happen in the future."
Natalie Anderson took Emmerdale character ‘as far as she could go’
