Emmerdale’s Louisa Clein will be leaving the soap for good.
The 40-year-old actress has had viewers gripped to the edge of their seats for months as her paedophile alter-ego Maya Stepney has been abusing and manipulating her 16-year-old student Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant).
Tuesday’s (21.05.19) double episode saw the predator deny she had been having a relationship with the school boy and, instead, accuse Jacob of having a crush on her but, although it looked like she may get away with her crime, Louisa has turned her back on the Dales as she was given a send-off by her cast mates last week.
A source told The Sun: "Louisa’s had fans glued to their seats with her brilliant performance. They’ve been wondering what the future might hold for Maya and savouring the potential for her to continue to feature.
"But it seems they’ll be disappointed. Her arrest for grooming Jacob spelled the end of a chapter on the soap — for Louisa and Maya."
Although the storyline has been hard to watch, Barnardo’s have "applauded" ‘Emmerdale’ bosses for highlighting "disturbing" child sex abuse crimes.
After Maya’s arrest this week, Barnardo’s – a charity aiming to help young people affected by sexual exploitation – said: "Some ‘Emmerdale’ fans have been vocal about feeling uncomfortable with the grooming storyline, but we applaud producers for highlighting this very real and disturbing issue."
Although Jacob was 16 when Maya had sex with him – which is above the age of consent – it is still a crime for an adult in a position of trust, such as a teacher, to engage in sexual activity with a person under the age of 18.
Javed added in his statement: "When a boy or girl turns 16, that doesn’t mean they can no longer be sexually abused or exploited. Children are children by law until they are 18. While 16 year olds are free to make choices about sex, teachers and other adults who abuse their positions of trust to groom young people under 18 are still committing crimes.
"Adult abusers like Maya in ‘Emmerdale’ exploit young people’s feelings of loneliness, their need for care and their desire to be loved, before abusing them. Barnardo’s support services see first-hand how this abuse can cause long term harm and affect young people’s attitudes to love, relationships and sex as they move into adulthood."
Emmerdale’s Louisa Clein quits
