Daisy Campbell, the actress who played Amelia Spencer on ITV’s Emmerdale, says she sacrificed large parts of her childhood to the soap and was left “upset” and in a “dark hole” after producers wrote her out of the show in 2024.
Campbell, 22, joined Emmerdale at age seven and spent 13 years on the programme, featuring in storylines that included a shock pregnancy and a relationship with the character Tom King. She told The Sun that while the role was “such a privilege,” she felt she had missed out on ordinary childhood activities with friends and sometimes wanted to stay at school rather than be on set.
Campbell said her departure came after a change of producer at the soap and described the decision as abrupt. She told The Mirror that she was called into meetings with ITV bosses and that the exit was not her choice. "When it's been ripped away from you, because that's what it genuinely felt like, it was so out of the blue, you do just get into a bit of a hole of, oh god, like, can I do this?" she said.
According to Campbell, the show's writers had told her they had run out of storylines for Amelia, and the character had become more isolated on screen after the departure of her on‑screen parents. She said she told only three close friends and colleagues about the exit at first — Rosie Bentham, Katie Hill and Jack Downham — and needed time to "grieve the part of Amelia." The colleagues she confided in were, she said, supportive and devastated by the news.
After leaving Emmerdale, Campbell has struggled to find acting work aside from a brief appearance in the production Casually, she said. Seeking stability and something to keep her occupied, she used her earnings from the soap to open That Pilates Place, a studio in Pontefract. Campbell described the move as a way to create a more settled routine, saying she wanted “something stable” so she would not be left at home idle. She has not ruled out a return to acting, but said her business is her main focus for now.
Campbell’s account comes amid a period of heightened scrutiny for Emmerdale. The soap faced Ofcom complaints after a pre‑watershed episode in August that depicted the character Mackenzie Boyd being fatally shot with an arrow and subsequently struck with a rock; data released after the broadcast showed 158 complaints were received. Changes in soap casts and storylines are not uncommon following shifts in production leadership, and Campbell’s exit is one of several adjustments viewers have observed in recent seasons.
Campbell’s comments underscore the long-term impact that early professional acting can have on performers who grow up on serial television. She joined Emmerdale as a child and said she had spent her formative years on the show, describing the experience as both rewarding and limiting. Her decision to build a business reflects a broader effort to establish a different kind of stability while remaining open to future acting opportunities.
Representatives for Campell and Emmerdale did not immediately respond to requests for comment.