EMMERDALE star Daisy Campbell was so devastated at being axed from the soap that she begged bosses to kill off her character.
But it has led to love blossoming with her secret boyfriend this Christmas.
Daisy Campbell was so devastated at being axed from Emmerdale that she begged bosses to kill off her character[/caption]
Daisy as Amelia Spencer with Jack Downham as Noah Dingle on the soap[/caption]
Talking about her new fella for the first time, 21-year-old Daisy says her beau Nick is the silver lining to leaving the ITV drama after 13 years.
She wept for weeks and hid her exit as beauty salon worker Amelia Spencer from most of her cast-mates.
Behind the scenes, love developed as Nick consoled her.
Daisy, who departed on screen on Friday, now believes “everything happens for a reason” and the couple are going on a trip to New York to kick-start 2025.
She said: “It’s been quite a year. I was always so focused on my career.
“Finding love just happens when you don’t expect it. I first met Nick at school — he was a couple of years above me.
“It’s been a tough year. But now this has come out of the blue and I couldn’t be happier.”
Nick, a facilities manager, joined Daisy in drinking champagne at her home this week as the final scenes as Amelia aired and they will spend Christmas together.
She said: “It wasn’t my decision to leave the show but I’ve become a big believer in things happening for a reason.”
Daisy joined Emmerdale when she was seven and has been involved in some huge storylines, including becoming a teen mum following a drunken romp with Samson Dingle, played by Sam Hall.
Sam, 20, left the soap in August, which Daisy said blindsided her.
She added: “I didn’t see it coming. Then I got an email for me to go upstairs for a meeting.
“My heart just sank, I thought this doesn’t sound very good.” One of the producers then broke the news that they felt her long-serving character had come to the end of the road.
Daisy was so upset she begged bosses to close the door on her ever returning.
She said: “I asked to be killed off. But that’s not what they wanted to do, and of course I respected that.”
Viewers watched this week as her character decided to leave the Dales with daughter Esther.
Daisy said: “Now I’m glad the door has been left open because who knows what might happen.”
And while she is now at peace with her exit, for two months Daisy told only three close cast members — Katie Hill (Sarah Sugden), Rosie Bentham (Gabby Thomas) and Jack Downham (Noah Dingle), revealing that she was too heartbroken to share the news with anyone else.
She said: “I couldn’t really speak about it. It was really hard.”
Daisy did grab some mementos of her time on the show from the set.
She said: “I took all my costumes with me and make-up, along with my tabard from the salon.”
And now she is looking to the future, and does not rule out switching soaps as other stars have done.
Those include Emmerdale’s Claire King, who enjoyed a stint in Corrie before returning as Kim Tate, EastEnders favourite Gillian Taylforth, who played Sandy Roscoe in Hollyoaks before Kathy Beale came back from the dead, and Hollyoaks actress Nikki Sanderson, who swapped the famous Lancs cobbles for Hollyoaks.
Daisy said: “I now firmly believe 2025 is a new beginning — and that’s exciting.”
