Emmerdale said goodbye to show favourite Cathy Hope in emotional scenes aired on Monday (May 1).
The teenager, played by Gabrielle Dowling, has been on the show since 2007 – but in recent months she has been struggling with health issues, particularly with her periods.
She has been given a diagnosis with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder but is still learning to live with the changes.
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As a result she’s decided to head to see her brother Scott in the Lake District so she can give herself time away from the village.
In the cafe, Cathy gathered her friends together, including her brother Heath, to tell them all she was going.
As she admitted she was going to miss them, her pals Arthur, Marshall and April all seemed devastated by her decision.
But they knew it was what was best for her and didn’t try to stop her. Instead the gang wished her the best of luck as they promised to all keep in touch.
Later on, Cathy’s family gathered around outside and loaded the car full of her things with Bob planning to drive her up to the Lakes.
As she walked out the house she told them all: “You can tell everyone that I’m going, the village is age!” before she became overcome with emotion.
Her entire family were emotional too as they rallied round to bid her goodbye.
Brother Heath told her he would “miss her loads,” whilst Brenda was the most emotional – with tears filling up in her eyes as they hugged each other.
Bob then gave her one las kiss before she waved goodbye to her family and headed off to the Lakes for good.
Emmerdale’s executive producer Jane Hudson teased last year that there would be a huge story ahead for Cathy.
“A lot of the youngsters have big stories coming up. You’ll see a really big story for Cathy, Bob’s daughter, which is really emotional. It’s her first big story and a challenging one, and I think one a lot of parents will connect with and one haven’t seen a soap do before so Cathy has a big story coming up.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
