A 'massive' new Emmerdale storyline is on the way after Meena Jutla left the show.
Serial killer Meena, played by Paige Sandhu, finally faced justice for her actions on Monday's show when she was sentenced to 75 years in prison. While the storyline seems to have come to an end after many months, the ramifications of the dramatic events will be felt for a long time, say bosses.
And those include a "massive" story for Liam and Leyla, producer Kate Brooks told the Mirror. The couple will feature in a big new plot after Meena's evil acts rocked the village.
Read more: Emmerdale boss defends Meena story as viewers slam 'ridiculous' scenes
Kate said: "This woman wreaked havoc in the village and destroyed people’s lives, Liam has lost his daughter, Manpreet... what hasn't she been through in the past 12 months? So I think we were very conscious not to just tie it up in a very neat bow and say okay, now Meena has left and gone from the village, let’s just move on.
"That is not what would happen or how we have made it. There's a massive story on the table for Liam and Leyla which is the result of what has gone down with Leanna and everything, there are big ramifications for Charles and Manpreet.
"Poor Manpreet. The only sister she has had has just turned out to be an absolutely evil, vindictive woman and she didn't see that, so that is going to torment Manpreet for a long time after Meena has left.
"Jacob, he finally found love again with Leanna after Maya, so the fact Meena has destroyed that and took that away from him kind of sends him off into a new direction. So the ramifications will be felt for a long, long time after Meena has left the village. Loads of really exciting stories."
Did you think Meena's sentencing was a good ending? Let us know in the comments below
Viewers said goodbye to Meena on Monday night when her trial and sentencing finally ended, with the murderer facing three life sentences with a minimum of 75 years. Many commended Paige Sandhu's acting in the role.
@FanofTV5 said: "Such a powerful episode, with some stellar acting from Paige, and cinematic editing!!”
@SnoopSaj also agreed tweeting “Meena has been absolutely fantastic love her hate her Paige played her amazing.”
Producer Kate said they decided against killing Meena off but instead wanted to "punish her". She said: "We could have killed Meena off but I like how we punish her and how weak she leaves the show.
"It's very fitting to her character, we take away the one thing Meena craves in the whole world, which is attention and notoriety, so once that is removed from Meena, I don’t know what she has got left. She very quickly realises that this is the worst fate imaginable, it’s worse than death or anything else."
Fans predict that Meena will be crowned Villain of the Year at the upcoming British Soap Awards. She would be the first Emmerdale character to win the award.
Emmerdale is on ITV at 7pm.
