When Emmerdale fans list their favourite characters of all-time there’s no denying Viv Hope would feature highly.
Appearing in a whopping 2,037 episodes, Emmerdale fans will likely remember Viv as the village gossip. Always involved in chatter and a character with an incomparable fashion sense.
Sadly, Viv, a mainstay of Emmerdale from 1993 until 2011, was killed off in the post office explosion. An exit, which acting star Deena Payne, is still ‘bitterly disappointed’ about.
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Viv was killed off in a fire after getting drunk and passing out in her flat. Friend Terry Woods, played by Billy Hartman, attempted to rescue her, but was also killed in the inferno.
Below, we’ll bring you details of what Deena Payne has been up to since leaving Emmerdale as well as more on that exit.
Romance
As our colleagues at The Mirror report, when she was 24-years-old she ended her marriage with percussionist Frank Ricotti, who played for Sir Elton John among others.
She told The Mirror: "My husband was a lovely man, Frank Ricotti, a very well-known percussionist who played with Elton John. I just wanted my independence. It was a classic situation, really - I was too young to be settled down.
"We're still friends, but back then I wanted to be off, travelling and seeing the world, so I just shifted a gear and moved out."
After the divorce in 1989, she later married Steve Grant and the pair had son William together.
‘Creepy’ on-screen husband
Viv and Bob Hope are one of Emmerdale’s most iconic couples although off-screen it initially looked like a match made in hell. As we’ve previously reported, Deena was far from keen on the casting of Tony Audenshaw - who still plays Bob in Emmerdale.
Speaking on the Soap from The Box podcast, Deena explained: "The truth being there were six people auditioning for Bob and the producer came up to me and said, "look, did you have any feelings about any of them?"
"And I said, ‘look, just not number six because he was really creepy’, and that was Tony. Anyway, bless him, not that anyone told him, and he got the job."
It felt like it all worked out in the end.
Controversial exit
The killing off of Deena Payne’s character Viv Hope likely came as a shock to many. Deena has previously stated she was ‘hurt’ by the manner off her Emmerdale exit.
During an interview with the Distinct Nostalgia podcast Deena said: "18 years was enough. It was at a time when I wasn't quite sure [if I wanted to stay].
"If they tempted me to stay, I would've stayed and I would have preferred to have given in my notice. I was bitterly disappointed with the storyline exit I had as well after all the years I had been in.
"I was hurt quite deeply and I did enjoy playing the character. I still miss that, absolutely, it did hurt, that's for sure because it was a life and a person I had been playing for 18 years and it was also my son's total upbringing and schooling.
"Although he was born in London, he was brought up in Yorkshire and he is kind of a Yorkshire man."
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Life after Emmerdale
After her Emmerdale exit, Deena turned to theatre, appearing in Calendar Girls and a host of pantomimes. on television, most recently, she featured in the television show True Crime as the character Irene. In 2020, she appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors as Patricia Taymount. The Mirror states Deena has also overseen a dance school.
As ever, we'll continue to bring you the big Emmerdale news about what is happening in the village and away from it. You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.
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