Emmerdale brings it's fair share of tragedy to ITV.
Fans have watched for more than 50 years as much-loved characters come and go from the soap in a whole array or ways. Many soap characters have lost their lives in tragic accidents or to devastating diseases.
But for some, the tragedies play out off-screen too. Often characters' storyline's mirror their own lives and sadly over the past few years, we have lost several iconic soap stars in real life too.
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From an accidental fall to cancer battles and sudden death, Leeds Live has delved into the Emmerdale stars we have loved and lost in recent years.
Leah Bracknell
Former Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell died in September 2019 at the age of 55, three years after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. The actress played Zoe Tate on the ITV soap for 16 years until 2005.
Leah's cancer diagnosis came to light in October 2016 when her husband Jez Hughes launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for her to undergo treatment overseas, due to a lack of options available on the NHS. The former soap star had been diagnosed in September after rapid weight gain around her abdomen and breathlessness prompted her to seek medical help.
After Leah was diagnosed, fans helped her raise more than £50,000 to undergo ground-breaking treatment in Germany. She started taking new medication, but later revealed that it had failed.
Sam Gannon
Emmerdale's Sam Gannon died suddenly last year aged just 31 while travelling. Sam appeared in two episodes of the ITV soap as Kev, a horse-drawn carriage coachman back in 2019.
The actor's heartbroken sister Amy Kelly confirmed that he passed away on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 while staying with family in the US. Sam's mother, Angela Gannon, told the BBC that a heart condition he had from birth had "reared its ugly head" in the months leading up to his death.
She explained: "You just don't expect these things to happen, especially to a young man of 31 who was having the time of his life. He was having a great time, up in the mountains shooting tin cans, building stables for horses." Sam's death was not treated as suspicious by police.
Andy Devine
The legendary Andy Devine, who was known to millions as Shadrach Dingle sadly died aged 79 in January last year. Following the announcement of his sudden passing, it was revealed that the that the star died following an accidental fall.
He died in Southport Hospital, Merseyside on January, 27, 2022, an inquest into his death has heard. Sefton Senior Coroner Julie Goulding said that he had been unable to get up until his carers came to assist him.
Mr Devine had to wait an hour for assistance and his death was contributed to by "a significant number of serious underlying clinical co-morbidities". Ms Goulding said: "He was unable to get up until his carers arrived to assist him which was about an hour later.
"Peter had a significant number of serious underlying clinical co-morbidities and not withstanding all appropriate care and treatment, Peter's condition deteriorated culminating in his death."
His medical cause of death was listed as "hospital acquired pneumonia" and the cause of death was concluded as being the result of an accident.
Shirley Stelfox
Soap veteran Shirley Stelfox died in December 2015, following a short battle with cancer. Shirley was best known for her role in Emmerdale as Edna Birch, which she played for 15 years.
She died at her home with her daughter, Helena, by her side. The sad news was announced by her agent.
ITV executive producer, John Whiston, said at the time: “The family here at Emmerdale are deeply saddened by Shirley’s passing, it is hard to imagine Emmerdale without her. We offer our condolences to Shirley’s family and share our feeling of loss with the millions of viewers who will miss Edna enormously.”
Kitty McKeever
Kitty McGeever was best known for her portrayal of mischievous Lizzie Lakely on the ITV soap between 2009 and 2013, when ill health forced her to leave. She made history as she was the first blind actress to be cast as a regular in a British soap opera.
The star was diagnosed as diabetic at the age of 19 and developed pre-eclampsia in pregnancy. Her son Felix was born two months early, he spent some time in a special care baby unit, however, at the age of four months, he suddenly became very ill, having problems with his heart and lungs.
During her son's illness, Kitty also became ill due to the stress, her kidneys stopped working, she had heart trouble and diabetic retinopathy caused her to begin to lose her sight. Laser treatment was ineffective and five months later she was blind at the age of 32. Tragically, her son Felix died in January 2003, aged 15 months.
She was given a kidney transplant in a successful 12-hour operation. Following her recovery, she contacted her agent in 2008 and suggested that she was ready to begin performing again and would consider television.
She was spotted by production staff from the soap Emmerdale when she was appearing in a one-woman stage show where she talked about her life as a blind woman. In February 2013, it was reported that Kitty had been hospitalised and awaiting a heart transplant, however, her sister, Emmerdale scriptwriter Caroline Mitchell, denied her sister was awaiting a heart transplant. But she did confirm that she was on the transplant register.
The popular actress tragically died on August, 16, 2015 at the age of 48. It was confirmed that she had been waiting for a kidney transplant and had asked for her organs to be donated to help others.
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