'Emmerdale' actress Emma Atkins, who plays Charity Tate, has announced that she is quitting the soap.
The 29-year-old actress has played the part of Charity since 2000, when she landed the part while still a student at Salford University.
Charity fast became one of 'Emmerdale's most controversial characters. Starting out as a prostitute, she went on to have a lesbian fling with Zoe Tate, as well as an affair with her cousin Cain Dingle.
She was later framed for murder after her husband Chris Tate killed himself. In one of her biggest storylines, Charity also sold her own baby in an effort to avoid a jail sentence.
It is expected that Charity will be written out of the show in the New Year, with a major twist in her storyline.
"I will be desperately sad to say goodbye to everyone but there are so many other roles that I would like to try and it's important to me that Charity leaves on a high," Atkins said today.
