Emmerdale actor James Thornton has revealed that he quit the ITV1 soap to spend more time with his wife, Joanna Page.
Thornton, who plays the character of John Barton on the soap, has been living in Leeds and only sees the Gavin & Stacey star when he returns to London at the weekend.
He told the Daily Star Sunday: "When I first joined I signed for three years but it took me a while before I got it into my head that I would be staying that long. But then once I started doing it, the people and the atmosphere, I really, really enjoyed it. The main problem has been the logistics - I still live in London.
"It's been hard. When you're on a soap your life is dictated by a two-week block. If you want to go anywhere you have to put a request in four months before. I'm really lucky as I do a lot of voiceover work, which is a safety net for me coming out of the show."
The actor announced last month that he would be leaving the soap, despite pleas from show boss Stuart Blackburn to remain.
Thornton added: "But it certainly wasn't an easy decision to make. I did start to think could I do this for a bit longer? Stu asked if he could convince me to stay but I knew I'd made the right decision to go."
