Emmerdale star Jane Cox, who has played Lisa Dingle for over 20 years, is leaving the soap in a tearjerker storyline.
Friday's episode, which marked International Women's Day with an all-female cast and female-led crew, saw Lisa Dingle reveal that she has a terminal heart condition.
Lisa shared her diagnosis when her niece Charity (Emma Atkins) came to visit her in Scotland but told Charity to keep the devastating news a secret.
In the coming weeks, viewers will see Lisa and husband Zak (played by Steve Halliwell) head south to be reunited with the rest of the Dingle clan.
"I'm the one that's dying Charity, it's not up to you." #Emmerdale pic.twitter.com/D4s6ma0rKx
— Emmerdale (@emmerdale) March 8, 2019
Cox, who has played Lisa Dingle since 1996, admitted she would "shed more than a few tears" filming her final scenes.
"Lisa is so close to my heart as she's been such a huge part of my life for the past 23 years," she said.
"But I'm really looking forward to my return to the show to tell this story and to give the character of Lisa a deserving farewell.
"I will miss her."
Emmerdale airs weeknights on Virgin Media One and UTV.
