AN EMMERDALE star reveals her new career after being axed from the soap – and she also wants to join a rival show

The soap recently confirmed the fate of the popular character Leyla Harding after 17 years on the show.

Leyla, played by Roxy Shahidi, was revealed to be dead after the horror limo crash that shocked fans a few weeks back.

In heart breaking scenes, Leyla’s son Jacob ( Joe Warren-Plant) was working a shift in the hospital when a number of villagers were rushed in following the shocking crash.

Jacob was left panicked when he could not find her in any of the hospital wards.

It was then that Jacob finally discovered his mum’s lifeless body with a colleague informing him that Leyla was dead upon arrival.

Leyla died from “severe blood loss” after she was impaled in the stomach by ice during the deadly crash.

She only revealed the extent of her injuries when she informed Kerry Wyatt that she could not move before she began to lose consciousness.

Although Kerry managed to drag Leyla across the ice, she died soon after from the blood loss and traumatic injury.

But it wasn’t just soap fans that were shocked at Leyla’s death because Roxy was shocked too that Leyla was leaving the show.

In her only interview, Roxy, 41, told The Sun: “When I first found out, I was very shocked. I had been in the show for a long time and I wasn’t expecting this news.

“Emmerdale becomes a fabric of your existence to a huge degree.

“It’s not just about the joy of the work, it’s the joy of the people and community.

“There are times when you have a big story where you will spend more time with your work family than you do at home.”

But once she had had time to digest the news of her exit she quickly began to feel pleased the decision to go now had been taken out of her hands.

Speaking with Digital Spy about her future she said: “It was bittersweet. Getting the push was a mix of emotions.

“It was a sense of relief, because you think: ‘Now I’ve got to get out there and do some new things’.

“But it was also really sad because you love the character, you love the job, you love your friends. It feels like a family on the show.”

“I’ve started to do more and more yoga. I want to teach more, so I’ve set up a little business called Yoga Rox.

“I’m going to do corporate yoga with online subscriptions and I want to travel with the yoga too.

“I’m really excited about doing more podcasts with Matthew Wolfenden and maybe doing some presenting.

“I also write, so I want to do more writing. I want to keep acting, too.

“I just would like to do lots of different things, now that I’ve got the freedom to try my hand at new projects and just see what happens.

“I just want to go on a bit of an adventure and allow things to be unpredictable.”

But would the lovely Roxy do another soap again?

“Coronation Street would be good. I also wouldn’t mind doing a continuing drama – I’d love to maybe do Waterloo Road” she replied.