Dales stars fear jobs chop

CAST members are all terrified they will be killed off in a bid to boost ratings.

Show chiefs pulled off a shock last week when Holly Barton (Sophie Powles) died in emotional scenes.

And other stars are now worried they’ll be next. Show veteran John Middleton, who plays Ashley Thomas, said: “Anybody can go at any time.

“The only thing guaranteed about this is it will end for all of us eventually.”

Charlotte Bellamy, known to fans as Laurel Thomas, added: “There really are no guarantees – we don’t know what will happen. But we’d always be told before it happens. You’d never open your script and get a shock.”

Storming

Fans already know John is set to leave the show this year after it emerged his character suffers from dementia. He said: “In terms of my end I couldn’t have asked for a better one. The show is storming ahead at the moment.” Emmerdale has bagged a string of gongs in recent months and was named Best Soap at the Inside Soap Awards on Monday after already winning the top award at the TV Choice Awards and British Soap Awards. Laura Norton, who plays Kerry Wyatt, said: “We were so under the radar for such a long time. But then we had the massive helicopter crash last year which made everybody stop and look. Since then we’ve gone from strength to strength. “Emmerdale has everything. It has balance. There is grit but also fun.” John added: “I think the show has been good for a number of years. It hasn’t had the cachet that other soaps have, but the awards are flooding in.”