The actress bid farewell to her character Leyla Harding after the limo crash

Emmerdale star Roxy Shahidi left the ITV soap on Wednesday (February 19) after 16 years as Leyla Harding.

She updated her Instagram and shared “wish I was back” two weeks after the departure.

The 41-year-old actress first joined Emmerdale in 2008 part-time before taking on the role permanently in 2014, and has since become a fan favourite in the village.

There were discussions that her character could be leaving the show temporarily last year, but unfortunately fans hopes of a return were dashed as she left the show without any possibility of a comeback. Leyla Harding was killed off after being impaled from a piece of glass during the accident.

She became the second confirmed death after her Take a Vow colleague Suzy Merton was the first to go after a fatal head injury led to her instant death upon impact.

Leyla refused to let the others know about her injury while in the limo after she spotted the blood coming from her stomach. She waited until it was just her and Kerry left before she admitted that she couldn’t move.

Kerry managed to drag her out of the limo before it submerged under the water, but as medics rushed to the scene, Leyla was declared dead before she reached the hospital.

Her son Jacob was on shift at the time, and broke down in tears when he learned that he hadn’t had the chance to bid his mum a final goodbye. The actress appeared on Loose Women recently and shared: “When I got the call I knew something was happening, it was a shock” but that all you can do is “process that” and “keep going”.

Roxy shared the snap of her and her sister on her Instagram story(Image: Roxy Shahidi on Instagram)

Since her exist, Roxy has updated her Instagram with her Yoga practice, but after a trip to the Manor House Hotel spa in Alsager with her sister, Roxy posted that she had “the most beautiful stay… enjoying the sauna, spa and vegan options.”

On Wednesday (5th March), Roxy posted a throwback snap of her and her sister enjoying their spa break as she captioned: “Wish I was back @spaatthemanorhouse could do with another massage”.

After the former Dales star posted a glam shot of her sat in the sunshine enjoying her spa break a few days prior, fans were quick to wish her well in the comments.

@debz_56 wrote: “You will be missed massively Roxy” as @dee1_kaur added: “You will be missed massively in Emmerdale. I hope you do a Pam Ewing from Dallas and wake up from a bad dream and return in your glamorous fashion.”