Emmerdale star Islabel Hodgins, who has played Victoria Sugden on the ITV soap for nearly 20 years, has admitted that she had a surprising lack of emotion when shooting her final scenes

Emmerdale star Isabel Hodgins felt “ready” to leave the soap when she filmed her final scenes. The actress, 32, has played Victoria Sugden on the Yorkshire-based serial since 2006 but has been written out as she is expecting her first child with Adam Whitehead.

Despite having appeared on the soap continuously since she was in her early teens, Isabel actually found that she had a lack of emotion on her last day because she was so “exhausted” from everything. In the programme, Victoria murdered her serial killer long-lost brother John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) as part of the show’s crossover with Coronation Street, and in scenes set to air next week, she will hand herself into the police.

She said: “I thought I would be really emotional when I filmed my final scenes. Emmerdale is all I have ever known. But pregnancy does funny things to you and the truth is I felt ready not to have to film on Emmerdale!

“I live in Manchester and I’ve been driving over to Leeds to film. By the end, I felt exhausted and I knew it was time to have a rest before the baby arrives. It suddenly feels very real now. “

The TV star , who previously explained that she and her husband had opted not to find out the gender of their baby, noted that she is “ready” to become a mother now and insisted that it will be her “biggest role” yet. Isabel is also full of confidence for her significant other as he adjusts to fatherhood, and also explained that bosses have let her decide when she makes a comeback to the soap.

Speaking to The Sun, she added: “Adam is going to be a great dad. He pours his heart into everything he does and we both feel so lucky to be having a child. They told me it was up to me when I come back to the soap, which is lovely. I’ve been in Emmerdale for 19 years and it’s been a huge part of my life.”

In the story, Victoria found a filled syringe in John’s pocket and stabbed him with it, not aware of its contents. It killed John, leaving Victoria startled and fleeing, after placing the cleaned needle in his hand She explained all this to Robert and Aaron Dingle at the hospital, and they agreed to help cover it up. What they had no idea about was that someone was in the woods and saw Victoria kill John.

Adam, who works as a PE teacher, met Isabel in the gym, and the pair had been together for three years when they found out they were to become parents. And, though they were trying to start a family, the couple admitted at the time that it had all happened faster than they could have imagined.

She previously told OK: “It’s exciting but also scary, because it has happened so fast and it’s our first time. Originally, we booked a wedding for 2026, but then I realised I didn’t want to wait that long to start a family. But I also wanted to be married first, so I kept changing the goal posts, but this was always the plan!

“It’s hard to know how to feel because you’re so excited, but also, for me there’s been so much fatigue. So I’m like, ‘I’m so happy but please let me nap!’

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I think it has been tougher than I thought because it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster. But luckily, I haven’t been very sick, so that’s a plus!”