ITV Share By Laura Morgan 4th June 2025 By Laura Morgan 4th June 2025 Who's leaving Emmerdale in 2025? A complete guide to departures, returns and new arrivals in the Dales Emmerdale stars leaving in 2025 Aidan Moore Joe Absolom John Sugden Robert Sugden Share By Laura Morgan 4th June 2025 By Laura Morgan 4th June 2025 We’re all excited to see what’s in store for the locals of Emmerdale in 2025, but who’s leaving this year? There have already been huge changes to the Emmerdale cast with four deaths and plenty of other exits, plus some exciting returns (yes, we’re looking at you, Robert Sugden!) And now one more cast member has confirmed their exit from the soap, and they’ve already filmed their final scenes. Here is the lowdown on who’s coming and going in 2025. Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2025? Aidan woke up from his coma (Credit: ITV) Aidan Moore John Sugden’s ex-fiancé, Aidan Moore, has been in a coma since John’s attempts to ‘save’ him went horribly wrong. Aidan briefly woke up from his coma conveniently on John and Aaron’s wedding day, just in time to disrupt things a little bit. But when John tried to kill him for real, Aidan had a heart attack and slipped back into his coma. Actor Geoff Dignan, who plays the wounded soldier, has confirmed Aidan’s final scenes have aired – for now. article continues below Read all the latest spoilers Writing on X, Geoff said: “I had an absolute blast playing Aidan Moore in Emmerdale. I’ve met great people from the crew to the very talented cast. Thank you to my agent Stark Talent.” He then added: “Who knows what’s in store [for] Aidan, after all it is Emmerdale, he’s wokeen up once… why not one more time,” followed with the hashtag “wakeupAidan”. Something tells us, this isn’t fully over and Aidan will be back sooner rather than later… John Sugden has done some pretty awful things (Credit: ITV) Is John Sugden leaving Emmerdale? Viewers know John has been keeping big secrets and living a totally different life to what his friends and family know. He secretly hurts people so he can then save them and be the hero. But someimes it goes wrong – like with his ex, Aidan Moore, who is in a coma in hospital, and with Nate Robinson, whose body has just been discovered at the bottom of a lake. Things took a dramatic turn last week when John and Aaron Dingle got married. First, Aidan woke up – before swiftly slipping back into a coma again. They Robert Sugden arrived to disrupt the wedding and win Aaron back. But Aaron chose John. However, as they drove off into the sunset together, a body was dredged up from the lake… Although neither Emmerdale nor actor Oliver Farnworth, who plays John, have commented on how long he’ll stay in the Dales, it seems certain he will have to exit at some point. He has not only killed Nate, but drugged Chas Dingle and framed Ella Forster for it, as well as disposed of Anthony Fox’s body, battered Liam over the head with a bat and caused the slurry tank leak putting his own nephew in hospital. For that he has framed Mack. None of this can go unpunished. There is certainly no chance of a redemption arc, unless of course he goes away and comes back better. So it doesn’t seem to be a question of if he is leaving, but when… Who’s leaving Emmerdale – recent departures Out-there Gail is said to be off (Credit: ITV) Gail Loman Rachael-Gill Davis was the most recent departure from the soap. After realising her and boyfriend Ryan had very different dreams for the future, Gail decided to move to pastures new. She went to Devon to run a B&B with her friend. According to The Sun Rachael agree to leave the soap after her character failed to integrate into village life. The source said: “Rachael has loved her time on the show but it’s time to go. “Bosses felt the character wasn’t inspiring much story and so it was all very amicable. The door has been left open but it’s a definite goodbye for now. “Rachael is looking forward to spreading her wings and showing off her talents on other shows.” Emmerdale declined to comment on the report. Who else has left Emmerdale this year? There have been several other departures this year. The following have left the Emmerdale in 2025: Wendy Posner Ella Forster Leyla Harding Amy Barton Suzy Merton Anthony Fox Brenda Walker Who’s returning to Emmerdale in 2025? There are a lot of questions for Robert to answer (Credit: ITV) Robert Sugden After months and months of intense speculation, fans got their wish last month when Robert Sugden returned to the Dales. He arrived just in time to interrupt the vows as Aaron Dingle prepared to marry Robert’s half-brother, John. Despite stopping the wedding initially and sharing a passionate kiss with Aaron, Robert failed to win his ex-husband back and Aaron married John. The newlyweds drove off on honeymoon together as Robert was carted back to prison for breaking his bail terms. But that’s not the last we’ll see of Robert – phew. Actor Ryan Hawley has already confirmed his return is for good. He recently told the Mirror: “The secret is out today! My character is returning permanently and not just for Aaron and John’s wedding. I am back for good, and I am so excited to be playing Robert again.” He’s expected to be properly back this summer (which is only a short amount of time away), with a source telling The Sun: “It will soon become clear that Robert’s freedom isn’t all that it seems and he will end up back behind bars for a little while. “His full-time return will come later in the summer and it’s set to be explosive.” Dylan was sent to rehab by Marlon (Credit: ITV) Dylan Penders April’s friend from the streets, Dylan, was last seen heading off to rehab. He had been staying with April and Marlon wanted rid of him so framed him for ketamine theft. Dylan overdosed after being thrown out and Marlon felt so guilty, he paid for him to go to rehab. Dylan decided to have no further contact with April while he got better, although he did write her a letter, which Marlon hid from his daughter. But Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw has revealed Dylan is coming back. She told us: “Lovely Fred Kettle, who plays Dylan, is coming back. “He’s going to be bringing his past back to the village with him and that’s going to cause a few problems for April and the wider family.” 2024 was a difficult year for Cathy (Credit: ITV) Cathy Hope Actress Gabrielle Dowling, who plays Cathy Hope, has stepped away from Emmerdale for a break. A source revealed to The Sun that the actress was taking time off to focus on her exams. “Gabrielle has been working solidly on the show for her entire life but with her A levels coming up thought it was best to take a break to focus on them,” they said. “She will be gone for a matter of months and will return later in the year once exam season is over. “Her exit storyline is being kept quiet until it plays out on screen but it’s only going to be a temporary one.” The exit then saw Cathy head off on a round-the-world cruise with stepmum Brenda Walker. But although Brenda is said to be staying away for good, Cathy will return. Who’s joining Emmerdale in 2025? Ray is a contact of Mackenzie’s with a dodgy past (Credit: ITV) Ray Emmerdale has cast former EastEnders actor Joe Absolom as a new villain connected to Mackenzie Boyd. Joe will first appear on screen this summer as Ray who comes to the farm and claims to be selling farm machinery. But before long, it becomes very clear he is a drug dealer. It’s not known if this is connected to Mack’s current storyline where he is trying to sell cannabis. However Mackenzie and Aaron have a big storyline coming up in the autumn and it seems likely this will be part of it. Ray is cool, calm and collected. But that exterior hides a menacing streak – one that is always bubbling below the surface ready to come up. Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw said: “We are thrilled to welcome Joe Absolom to the cast,” she said. “It’s fantastic to have such a high calibre and immensely talented actor join our wonderful team to play the role of Ray. “Charming, charismatic and effortlessly likeable, Ray is an extremely complex character who very quickly shows his dark and villainous side to some of our most loved villagers, leaving them in no doubt as to what he’s capable of.” Joe, best-known to soap fans for playing Matthew Rose in EastEnder from 1997 to 2000 said of the opportunity: “Well, what an honour to join such a talented team at Emmerdale! It’s an iconic show and I’m grateful to be part of it. I can’t wait to see what’s in stock for Ray!” Celia will be played by Jaye Griffiths (Credit: ITV/Mark Bruce) Celia Former The Bill star Jaye Griffiths is joining the soap as new farmer Celia. Celia will first be seen on screen at the end of June when she calls on neighbouring Moira to enquire if she can rent two of her fields. However, despite being in a bad financial position herself, Moira is aware of Celia’s reputation, so quickly shrugs her off. But she may soon come to regret that as Celia clearly means business. Vet Paddy Kirk then ends up in hospital after being brutally attacked by one of Celia’s guard dogs. And, we start to get the measure of Celia’s true colours from her reaction to the attack. Jaye Griffiths said: “I was delighted to get this role. Without giving the game away she is very different to anyone I have played before. I can’t wait to really get into the heart of her storyline.” Producer Laura Shaw added: “We are absolutely delighted to have Jaye Griffiths joining us to play the role of Celia. Having recently taken over a nearby farm, not much is known about mysterious Celia’s past before arriving on the outskirts of the village. “While Celia has a tough edge with an air of respectability, the audience, and our villagers, will soon start to see what this woman is truly capable of.” Read more: Complete Emmerdale cast list for 2025 Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am. Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm. Visit our Facebook page @emmerdaleinsider for all the latest Emmerdale news, gossip and spoilers and let us know what you think! Or find us on Twitter @emmerdaleinside *This article is updated regularly to reflect the ongoing changes within the Emmerdale cast. 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