Emmerdale star Paula Lane in profile: From soap star husband to previous ITV roles
Paula has worked on ITV for years
Emmerdale star Paula Lane is set to exit her role as Ella Forster very soon. But away from the soap Paula has had quite a successful career, and her husband has even appeared in both the ITV soaps that she has.
Paula joined Emmerdale at the beginning of 2024, and although there was initially a lot of potential with Ella, her character went down a different route. Now, a year later, she is saying goodbye to the Dales.
While her stay in Emmerdale has been short, Ella has still found herself tied up in quite a lot of drama. Her time in the village revealed her murderous secret past, and her character embarking on a relationship with Liam.
But what’s Paula’s life like away from the soap? Well let’s have a look.
When did Emmerdale star Paula Lane get into acting?
Born and raised in West Yorkshire, Paula first discovered her love for performing early on in her childhood.
The ITV star went on to win a highly respected place at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She graduated in 2008 with a first class honours degree in acting.
ITV career
Immediately after her graduation, ITV were quick to hire Paula for a role in the 60’s police drama Heartbeat in 2009.
Following this she had a few other minor roles in the shows The Royal, Doctors and Going Postal. But it was in 2010 when she landed her role in Coronation Street – which most fans still know her from today.
Paula played the adored character Kylie Platt for six years before saying goodbye to the soap in 2016. Kylie was brutally murdered by Clayton Gibbs, and her death is still deemed one of the saddest scenes in the show’s history.
The reason she left Corrie was initially due to her maternity leave, but she later felt that a permanent ending would be better for her. And Paula became dedicated to pursuing a career outside of the soap.
Career after Corrie
After she left Corrie, Paula has played the part of Vera Sands in ITV’s beloved show Call The Midwife. As well as Emily Harris in Father Brown.
Away from the screen completely, Paula has also featured in numerous stage plays over the years. These include: Be More Martyn, The Bengal Lily and Road.
Is Paula in a relationship?
Paula has been happily married to her college partner Tom Shaw since 2014. The couple first met while attending Huddersfield Technical College in the early 2000’s.
They have two children together. A son called Arthur and a daughter names Penny. And they still reside in Yorkshire together.
Fans may actually recognise Paula’s husband, Tom, as he himself has appeared in both Emmerdale and Coronation Street in supporting roles over the years.
Has Paula Lane said anything about her Emmerdale exit?
While Paula hasn’t directly commented on her upcoming Emmerdale exit as Ella, she was the one to ‘confirm’ the news.
It was Paula’s talent Spotlight profile that first caused suspicion that she was leaving the show. On her list of TV appearances it stated she was finished filming Emmerdale in February. However, that has now been removed.
For a while Ella didn’t appear on our screens at all, leading some viewers to believe she had an off-screen and never mentioned exit. But that wasn’t the case. She just hasn’t been used that much until recently.
However, eagle-eyed fans noticed she recently re-followed the Emmerdale Instagram account. Something she was not doing a few days ago. Some viewers wonder if this means she will be sticking around in the Dales for a little while longer.
While no official statement has been made regarding Ella’s future, it’s looking likely that Paula will be saying goodbye to the village soon.
Read more: Fans blast Emmerdale over new male character after killing off three popular female cast members
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an early release at 7am on ITVX.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs weekdays at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm on ITV3.
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