ONE Dales resident took everybody by surprise when reaching the decision it was time to leave the eponymous village.
Off-screen, Emmerdale‘s Kevin Mathurin paid an emotional tribute to his departing co-star with a heart-warming Instagram post.
One familiar face left the ITV soap
And she made a lasting impression on Emmerdale actor Kevin Mathurin
The Charles Anderson star paid tribute to his on-screen daughter Karene Peter
Karene Peter joined the long-running ITV soap in 2022 as Charles Anderson’s long-lost daughter Naomi Walters.
After getting involved with the wrong crowd and dodging prison for Nicola King’s brutal mugging, she settled down in the village with her father, her brother Ethan and stepmother Manpreet Sharma.
She even embarked on romantic relationships with Nate Robinson and Alex Moore, although the latter’s intentions were far from pure.
More recently, she built a strong bond with Vinny Dingle and many viewers of the Yorkshire-based drama predicted the widower would move on from Liv Flaherty’s death with Naomi.
But their budding romance was cut short when Naomi got into a heated argument with Woolpack manager Chas Dingle and made the abrupt decision to leave Emmerdale to seek adventure in Ibiza.
One week after her abrupt exit which left her family reeling, her on-screen father Kevin Mathurin took to Instagram to pay tribute to Naomi actress Karene Peter, with whom he clearly bonded behind the scenes.
The Charles Anderson star shared a series of snaps taken while the cameras weren’t rolling.
In these shots, Karene can be seen in the company of Kevin but also Manpreet actress Rebecca Sarker and on-screen sibling Emile John.
“So Naomi left the village for Ibiza last week. Sadly, for us as friends and a team, we dealt with the goodbyes months ago”, Kevin captioned.
“I had to hold it down for no spoilers. But it wouldn’t feel right to go on without acknowledging how much you are missed right now. Karene, you gave so much jokes on set. You and Rebecca together was a PROBLEM!”
“The energy was vibrant. The Naomi character was such a headache for Charles to deal with on paper, but you always played her, so you were left thinking, ‘She has a point, you know.'”
“You are a beautiful human being who knows her path. I really admire that. Stay on it. You’re definitely heading in the right direction.”
Karene jumped to the comment section to respond with a touching message of her own.
“Love you so so much words can’t describe! Blessed to know you Farda. Missing you always”, she penned.
As mentioned above, Naomi left Emmerdale to start afresh in Ibiza and she was encouraged by her criminal grandfather Victor who believed she was meant for more than a quiet life in the village.
Naomi left her relationship with her father Charles in the balance as the vicar saw her big move as proof she was going off the rails after he’d tried so hard to keep her on the right track.
But is her exit permanent?
Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.
Naomi Walters recently left the Dales in search of adventure in Ibiza
Is her departure permanent?
