Emmerdale star to quit the soap after 13 years

Sammy Winward is leaving Emmerdale after 13 years to focus on 'other acting work'.

16:32 28 November 2014

Sammy Winward, who found fame on the soap Emmerdale, has revealed that she is leaving after 13 years to focus on ‘other acting work’. Reports say that her decision shocked ITV bosses.

The soap star, famed for playing Katie Addyman on the ITV show, revealed her decision after filming high-profile scenes in which her character remarried Andy Sudgen.

The 29-year-old will leave the soap next year but don’t want her character to be killed off.

The source said: 'The producers haven't decided yet. Emmerdale love a big death because it's great for their ratings'.

The source added that Sammy, who joined the soap when she was 15 years old, also wanted to star on other television shows.

She was initially introduced as the first girlfriend of Andy Sugdens. She has since been at the centre of plots that have seen her get married, have numerous affairs, suffer a miscarriage, and shatter her pelvis after a fall.

In a 2006 poll, Winward was voted number 73 in FHM magazine’s 100 Sexiest women in the World.