Emmerdale actress Olivia Bromley has reflected on her exit from the ITV soap after eight years playing Dawn Taylor. Her character died following an accident on the day of her wedding to Joe Tate, played by Ned Porteous, when a car crashed into the marquee. Jimmy King, played by Nick Miles, also died in the crash, and it has since been revealed that Vinny Dingle was distracted and behind the wheel when Jimmy swerved.
Olivia's tribute to Dawn
A few weeks on from her exit, Olivia paid tribute to the character she has played for nearly a decade. Writing on Instagram, she said: "Eight years of a lovely job. This is an absurdly late post, but I have been so blown away by all the lovely messages about Dawn’s exit and it has meant so much!"
She added: "So thank you. And to Teresa who simply messaged ‘You’re dead, get over it’ - I KNOW OKAY."
Co-stars' tributes
Tributes came from her co-stars, including Bradley Riches, who plays Lewis, who wrote: "WE LOVE U," while Andrew Scarborough, who plays Graham, added: "Very much missed." Eden Taylor-Draper, who plays Belle Dingle, called Olivia "the best," and Natalie Ann Jamieson, who played Amy Wyatt, wrote: "The best time ever!!! Love you Livvy x x."
Dawn did not die in the accident itself but in hospital after suffering a massive haemorrhage, which led to a cardiac arrest. Her death left Joe devastated but forced to look after their newborn son.
'A good time to go'
After her exit, Olivia spoke to The Mirror about the storyline, describing it as "the toughest storyline I've done during my time in the soap." She said: "I was surprised by how emotional I found it and it was way more emotional than I was expecting. I did cry. It is very strange to kill off your character as an actor and in front of your colleagues. But that said, what a gift to be given. Often people leave and just slip off."
She added: "This is a good time for me to go on a personal level. I had felt ready for the character to go. This character felt like she had done so much and I didn't know what direction she could go in next. I had played her for a long time, and it felt like I needed to do other things. I am proud this was such a big finale to my time in the soap."
