EMMERDALE fans have blasted the soap’s treatment of long-running character Laurel Sharma, saying she has been ‘robbed’ of storylines.
Played by actress Charlotte Bellamy, Laurel first appeared in the ITV soap back in 2002.
First known as Laurel Potts, she has been married three times throughout her stint in Emmerdale.
In 2017, Laurel’s arc took a tragic turn when she became a widow following the death of husband Ashley Thomas in 2017.
Laurel wed Jai Sharma in 2023 and was previously briefly married to Marlon Dingle.
While Laurel has had a lengthy run on the soap, fans have bemoaned the character’s lack of focus in recent plots.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), one fan fumed: “Honestly, Laurel is being robbed of storylines.
“Like, can she get something actually good please ‘cause I’m sick of her just being there.
“It’s so hard to root for one of your fave characters when they don’t get owt.”
Another shared: “When will they give Laurel a storyline she’s not had one of her own in ages.”
Over the years, Laurel’s storylines have included her first and second marriages to Ashley, as well as a highly publicised cot death storyline which saw the pair’s adoptive baby son, Daniel, die.
However, it transpired that their biological baby, Arthur, was still alive having been accidentally swapped with Daniel at birth.
In particular, Ashley’s death storyline in 2017 received critical acclaim.
Charlotte Bellamy won the British Soap Award for Best Actress for her performance as Laurel, while Ashley actor John Middleton won the award for Best Actor.