Yahoo News Emmerdale addresses Shila Iqbal's absence again and confirms Aiesha won't be back
Emmerdale has brought up Aiesha Richards' absence again, and this time confirmed she won't be coming back (unless the show decides to recast the part, of course).
ITV axed Shila Iqbal – who played Aiesha – over old racist and homophobic tweets, which resurfaced after she had been promoted to a show regular.
During Wednesday's episode (May 22), Manpreet Jutla (Rebecca Sarker) was in David's shop while speaking to Aiesha, who is in Ibiza, on the phone.
And it turns out Aiesha has no plans on returning to the village, having found a new career path.
"Well, I'm not sure becoming an influencer in Ibiza really counts as a new career," Manpreet says.
"Well, I miss you, and I'd like you to come home? ... Oh. Well, good luck darling, then. I'll speak to you soon."
Aiesha then hangs up before Manpreet can say that she loves her.
Last week, Manpreet and Rishi Sharma (Bhasker Patel) told David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden) where Aiesha was after she failed to help organise Amba's birthday party.
"She did just take off," Rishi said.
"Her promoter friend needed her in Ibiza," said Manpreet. "Shame she didn't take me with her!"
Speaking last month, Iqbal said that she made a "terrible mistake" and that the language she used back in 2013 was unacceptable – but she also questioned ITV's decision to fire her.
"I honestly think it's a tricky one," she told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning. "I think ITV has a moral obligation to do what's right by the public and I respect their decision – the fact that they've taken a stand.
"But I do question if it's fair that I'm being judged on something I did as a teenager. And if we do look at the context and the intentions, there was no negative intention behind there. I wasn't hurling abuse at anyone. I made a mistake definitely and that's not who I am."
Emmerdale currently airs weekdays at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Read more news, spoilers and gossip on our Emmerdale homepage
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