SHE was just seven years old when she landed a job on Emmerdale – catapulting her to fame almost overnight.
But without warning, Daisy Campbell’s career was ‘ripped’ away from her when she was brutally axed, after dedicating 13 years of her life to the soap – leaving her ‘in a dark hole’ and questioning her future.
Daisy Campbell has opened up about her shock exit from Emmerdale for the first time[/caption]
The star’s world came crashing down when she was axed after dedicating 13 years of her life to playing Amelia Spencer[/caption]
The actress – who has a huge fan base – has now revealed her plans for the future[/caption]
Suddenly Daisy, now 22, who played Amelia Spencer, found herself without steady work, struggling to find purpose and reflecting on how much of her childhood she had sacrificed for the ITV soap.
Now, Daisy has opened up to The Sun for the first time about her shock exit, telling us: “When it’s been ripped away from you, because that’s what it genuinely felt like, it was so out of the blue – you do just get into a bit of a hole of, oh god, like, can I do this?”
Remembering the moment her world as she knew it fell apart, she recalls: “It was weird, because it was so abrupt, obviously Liam Fox, who played Dan, my dad, he left the year before (in 2023), and I just had a feeling… I always get gut feelings.
“It was at the beginning of the year, things were quiet. Obviously, we had the new producer come in. And then when it came to contracts, nothing came through, so I was like, “oh”… and then obviously it happened.
“It was upsetting, because I loved it, and I loved the job.
“You always think selfishly, like, why is this happening? Like, why me?
Daisy says she ‘fell into’ acting after her dance teacher suggest she tried a drama school because she was so confident.
She says: “I feel like if I were to look back on myself now at younger me – I would have always been an actress because it’s what I love doing – performing.”
Daisy, who lives near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, suddenly found herself looking back over the past 13 years, admitting: “You have so much time to reflect when you’re not working, especially this year.
“I feel like I did miss out a lot during my childhood – with friends and stuff. I used to want to stay at school with my friends rather than be on set.
“But I wouldn’t change it. I was in such a privileged position.
“It was always such a hard job, but I never wanted to leave because Emmerdale’s the most stable job you will have in an acting career.”
Daisy’s was written out of the soap after her character Amelia decided to move to Leicester and leave the village following her manipulative boyfriend Tom King’s conviction.
Not long after her exit, Daisy landed a role on Casualty – she played Georgina Birch for just one episode, but it was enough to make the young actress feel confident she would be OK.
However, it wasn’t long until she was struggling to find work and unsure about what her next step should be.
She says: “I left Emmerdale in October, and then I filmed Casualty November, and it’s a depressing month, it’s darker nights, and I had a lot of time to think.
“At first, I liked just having my own time, being a bit free and not really having a schedule. Working there from being seven, I’d never had freedom before.”
When the new year came round, Daisy landed a number of auditions after being approached by some ‘amazing people’ but none came to fruition.
The star looked very different for her role on Casualty, which she landed shortly after Emmerdale[/caption]
Daisy is opening her very own studio using the money she had saved up from being on the soap and it will be officially opening next month[/caption]
Daisy has trained to become a pilates instructor[/caption]
“I found it hard,” she admits. “I love my acting, I do, but I wanted something stable for myself, because I’m so, like, wanting to keep myself busy all the time. I was like, what can I do that’s gonna make me not just want to sit at home all the time?”
After a trip to New York and having some space to think, Daisy then came up with the idea of her own studio, named That Pilates Place, which will be officially opening next month.
Using the money she had saved up from being on the soap, Daisy and her grandad spent hours transforming a 200-year-old court house in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, into a stylish and practical work out space – as well as training to be a teacher.
Her boyfriend Nick, who she has been dating for over a year, has been ‘incredibly supportive’ and she says he’s delighted she’s found a purpose.
“I passed both my exams first time,” she explains. “And I really wanted to do a studio. I want to use what I’ve got from Emmerdale and put that into something positive that can give me longevity.
“I was always so good with my money and I was just saving, saving, saving, saving, putting it away, and then I was like wait, what do I do with this now? I don’t want to spend it on crap, that I just don’t need.
“I couldn’t touch it until I was 18, so that’s why it’s nice to put it into something that hopefully will grow into something nice and big.”
She adds: “I want to build a community of people. I think from being on a soap and having that attention on you all the time, I feel like people don’t really know you… I want to take a bad situation, because it was a bad situation last year, and put it into something positive and just bring people together.”
And it seems that is exactly what Daisy is going to do. But does that mean she’s given up acting for good?
“Acting is something I can never let go of, but for now this business comes first, ” she says.
“When you’ve been in the industry for such a long time, you never really get sick of it. It’s just that sometimes you need that little bit of a break to focus on something else.”
With her brand new studio Daisy wants to build a community of people and hopes it will ‘grow into something nice and big’[/caption]
Daisy and her grandad spent hours transforming a 200 year old court house in Pontefract into a stylish and practical work out space[/caption]
Daisy Campbell wants to take her bad situation from last year and now put it into something positive[/caption]