‘Miss you’: Emmerdale favourite confirms exit with tribute to co-stars
She’s hugely loved by fans
Emmerdale’s Georgia Jay has confirmed she has left the ITV soap.
The actress made her arrival as Steph Miligan in 2024. The character is the daughter of Ruby and Caleb Miligan (Beth Cordingly and William Ash), and headed to the village at a time when her relationship with her parents was somewhat strained.
Steph did, however, have a strong connection with her granddad Anthony (Nicholas Day). This troubled Ruby a great deal, and Steph spent a long time wondering why.
It was eventually revealed that Anthony had sexually abused Ruby when she was a child. The character was part of a hugely powerful storyline that saw her confront her trauma, and seek answers into whether Steph was also Anthony’s daughter.
In a heartbreaking and very dark twist, a DNA test confirmed that Steph was conceived as a result of Ruby being raped by her father.
Steph eventually discovered this information and struggled to process her warped connection with Anthony in the aftermath. As she spiralled, Steph organised a plastic surgery appointment, concluding that she needed to change her appearance so she wasn’t constantly reminded of Anthony whenever she looked in the mirror.
Steph was saved by Ruby and Caleb, but her ability to trust someone had been severely damaged as a result of the horror Anthony inflicted.
Prior to her exit, Steph found out that love interest Ross Barton (Michael Parr) had slept with Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) and never told her. Because Ross broke Steph’s trust, she concluded that there was no way they could work through things and get back together.
She chose to leave the village for Italy. In reality, this exit happened to coincide with Georgia’s maternity leave. The star gave birth to baby Nora in June 2025.
While her departure was initially believed to be temporary, it’s since become a permanent one, as Georgia has quit the show to focus on motherhood.
Recently, the actress took to Instagram to confirm that it’s been almost a year since she left the ITV soap.
The star shared a stunning snap of the Emmerdale village within the post, as well as a sweet one of her with Michael Parr, and her on-screen parents Beth and Will.
‘Can’t believe I left the village nearly a year ago!’, she wrote in the caption.
‘Miss you Steph, and everyone who made it so special.’
In the comments section of the post, plenty of Emmerdale fans sent Georgia heartfelt messages, hoping she will return to the show one day.
Her co-stars also sent her well wishes, with Bradley Riches (Lewis Barton) saying: ‘Miss you xx’, while Lucy Pargeter aka Chas Dingle said: ‘Miss you lady’.
Because Georgia has left the show, it’s likely Steph’s plans to stay away from the village will be addressed.
