Emmerdale’s Emma Atkins reveals how bosses wrote out on-screen husband Lawrence Robb ‘last minute’ ahead of Strictly

EMMERDALE’S Emma Atkins has revealed soap bosses were forced to write on-screen husband Lawrence Robb out of scenes “last minute” after he signed for Strictly Come Dancing. 

Lawrence, 34 – who is partnered with Jowita Przystał for this year’s Strictly – plays Mackenzie Boyd, husband of 51-year-old Emma’s character Charity Dingle. 

Speaking to The Sun at the Inside Soap Awards, the actress explained how he dropped a hint for Emmerdale viewers into his final scene. 

Emma said: “We were filming a scene where we had to get him out so he could go and do it as he’d just got the phone call [from Strictly] and they wrote him out very quickly. 

“He has this moment where he tells Charity he is going to work in Germany, and at the end of the scene I say ‘go on then, you may as well go’ and he does this little flick [like a shimmy] and I was like ‘the audience are going to know’, it was very very well done.”

Heaping praise on her co-star, Emma continued: “We won’t see him as much, they had to literally write him out so he can concentrate as it’s very intense, I don’t think he’s got a choice. 

“He’s just got to knuckle down and dance his little socks off, he will do well.

“He is such a gorgeous human being and his family is as well. I’m excited for his journey.”

While Emma is confident Lawrence will make it far into the competition, she confessed to already feeling lost without him at work.

She said: “He has the rhythm and I think he will go on a journey and will get better, better and better.

“He was quite nervous at first, It’s good to be nervous, it means you care.

“I love him and he’s part of my furniture at work and I’ll miss him. We’re a team, so now it’s like ‘where’s my wingman gone?’”