Emmerdale star confirms how show bosses write out Lawrence Robb for Strictly

Emmerdale star Emma Atkins has revealed how the soap has written out actor Lawrence Robb — whose character Mackenzie Boyd is the husband of Atkins' character Charity Dingle — out temporarily while he competes in the latest season of Strictly Come Dancing.

Speaking to The Sun at the Inside Soap Awards, Atkins explained that the whole thing was quite the last-minute scramble.

"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," she said.

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"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."

Now that he's gone, Atkins admitted that she's missing him a fair bit.

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

Although Strictly is a "very intense" process that necessitates the time off, Atkins thinks her on-screen hubby will flourish in the competition.

"He’s just got to knuckle down and dance his little socks off, he will do well," she continued. "He is such a gorgeous human being and his family is as well. I'm excited for his journey. 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."

Related: Strictly's Neil Jones pokes fun as he responds to not getting a celebrity partner for 2026 series

Robb was paired with Jowita Przystal in the launch show that aired over the weekend, but we don't know what their first dance is going to be just yet.

Strictly is getting even bigger this year, as one new spin-off has already premiered while more are on the way.

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX and YouTube. Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and streams on iPlayer.

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