Legendary actress Deena Payne, now 70-years-old, isn’t happy about a lot of things – including her shock departure from ITV’s Emmerdale and her ‘creepy’ TV co-star she hoped wouldn’t get the role

Rising to fame and just all-round iconic status for her role of Viv Hope in Emmerdale, the 70-year-old actress first joined the drama-filled

Yorkshire village in 1993. Her fiery character, gauche fashion sense, and penchant for gossip always provided viewers with a much needed-laugh amid the endless storylines of abductions, serial killers, and affairs.

But, in 2011, Viv was killed off in a post office explosion after getting drunk and passing out in her flat. Friend Terry Woods (portrayed by Billy Hartman) tried to rescue her from the flames but also ended up being killed in the inferno. Years later and Deena still isn’t happy with how she was written out of the show.

“The truth being there were six people auditioning for Bob and the producer came up to me and said, ‘look, did you have any feelings about any of them?’” Deena recalls. “And I said, ‘look, just not number six because he was really creepy’, and that was Tony. Anyway, bless him, not that anyone told him, and he got the job.”

Off-screen, Deena’s love life has been less turbulent. When she was just 24, she married famed percussionist Frank Ricotti, who played for Elton John among other A-listers. “I just wanted my independence,” she told The Mirror when talking about their split.

“It was a classic situation, really – I was too young to be settled down. We’re still friends, but back then I wanted to be off, travelling and seeing the world, so I just shifted a gear and moved out.”