Emmerdale star star Paula Lane, also known for playing Kylie Platt on Coronation Street has reflected on how much her life has “changed direction” since she left the ITV soap a year ago
Emmerdale star Paula Lane has reflected on how much her life has “changed direction” since she left the ITV soap. The actress, 39, left her role as Ella Forster a year ago, and has now revealed that she has gained a Maths qualification and is also studying Spanish.
In January, Paula also welcomed baby Patrick with husband Tom Shaw, with whom she already has Arthur and Penny, and wanted fans to know that they can “try new things” at any point in life.
Paula, who filmed her final Emmerdale scenes on Valentine’s Day in 2025, wrote on Instagram: A whole year has passed since leaving Emmerdale…so much has happened in that time! Got a maths qualification – some people thought I was mad but I went and did it anyway!
READ MORE: Paula Lane ‘so grateful’ for ITV Coronation Street – despite being killed offREAD MORE: Coronation Street newcomer ‘so excited’ as she makes debut as daughter of soap legend
“Still studying [Spanish flag emoji]. Continue to watch my business grow and thrive. Had a baby (a true blessing from above) Got the writing bug!
“This is a reminder that you can change direction, try new things and live your life! I’m so excited for spring and for what the rest of the year will bring!”
Fans rushed to the comments section to commend Paula, who also heads up the Lane Shaw Academy with her husband, on her achievements, but some admitted that they “missed” seeing her regularly on screen.
One said: “Congratulations so proud of you…miss you not being on tv though!” Another said: “missing ella forever” and a third wrote: “Glad things have worked out well. Emmerdale’s loss has been your gain!”
When Ella arrived in the Yorkshire village, she became PA to Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) but it became clear that she had a dark secret, which was eventually revealed that she had killed a friend during her childhood. In her final scenes, she was arrested after being found to have drugged Chas Dingle and almost killed Liam Cavanagh.
Paula shot to fame when she was cast on ITV’s long-running soap Coronation Street, which predates Emmerdale by 12 years, and starred as Kylie Platt for six years. Introduced as the wayward half-sister of Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly), who sold her son Max to her amid the chaos of the programme’s tram crash storyline for the 50th anniversary.
She went on to marry David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) and she initially served as an enemy towards her mother-in-law Gail (Helen Worth), who tried and failed to pay her off and leave before the wedding but the pair mended their relationship as time went on.
In 2013, she gave birth to baby Lily, now played by Grace Ashcroft-Gardner, on the pink leopard-print sofa at number eight with her family around her, and later murdered Max’s dad Callum, a violent drug dealer when he threatened the safely of the family. In 2016, she was stabbed in the street and died in David’s arms just moments before the ambulance arrived.
Paula previously admitted that the decision for Kylie to be killed off came as a ‘shock’ to her because she had initially hoped to go off to give birth and then return like she had done with her first baby.
During an appearance on the Soap from the Box podcast, she said: “I felt very strongly that I wanted to go but I was kind of up for maybe having Penny and then coming back for a bit but I think they felt that muddied the water a little bit. They came to the conclusion that they wanted a clean exit.
“I don’t think it was across the board – the writers were very torn by all accounts with what they wanted to do. It was Stuart Blackburn, the producer at the time, who made the call and said ‘We’re gonna kill her off’. I was so shocked. I was heartbroken.
“I was really shocked but at the same time, I understand that it wasn’t a decision I had taken lightly. I remember thinking ‘I didn’t see that coming!’ and I guess the audience would have been equally shocked.”
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