Emmerdale star Isabel Hodgins has opened up about her highly anticipated return to the ITV soap, revealing her ideal timeline for stepping back into Victoria Sugden’s shoes.
The 32-year-old actress temporarily waved goodbye to the Dales earlier this year to embark on her biggest role yet: motherhood. To accommodate Isabel’s maternity leave, show writers scrambled to write her character out of the script, sending Victoria and her young son, Harry, packing for a brand-new life overseas.
“My Way of Thinking Has Completely Flipped”
Isabel officially welcomed her first child, a beautiful baby girl named Georgie Grace, back in February. Since then, the actress has been documenting her postpartum journey on Instagram, recently treating followers to a series of adorable holiday snaps alongside her daughter and partner, Adam.
While Victoria promised her onscreen brother, Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), that her departure wouldn’t be permanent, Isabel admitted that returning to the grueling soap schedule will require a massive lifestyle adjustment.
“I will need to find a way to manage that. For 20 years, work has been my priority,” Isabel candidly shared during an appearance on the You Donât Know Youâre Born podcast, hosted by Danny Miller and Nigel Clucas.
The new mother confessed that bringing a child into the world has completely redefined her outlook on life.
“To be honest, I still donât know when Iâm going back,” she confessed. “In my ideal world, it would be September. And then itâs all systems go. Thatâs when it really starts with the juggling and potential mum guilt, and whatever.”
Behind the Scenes of Her Maternity Leave Exit
Reflecting on her final days on set, Isabel praised Emmerdale executives for being incredibly accommodating throughout her pregnancy, allowing her full autonomy over her exit timeline.
While she originally assumed she would remain on set until early 2026, producers surprised her by wrapping up her final storylines ahead of schedule, allowing her to finish filming before the festive season.
“It was mid-December,” Isabel recalled. “But in hindsight, they did me a favor. The drive from Manchester to Leeds was killing me a bit.”
Why Victoria Fled the Dales
Before her sudden departure, Victoriaâs world was completely upended by the return of the manipulative Joe Tate (Ned Porteous).
The villainous character successfully blackmailed Victoria and Robert, forcing them to surrender the iconic Sugden farmland. Joe gained ultimate leverage after uncovering damning evidence that Victoria was responsible for the death of John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth). Left with no choice and haunted by a dark history of trauma in the village, a devastated Victoria chose to flee the country with Harry to secure a fresh start.
