Sally Dexter feels she has left her "family" behind after departing \'Emmerdale\'.
The 59-year-old actress has finished filming her scenes as Faith Dingle - who she has portrayed on the ITV soap since 2017 - but felt "peculiar" leaving her good friends after departing the Dales, because she is so close to her former co-stars.
She said: "It\'s sort of irresistible. I do feel like I\'ve left family up there, and we\'re still in touch.
"They\'re coming down to see me in the show.
"It\'s so peculiar but I do feel like I have a son and a daughter, a granddaughter and several great-grandchildren. It feels like that."
Sally is currently focusing on her upcoming new role as Fan Marley, Ebenezer Scrooge\'s sister, in a production of \'Christmas Carol\', and admits it is her "most challenging" role to date.
Speaking on \'This Morning\', she added: "This is the most challenging thing I think I\'ve ever done, and possibly the most exciting.
"Going back to theatre, I was kind of thinking it\'s going to be so much easier. You\'ve got all this rehearsal time.
"Then suddenly you do it and you think, \'It\'s not that easy at all.\' "
Sally confirmed her \'Emmerdale\' departure just last month, admitting she had already set her sights on a part in \'Line of Duty\'.
She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I\'m taking a bit of a break from \'Emmerdale\', because of the explosive storyline that\'s happening between Cain and Moira, and of course Faith and Nate."
But Sally isn\'t sure how long she will be away from the Dales for.
When asked if she wanted to take a break, she said: "Yes, I just want to see what\'s around.
"I love \'Emmerdale\' and the team, I love my Dingle family very much.
"I don\'t know how long the break is for at the moment."
And she would love to land a role in some gritty dramas, such as BBC One show \'Line of Duty\'.
She said: "\'Line of Duty\' would be great. Stuff like that I would love to do. That would be absolutely fabulous.
"Filming of all sorts I really, really love."
