Samantha Giles returning to 'Emmerdale' as Bernice Blackstock
Bernice Blackstock is making her way back to Emmerdale.
The character, who is played by Samantha Giles, is returning to the soap this summer in an unfortunate turn of events for her ex Dr Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) and his new partner Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi).
She last made an appearance in 2019 the night before she was due to tie the knot to Liam, when she left him to head to Australia to look for ex-husband Charlie after he'd been involved in an accident.
Read more: Emmerdale star refused to film 'unnecessary' scenes in abuse storyline
But with Liam having got his life back together again after Bernice's sudden exit, he's not happy with her return to the Dales.
Another person set to be disgruntled by her reappearance is her daughter Gabby (Rosie Bentham), who's managed to find a mother figure in Kim Tate (Claire King).
Giles, who left the soap to focus on her writing career, said of her return: “As an actress leaving a role that you love is always a hard decision and I’d been lucky to work so consistently for so long, which is rare in our business, so I knew the time had come to be brave and take the leap back in 2019 to pursue my other passion of writing and focus on getting my first book published.
"I’ve now had such a lovely response with Rosemary And The Witches Of Pendle Hill and the downtime of the pandemic meant I was able to complete my next two books.
"I’m a big believer in fate, so when Emmerdale offered me the chance to return as Bernice I took it as a sign that it was meant to be.
"I’m delighted to be returning to play out Bernice’s future storylines, which I’m sure are going to keep the audience entertained.
"She certainly arrives back with a bang, that’s all I'm allowed to say right now, and I’m looking forward to releasing my next two books whilst juggling her hectic onscreen life!"
Read more: Emmerdale actor sparks debate with COVID tweet
Meanwhile, Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw shared: "I am thrilled to have Samantha Giles returning to Emmerdale as Bernice. Samantha is such a fabulous actress and her portrayal of Bernice is a wonderfully warm, complex mix of tragedy and comedy that always brings a whirlwind of fun and drama.
"Constantly misunderstood, often getting things terribly wrong, Bernice promises to cause quite a stir from the moment she lands back in the village and will certainly turn lives upside down as she tries to navigate through the changes since she left.”
Watch: The latest Emmerdale soap spoilers
