Is Amy Walsh leaving Emmerdale for good as Tracy exits the village?

Emmerdale waved goodbye to Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) in recent scenes from the ITV soap, as she moved away from the village with daughter Frankie for a fresh start elsewhere.

It’s safe to say that the Emmerdale village has a lot of bad memories for Tracy.

In 2024, Tracy was led to believe Frankie’s dad Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) didn’t want anything to do with his family in the village anymore.

A few months later, she learnt that he never made it to his new job in Shetland, and was actually murdered by John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth).

So, when Tracy was offered a new job by Nate’s mum Cara, it was no wonder that she decided to sell her house and accept.

At first, she kept her decision a secret from Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick), but Vanessa eventually came to understand why Tracy wanted to leave.

Tracy Shankley’s exit drama

Tracy was unaware that Cain and the Dingles were dealing with the fact that Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) had knocked down Holly Barton’s memorial on Butler’s Farm.

Once Tracy discovered that Cain hadn’t forgotten about them and was actually dealing with more family drama, she told Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) to drive them up to Wishing Well Cottage instead.

Despite the fact Tracy and Cain haven’t always seen eye to eye, their final hug and farewell was very emotional.

Cain tried to remain strong in front of Tracy and young Frankie, but he somewhat struggled to hide his tears over another family member leaving.

But is Tracy’s exit permanent?

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Why did Amy Walsh leave Emmerdale and will she be back?

Last week, she announced the birth of her second child with former EastEnders star husband Toby-Alexander Smith.

The soap stars, who met while in the audience of a Strictly Come Dancing episode, already have a daughter together called Bonnie.

Though it has not been confirmed whether or not Tracy will return to the village at the end of Amy’s maternity leave, the fact that Tracy has only moved house is a positive sign.

Having said that, even dead characters can make surprise comebacks, as Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) proved earlier this year.

Tracy still has family in the village, so perhaps she will come back one day, when there aren’t so many painful memories around.

This article was first published on March 29, 2026.