In last night’s episode of Emmerdale (Thursday, November 30), David Metcalfe left village after he realised he could no longer stay following recent revelations.
Under the pretence that he needed to go to London to help Priya with daughter Amba, David packed his bags and exited Emmerdale.
But fans were left disappointed with the final goodbye, calling it “unbelievable”.
How did David leave Emmerdale?
It had been a bad week for David who had his hopes of reuniting with ex Victoria totally crushed when he saw his stepson, Jacob, kissing her through the window.
David and Jacob had a showdown, but worse was to come for heartbroken David when Pollard revealed his Parkinson’s diagnosis. David was distraught thinking everyone was against him having kept so many secrets.
Although he later forgave Eric and promised to be there every step of the way for his dad, he just couldn’t forgive Jacob. Despite Vic doing as he asked and dumping Jake, David was not in a forgiving mood and called her a “thoughtless slapper”.
Jacob saw red and punched his dad, making the situation a whole lot worse. David then told him not to call him ‘dad’ anymore, leaving relations between them completely destroyed.
It all got too much and David told his dad he was leaving the village to help Priya with an unsettled Amba in London. Despite his own health battle, Pollard encouraged his son to leave and put his children first (although he seemed to forget about his other son, Theo in all this).
He packed his bags and left in the dead of night, bidding farewell to his dad, Brenda and Leyla, but not Jacob.
This comes after Matthew Wolfenden decided to leave his role in the Dales to explore new opportunities.
Fans react to David’s departure
After 17 years on the soap, viewers of Emmerdale were not impressed with how David was written out. They have insisted there’s no way he’s had left his ill dad, asked where his son Theo was, and also questioned the fact he’s supposedly banned from driving. They’ve called the whole exit storyline was “unbelievable”.
“Not much of a fan of how they wrote David out. He just came across as a bit of a nasty obsessive. I get he was hurt but it just looked like he was angry because he couldn’t get what he wanted and was jealous his son did,” said one.
Another added: “You could’ve changed David. How does he pack all his life up in such a short time? Totally unbelievable. And where’s Theo?!”
“What type of ending was that for David? someone who has been living in the village for years? Leaves the business to a father who has an illness, and doesn’t make peace with his son?” raged one more.
Someone else questioned: “Wait a minute. How did David pack and leave that quickly? He has a lifetime of stuff to stuff in his car!”
“I’m not a massive David fan but that was one of the worst exits ever. He deserved way better after all these years,” said one more.
Another commented: “I liked David for ages, but the way they portrayed his character lately, like a wet weekend, I can honestly say I am not sad to see him go. And, like others have said, driving when he has no current right to, no Theo in sight and his dad has Parkinson’s, plus he wouldn’t hate Jacob like that. Very sad, and a bad ending…”
What is Matthew Wolfenden up to now after soap exit?
Matthew Wolfenden is currently performing as Buddy in Elf the Musical in the West End this festive season.
This new role sees Matthew turn to a new direction in life, coinciding with the end of his five year marriage with former Emmerdale co-star Charley Webb.
Matthew recently took to Instagram and posted: “It is with love and respect that Charley and I have decided to separate. We remain friends and our priority is the love for our children.
“For their sake we would appreciate privacy at this time. M x.” Charley posted the same statement to her own account.
It has since been reported Matthew has a new girlfriend.
As for whether Matthew will ever return to Emmerdale, he hasn’t ruled it out, recently telling This Morning: “The door’s left open, they’re not killing me off, I’ve been promised.”
Read more: Complete Emmerdale cast list 2023 – meet them all here!
Emmerdale usually airs on weekdays at 7.30pm, with an hour long episode on Thursdays.
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