The 30-year-old has played Dawn Fletcher in the long-running ITV programme for eight years, sharing the screen with Claire’s Kim Tate, her stepmother.
Fans were left shocked when her character was killed off in devastating scenes on her tragic wedding day, after prematurely giving birth to a baby boy with partner Joe Tate. In the emotional footage, she suffered internal bleeding and sadly died after giving birth.
Touching on the episode in a press roundtable, Claire described their final few moments together on set as “heartbreaking”.
“But we did have a good laugh that week because we were all outside this massive marquee where we were doing all the wedding stuff and car crash, and it’s all supposed to be tragic but we were all actually having a good life.
“We had some really nice people on set that day. Great crew, and it was just a bit of camaraderie.
“But I could see as the days went on to the final day she was getting more and more sort of angst and things.”
Dawn made a big impact when she arrived in the Dales almost a decade ago, and has been at the centre of huge storylines since then – including the moment she found her long lost son, and her on-off romance with ex-husband Billy.
Olivia was told of her character’s fate earlier this year, with bosses teasing the huge exit plot. However, despite the advanced warning, she admitted that she found it tough to bid farewell.
“It was the toughest storyline I’ve done during my time in the soap,” she told the Mirror.
“I was surprised by how emotional I found it and it was way more emotional than I was expecting. I did cry.
“It is very strange to kill off your character as an actor and in front of your colleagues. But that said, what a gift to be given. Often people leave and just slip off.”
She added: “Psychologically, now I have had time to reflect, I know it’s good for me, because I can say bye to my Emmerdale chapter. It’s been brilliant. I was originally only signed up for 12 episodes and I’ve stayed eight years!”
Emmerdale star Olivia Bromley shed real tears when she filmed the tragic death of her character, Dawn Fletcher, tonight. Due to marry bad boy Joe Tate, their plans were scuppered when Jimmy King crashed into the wedding marquee, causing a big explosion, and pregnant Dawn was rushed to hospital.
Sent into premature labour, while Dawn gave birth safely to a baby boy with Joe at her side, she had a serious internal bleed. Suddenly, without warning, she crashed and, despite medics’ best efforts to resuscitate her, she died.
In her first interview since the explosive scenes, Olivia, 30, who was originally signed by Emmerdale for just 12 episodes in 2018, tells The Mirror: “It was the toughest storyline I’ve done during my time in the soap.
“I was surprised by how emotional I found it and it was way more emotional than I was expecting. I did cry. It is very strange to kill off your character as an actor and in front of your colleagues. But that said, what a gift to be given. Often people leave and just slip off.”
The actress was told earlier this year her character would be at the heart of a huge exit storyline during the soap’s biggest week of the year. Having reached a crossroads playing Dawn, she says it was almost a relief to have the decision over what to do with the role made for her.
She says: “This is a good time for me to go on a personal level. I had felt ready for the character to go. This character felt like she had done so much and I didn’t know what direction she could go in next. I had played her for a long time, and it felt like I needed to do other things. I am proud this was such a big finale to my time in the soap.”
But news that Dawn was being killed off came as a bolt from the blue and she confesses she would have liked to have left the door open to one day return.
Despite the initial shock, she says: “Psychologically, now I have had time to reflect, I know it’s good for me, because I can say bye to my Emmerdale chapter. It’s been brilliant. I was originally only signed up for 12 episodes and I’ve stayed eight years!”
And if viewers found her final scenes surprisingly realistic, she can now share the secret – that real life paramedics, rather than actors, were used to make the medical scenes convincing. She says: “They had real life paramedics and intensive care workers who came in to play those parts. Emmerdale is a fast-paced soap and we often don’t have time to train actors up, so they bring supporting people in with a lot of experience.”
Likening it to an “out of body” experience, she adds of her character’s death scenes: “They had rehearsed the crash response with Ned [who plays Joe Tate] and the supporting artists first and, right at the last minute, they put me in the scene. I had no idea what was going on.
“They went into the crash response, and it felt like an out of body experience lying there. They were all so professional and brilliant at what they did.”
But Olivia is sad that Dawn’s life ended so tragically. She says: “Even though she was able to cradle the baby with her children and Joe by her side, nobody had picked up on her bleeding internally. Finally, she had got what she wanted and so it was a sad end for her.”
Dawn originally arrived in the village as a drug addicted sex worker. Her big storylines included finding her long lost son and her on-off romance with her big love, ex-husband Billy. But she fell for Joe Tate in January 2025, after embarking on an affair behind Billy’s back.
They got engaged in December 2025 and by February 2026 discovered they were expecting a baby. But in recent months, Dawn, who had two other children and an adopted daughter, had been troubled by her lingering feelings for Billy.
And when he was attacked last month, she believed Joe was responsible and had planned to escape with Billy, rather than marrying the bad boy. However, in a massive plot twist, it became apparent Billy had actually been attacked by Kev – making Dawn want to marry Joe after all.
Olivia says: “Only a few weeks ago, she was talking about escaping with Billy, but in the end chose Joe. If Dawn hadn’t returned to Joe at the end, she would still be alive now. Billy is her true love but ultimately, she is an addict and she was drawn to Joe.”
She continues: “I’ve loved playing Dawn and I’ve enjoyed watching her develop and change. I’ve made many friends too and I am going to miss them a lot – especially everyone at Home Farm and Jay, who plays Billy. We are like brother and sister; we get on so well.”
Away from Emmerdale, Olivia lives happily in Leeds with her partner, who she keeps out of the public eye. She says: “My life has changed since joining the show. It has given me stability and, alongside the character, I’ve grown and changed. It’s made me ambitious in different ways and taken my life in a different way.”
After graduating from Oxford School of Drama, Olivia moved to London to work in theatre, before the call from Emmerdale came. She says: “This did change things for me and to be a working actor for eight years has been very special.”
And she would love to continue working in TV drama. She says: “I want to try some new things. It’s an exciting time and I would love to do a period drama or a gritty 9pm drama like Line of Duty.”
Now awaiting auditions, she has her leaving party to look forward to next weekend. She says: “It’s themed and I think we all deserve a drink after such a chaotic, complex end for Dawn. I’m also looking forward to just being me and not Dawn!”
As for Emmerdale without her? Olivia says: “The audience will go on a rollercoaster I am sure! I will always be so grateful to Emmerdale for giving me this role and to have been able to play Dawn fully until the end has been so much fun.”
*Emmerdale airs every weekday on ITV1 and STV1 at 8pm. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX.
Contains spoilers! Recent Emmerdale rumours teased an exit for Dawn Taylor amid a dramatic stunt week that saw one character dead and Joe Tate injured, but will Dawn stay on the show?
07:47, 28 Aug 2026Updated 07:47, 28 Aug 2026
Amid rumours Dawn is leaving Emmerdale, fans feared another character would die(Image: ITV)
Amid rumours Dawn is leaving Emmerdale, fans feared another character would die this week.
With Jimmy King dead, Joe Tate was caught up in an explosion leaving fans wondering if he would be killed off too. Thursday’s cliffhanger saw Dawn Taylor and Nicola King escaping the wedding marquee, that was meant to host pregnant Dawn’s wedding with Joe.
Dawn jilted Joe, and then changed her mind, but before they could reconcile, tragedy struck. Jimmy’s car went speeding into the marquee, injuring himself, Dawn and Joe.
Jimmy eventually died, and Nicola and Dawn were fine, leaving Joe’s fate unknown. As the marquee exploded, it was teased villain Joe had been killed off, as his loved ones watched on in shock.
But is Dawn leaving the show? It was reported earlier this year that actress Olivia Bromley had been written out of the ITV soap after eight years.
Nothing has been confirmed, but reports suggested Dawn would be leaving. It left some fans wondering if Joe would die, causing a grief-stricken Dawn to flee the village.
So while nothing has been confirmed by Emmerdale, scenes this week did tease an exit, when Dawn planned to run off with Billy Fletcher. She changed her mind, so could the exit rumours have been a mistake?
Might the escape plan have led some to think she would leave, but actually Dawn will stay? It’s these reports that sparked the exit claims in the first place, and as we say, they have not been backed up by the show or actress Olivia.
Perhaps the latest episode on Friday could add more to this, with Joe’s fate confirmed. Warning, the rest of this article contains spoilers from Friday’s episode now available on ITVX.
If you haven’t watched the episode yet, look away now! Friday’s visit to the Dales follows the immediate fallout of the explosion, as Graham Foster desperately tries to save Joe.
Joe is rescued and taken to hospital where it is revealed whether he lives or dies. We’ll leave that, and any other twists that air, for your own viewing.
The episode is now on ITVX and will air this evening at 8PM on ITV1. Producer Laura Shaw had teased Joe’s fate with the Mirror in a recent chat, where she appeared to confirm a big new storyline.
Laura hinted that Joe’s feud with his uncle Caleb Miligan would escalate after the wedding week, and would continue into 2027. We’re also expecting a “gothic and dark” autumn for the Tates.
Emmerdale star Nick Miles, who played Jimmy King on the ITV soap for more than two decades, has addressed final scenes which saw the beloved character killed off in a crash
Nick Miles has left Emmerdale after 22 years as Jimmy King
Nick Miles has addressed his exit from Emmerdale – just hours after his character was killed off in explosive scenes. The actor, 63, has played Jimmy King on the long-running soap since 2004, but departed the Yorkshire-based serial in scenes that aired on Thursday evening.
Viewers will know that, in recent times, Jimmy and wife Nicola had been looking to the future, and had even planned to renew their wedding vows. Jimmy had not disclosed to Nicola about his financial troubles though, but tragedy struck when he crashed crashed into the wedding marquee where Joe Tate and Dawn Taylor were having a heart-to-heart.
No explanation has been offered yet as to what caused the fatal crash but actor Nick, who previously starred in The Bill, has spoken out about the sudden departure.
Asked by co-star Nicola Wheeler, who plays his on-screen wife, in a video that appeared on Emmerdale’s official Instagram why his character had to go, he simply reasoned: “Everybody I know who read that script, the first thing they said was that it made me cry.”
Nicola was with him in his final moments, telling Jimmy she loved him and holding his hand, as he imagined their vow renewal. With Jimmy gone, Nicola wept before fleeing the marquee just as it exploded.
Just moments before, everything played out as Nicola raced into the marquee to find her husband, was in a bad way and suggested he might not be making it out.
In heart-wrenching scenes, Jimmy shared his love for his wife, but sadly he succumbed to his injuries and died in the car. Moments later the marquee looked as though it was about to be engulfed in flames.
Fans were certainly not impressed with the shock death, with one writing: “He deserved better.” Another said: “I’m still in bits what an episode. Bravo to the cast,” as a third added: “I can’t get over the episode. I was in tears.”
Another fan commented: “I hate that they are getting rid of [name].” A further post read: “He deserved something more epic,” as a final fan said: “You’ve done [name] dirty!”
Other fans confessed they couldn’t believe the show was getting rid of the character. Another fan said they were “fuming” given the character had been a apart of the show for so long.”
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.*
