Legendary Emmerdale star bids farewell to soap as it’s confirmed his character has been KILLED in ‘harrowing’ scenes – and he has a poignant warning for fans

An Emmerdale legend has been confirmed killed in ‘distressing’ scenes after becoming the subject of a horrific modern slavery storyline.

Wolf Bear, played by actor Joshua Richards, has been a village staple since 2019, but now he’s the latest victim of supervillain Celia Daniels.

In disturbing scenes, he tries to take April’s life while killing Bear in Tuesday’s episode of the show, and then gleefully tells his accomplice Ray that he’s done with Bear, at least in scenes to air on New Year’s Day.

In a new interview with producers, Joshua revealed that he spoke to the Salvation Army and met people who found themselves in similar situations as part of his preparation for the role.

He warned viewers: ‘A lot of people say I would never be scanned online, for example. But a lot of people are, and they are smart and clever.

‘And that’s what we need to be aware of in today’s society. There are people out there who might show you some kindness, and then they will exploit you for it, and it happens, and it’s happening right now…’

The actor described the show’s take on the modern slavery storyline as ‘extraordinary’ and issued a warning to viewers after meeting survivors as part of his preparation for the role.

The actor described the show’s handling of the modern slavery story as ‘extraordinary’.

He said: ‘Modern slavery is still alive and well and appalling. I think it’s very brave of people to raise this issue and I’m extremely proud of what we’ve done as a team.

‘This was a huge collaboration and it’s an issue that is often swept under the rug. But they brought it to the forefront of our minds.’

When asked if it was Bear’s struggle with depression that led him to become a victim of modern slavery despite his physique, Joshua admitted that was probably the case.

He said: ‘After talking in depth with my sister who watched this story, it brought to mind my late father who suffered a similar type of depression in his later years.

‘I’ve seen this first hand and I know what it can really be like for someone who has been a leader his whole life and an extremely physically strong man to be reduced to someone who can easily be pushed from pillar to post.’

But the actor said that despite the hopeless nature of Bear’s story, ‘there is always hope’, saying he believes anyone who finds themselves in a similarly bad mood can recover with the right help.

Joshua concluded his interview by admitting that he ‘can’t wait’ for Celia and Ray to finally get the punishment they deserve.

When asked if it was Bear’s struggle with depression that led him to become a victim of modern slavery, despite his physique, Joshua admitted that this was probably the case; He is photographed here after being forced to dig Anya’s grave.

The actor’s comments come after it was revealed that 62-year-old actress Jaye Griffiths, who plays Celia, had filmed her final scenes and left “chaos and secrets” behind following her departure.

His alter ego has been involved in a lot of drama over the last few months after arriving in the Dales as a farmer looking to rent farms in the area.

But Celia is involved in all sorts of nefarious activities behind the scenes, including drug dealing on the county lines, prostitution, and modern-day slavery on her property.

Luckily for Emmerdale residents, he won’t be around for very long because he’s reportedly already filmed his final scenes, The Sun reports.

A source said: ‘Jaye really loved her time on Emmerdale but knew when she signed up that the shelf life of a character like Celia was limited.

‘He needs to be compensated and that’s what’s going to happen, one way or another. But although Celia is done, her influence and secrets will continue to create chaos long after she is gone.’

Speaking to the media about her departure, Jaye said: ‘I knew this was finite, which makes me very sad because I would like to stay forever but this is such a strong departure.’

The soap star hopes her heartbreaking stories will raise awareness and get people talking about such important issues.

He added: ‘Sometimes when I read the script I think ‘really? Are you going to make me say this?’ Just when you think he’s gone far enough, they’ll take me a little further! So yes, this is terrible.

‘Hopefully maybe the conversations will start to be heard. Maybe every nail file is just… Maybe a question will come to people’s minds.

‘Maybe at every car wash, I don’t know how, as an ordinary person, when you go to the car wash you ask them ‘do you have a passport?’ you say?

‘How do you manage this? How can you help as an ordinary citizen? I asked a police officer and he said ‘I don’t know’.’

Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and can be watched on ITVX.