EMMERDALE'S Charley Webb has revealed that she has "no plans" to return from maternity leave after welcoming son Ace in July with husband and co-star Matthew Wolfenden.
The 31-year-old actress has been enjoying time away from the ITV soap – admitting that looking after three children "is a different ball game".
Charley – who has played Debbie Dingle in the ITV soap since 2001 – and Matthew are also mum and dad to Buster, nine and Bowie, four.
Speaking at the launch of Inflata Nation Peterborough, the actress admitted she has no planned date to return just yet after her final scene as Debbie aired in August.
She said: “I’m still on maternity leave at the moment. It’s been good but three kids is a different ball game.
“It’s been really good fun, but there are no plans for me to return to work at the moment.”
Although Charley is no longer starring in the soap, she is still in the loop through her husband.
Matthew’s happy family life is a world away from his on-screen character David Metcalfe’s, as the unlucky in love shop owner recently got his world turned upside down.
During the festive period viewers were left shocked when David’s paedophile ex-girlfriend, Maya Stepney (Louisa Clein) dumped a newborn baby, Theo, on his doorstep without revealing the identity of the father.
David had a DNA test alongside his stepson Jacob Gallagher (Joe Plant) – who was groomed by school teacher Maya last year – but pleaded with Dr Liam Cavanagh to tamper with the results to avoid ruining Jacob’s life further.
However, the results later concluded that David was Theo’s father and the family have since been stalling reporting Maya’s absence to social services.
Speaking on the impact of the hard-hitting storyline, Charley said: “They did quite a lot of intense stuff last year with Louisa, who played Maya, and Joe Warren, who played Jacob.
“They’re doing a lot of work with Barnados so it’s actually been really interesting for them to research and get their teeth into.”
Charley also slammed "bizarre" trolls following backlash over her son's hair last year.
Buster was cruelly targeted by online bullies in November over the length of his locks, with Charley eventually getting his do cut.
But she insisted that she isn't bothered by comments on the internet, saying: “You always get negativity on social media, but it’s just people who are sat behind their computers writing this stuff so it absolutely does not bother me at all.
“It’s this day and age now where people just need to be a little bit kinder because mental health is so important.
“Trolls are bizarre, they have such strange mentality to go online and give their opinions to someone they don’t know.
“I find it so weird, but they obviously have nothing better to do with their time.”
Matthew and Charley were joined by specially-invited guests at last night's VIP event for an exclusive preview of the state-of-the-art inflatables before the opening today [18 January].
They got to experience the thrilling attraction that is set to prove a smash hit with kids and big kids alike.
Peterborough is Inflata Nation’s eighth UK centre – following in the footsteps of popular sites Manchester, Beverley, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle, West Bromwich and Runcorn.
Matt Ball, co-founder of Inflata Nation, said: “We’re really excited to be opening our first site in the East of England.
“The new centre is custom-fitted with super slides, a gigantic ball pool, dual wipeout zone, obstacle courses, a gladiator battle podium and a special ‘Inflata Bubbles’ section where people of all ages achieve lift-off.
“There is truly something to do for everyone of all ages.”
Inflata Nation has other sites in Manchester, Beverley, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle, West Bromwich and Runcorn.
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