MANY faces have come and gone from the Dales – with some of them meeting tragic fates.
Diehard Emmerdale fans may remember former villager Shelley Williams. But what happened to her? Get the lowdown.
Who was Shelley Williams in Emmerdale?
Like many women before her, Shelley Williams was given proof that life in the eponymous ITV village can often end in tragedy.
Born Michelle Lindsay Shelley Williams on February 2, 1955, the character initially rocked up Emmerdale in July, 2003.
Shelley rose to prominence among soap viewers for her relationship with successful entrepreneur Alan Turner, also known as the former owner of The Grange, The Woolpack and manager of NY Estates at Home Farm.
Unfortunately for him and Shelley, their love story was immediately met with strong and violent opposition from Alan's psychopathic daughter Steph Stokes.
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Established as the village bully due to her violent and threatening behaviour, Steph was first happy to see Shelley, one of her good friends, arrive in the village.
The friends quickly decided to make plans to open a salon in Emmerdale, getting Alan to finance their business.
However, things took a turn after the death of Steph's daughter Tricia Dingle as Alan sought comfort in the form of Shelley and the pair became a couple.
As mentioned above, Steph was horrified when she found out about their love affair and made it clear she could never support them.
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The pair of women quickly became sworn enemies as Steph was afraid she would lose both the people she was closest to and her inheritance.
In an attempt to sabotage Shelley and Alan's relationship, Steph made up a rumour that her former friend was a gold digger, which was enough to split them apart.
Shelley took some time away from Emmerdale, leaving Alan at Steph's mercy, but she came back to spend time with him, only to find out from her ex-pal that he was "ill" and didn't want to be disturbed.
While Shelley had no clue, Steph had actually pushed her father down the stairs during a heated argument where he confessed he wished she had died instead of Tricia.
Steph took things a step further by pushing Shelley down the cellar stairs before tying her up and gagging her.
Matters went from bad to worse as Shelley was taken away into the woods.
Once everybody in the village figured out what Steph had been doing to Alan, the police questioned her about Shelley's disappearance.
Steph told the police she couldn't remember but, while in jail, she had flashes of herself killing Shelley.
But this wasn't the end of Shelley's story.
What happened to Shelley Williams in Emmerdale?
Shelley eventually reappeared in the village as Alan and fellow villagers gathered round in her memorial garden and she told him the entire truth.
She revealed Steph had taken her to the woods before ordering her to run away and threatening to kill her if she didn't.
Alan was shocked but delighted to see Shelley was alive and well, prompting the couple to give things another go.
Despite this, tensions with Steph grew although she did try to repair her relationship with Shelley.
The women met at the local church for a confrontation and Shelley made it clear she was unable to let things go.
Unable to forget the past, Shelley decided to leave Emmerdale once again and Steph went after her in a bid to get her back to Alan.
Steph found Shelley on a ferry and, although she was initially kicked off, she was able to sneak on the boat as it was making its way.
Both women found themselves in another showdown and Steph tried to force Shelley to come back to Emmerdale with her.
But when Steph grabbed her arm, Shelley slipped over the railings and fell into the freezing cold sea below.
Knowing she would be blamed for her death, Steph threw her former pal's suitcase in the water and it was later found floating off the cost of Scotland.
Shelley was last seen struggling in the water and has been presumed dead ever since.
Alan eventually came to terms with the fact that Shelley was dead and Steph admitted she'd played a part in it.
It wasn't until her husband Adam Forsythe murdered her brother Terence that Steph paid for her actions.
Finally willing to do the right thing out of love for her father, Steph confessed to killing Terence and she was sentenced to a lifetime in prison.
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Who played Shelley Williams in Emmerdale?
Actress Carolyn Pickles portrayed Shelley Williams from 2003 until her on-screen death in 2005.
Hailing from Wakefield in West Yorkshire, the 71-year-old actress is the daughter of Circuit Judge James Pickles and the niece of fellow actress Christina Pickles.
After attending school in Halifax, Carolyn read drama at the University of Manchester and took on roles in several student productions including Narrow Road to the Deep North by Edward Bond.
Carolyn also joined the BBC's Radio Drama Company before playing the lead role as Miss Bluebell in the BBC show of the same name.
This catapulted her into the spotlight as she bagged several other roles on the small screen.
The TV star most notably portrayed DCI Kim Reid in The Bill for two years before and Simone Trevelyan in May to December and in The Tales of Para Handy as Lady Catherine Ramsay.
Carolyn also starred in the educational drama Through The Dragon's Eye, in the program We'll Meet Again, Casualty, Lewis, Land Girls and Broadchurch.
Carolyn has been playing the recurring role of Reverend Mother Adrian in Sister Boniface Mysteries since 2022.
She is also known for her roles on the silver screen as she appeared in Roman Polanski's Tess, Agatha and The Mirror Crack'd.
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In 2010, she played Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts who was tortured and killed by Voldemort in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 1.
Meanwhile, Emmerdale continues to air weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.
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