Emmerdale's Fiona Wade addresses Priya abandoning Amba

Emmerdale spoilers follow.

Emmerdale actress Fiona Wade has offered some context as to why her character Priya Kotecha abandons daughter Amba Metcalfe in upcoming scenes.

Airing this week, the socially anxious Priya becomes overwhelmed at Amba's carol service before stumbling back home alone. Chatting to Digital Spy and other media recently, Wade was quizzed on what makes her soap alter-ego nervous enough to do such a thing and explained that her character begins to find everything to be too much.

"I always think your fears are greater than the reality and to an extent they are, but in her head everything she fears comes true at the moment," she said.

ITV

"All the fears of people, crowds, seeing people, are people going to pity her, what will they say, what is she going to say, she's not ready at all.

"But she goes and it's a carol concert but it's also Christmas market so there's food everywhere and everywhere she looks it's magnified to her so the food stall, the cake stalls, Christmas things, people coming up to her, it's all too much, it's like a blur and then Amba's there and she wants to be there for Amba but she's in her own head and in her own pain and it all just gets too much."

But when she eventually recognises the severity of her actions, will this not just make her feel a whole lot worse?

ITV

"Yes," agreed Wade. "Because she has seen her dad, I don't think she thinks 'I've left Amba on her own.' In her mind, she has seen Amba run off with Rishi and thinks that everything's okay and she's gone over to see Father Christmas, and Priya's in her own hell and she's just got to get out of there."

She added that it was only after Ellis brings Amba home that Priya "realises 'Oh my goodness,' and she has to snap out of herself for a second. It's just another layer of an awful feeling that she already feels about herself.

"She already thinks she's awful and not worthy any more, she feels her life is over, and now she's not able to look after her daughter, and I think it makes her feel completely on the edge now of just not coping," she continued.

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.