Emmerdale's Charley Webb addresses exit as Debbie Dingle

Emmerdale star Charley Webb has addressed her future on the ITV soap, almost a year since she was last seen on our screens.

Charley, who has played fan-favourite Debbie Dingle since 2002, responded to a fan's question about whether she had left the show on Instagram yesterday (January 3).

Confirming Emmerdale's line back in December that there were currently no plans for Debbie to return to the village, Charley appeared to admit that she had bid farewell to her long-running character.

"This is always my most asked question but I've never answered it before because I've never wanted to make a big deal of it," the actress explained.

zak dingle and debbie dingle in emmerdale

ITV

Suggesting that she had stepped back from the soap on a more permanent basis when she last went on maternity leave, Charley continued: "I left to have Ace [two] years ago.

"I went back at the end of last year for 10 weeks to complete a storyline. So, I guess officially it's been a year. I never felt the need to announce it which is why we didn't."

Speculation about Charley's future on Emmerdale follows reports that her co-star and husband Matthew Wolfenden – as well as Victoria Sugden star Isabel Hodgins – had been absent from filming amid rumours of an on-set row.

charley webb and matthew wolfenden attend the british soap awards

Getty/Karwai Tang/WireImage

Emmerdale later responded to reports of a racism complaint, saying it "has robust policies in place to deal with any allegations brought to our attention".

Reports claimed that a mixed-race star had been upset by an "inappropriate comment" and mimicry during filming earlier this year. Neither Wolfenden nor Hodgins have addressed the speculation publicly, but they are previously reported to have denied the allegations.

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