She’s BACK In The Spotlight! Emmerdale’s Rachael Gill-Davis Lands MAJOR Role – But What’s REALLY Going On Behind The Scenes?

Gail Loman in Emmerdale played by Rachael Gill-Davis (Image: ITV)

An Emmerdale fave has announced an exciting new role following their recent exit from the ITV soap.

As Emmerdale fans know, the character of Gail Loman recently left the village. Gail, portrayed by Rachael Gill-Davis, joined the show as a love interest for Ryan Stocks, first meeting in 2019 before she became a regular character in 2023.

Acting star Rachael will appear in the play Saint Joan, an adaptation of the works by George Bernard Shaw, portraying historic French military figure Joan of Arc. We caught up with Rachael to find out more about her major post-Emmerdale casting.

She enthused: “I’m absolutely over-the-moon to take on such a great role. It is a lot of pressure as Judi Dench, and people like her, have played the role.” Rachael will spend the summer rehearsing with audiences expected to be able to see Saint Joan staged in August.

Rachael told us just how much she’s looking forward to being part of the production. She said: “I’ve had to keep it (the casting) quiet for quite a while. It was the week after my final scenes (in Emmerdale) aired. I’ve worked with the director Kaitlin Howard before, who is absolutely fantastic.”

Rachael added: “It is a major contrast as well from the comedy that I have been playing. Weirdly, before Emmerdale, I’d been playing a lot of different characters. I played Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. I played quite a few villains. It is nice to go back to go to something really, really serious.

“What a great play as well. Something to really get my teeth really stuck into it.”

Following her Emmerdale exit, Rachael stressed she is keen to explore different acting opportunities and is delighted with her casting in Saint Joan.

“The reason why I became an actor is because I’m obsessed with people and I find people fascinating. I love basically telling different stories, finding different characters and really challenging myself,” she said. “I need to feel really mentally stimulated.

“I love to get different roles, find different characters and tell different stories. That’s why I choose to do acting.”

Concluding, Rachael said: “Theatre is where I’ve learned a lot of the skillset to act but television has its own challenges as well. It is great to be back in a theatre and have that adrenaline (of a live audience) – I’ve missed it.”

We’ll keep you posted on Saint Joan and what is next for Rachael Gill-Davis following her exit from Emmerdale.