How old is Emmerdale’s Samantha Giles and how did she become a witch?

4 August 2020, 10:21 | Updated: 4 August 2020, 10:31

Who did Samantha Giles play in Emmerdale? When did she leave the soap? And who is her husband?

Samantha Giles played Bernice Blackstock in Emmerdale for two decades before leaving last year.

But now she has turned her hand to writing after penning her own children's book about witchery called Rosemary and the Witches of Pendle hill.

So, who is Samantha Giles, and when did she become a witch? Here's what we know...

How old is Samantha Giles?

Samantha Elizabeth Giles, now known as Samantha Pritchard, is a 49-year-old actress from Maidstone.

As well as Emmerdale, Samantha’s other TV credits include Doctors, Dangerfield and Midnight Man.

Her stage credits include A Taste of Honey (as Helen), Dead Funny (Lisa), and Season's Greetings (Belinda).

In 2008, Samantha took over from actress Jacqueline Leonard in Hollyoaks as Valerie Holden. She returned in July 2010 and left again in August 2010.

Read More: Who plays Harriet Finch in Emmerdale? And what do we know about actress Katherine Dow Blyton?

Who did Samantha Giles play in Emmerdale and what happened to her character?

Samantha Giles is best known for playing Bernice Blackstock in Emmerdale from 1998 to 2019.

The role even earned her a TV Quick Award for Best Actress and a nomination for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards in 2000.

After more than 20 years on the soap, Samantha announced her exit in September last year, with her character’s last scenes in December.

Viewers saw Bernice leave for Australia with her daughter Dee Dee in order to help care for her ex-husband Charlie, who she learns was in a serious car accident.

Speaking about her exit, Samantha said: "I said [to the producers] I don't mind what they did, because I think if you say that you're going, you can't then say, 'Oh, don't kill me, though'," she explained. "So I wouldn't have minded if they had [killed me off].

"But they wanted to leave it open. So that's really nice that she's not dead."

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Is Samantha Giles a witch?

Samantha Giles describes herself as a Wiccan and has now written a children’s book about Lancashire's Pendle Hill witches.

She practises pagan spells and even used a love spell to meet her husband Sean 15 years ago.

She told Whats On TV: “Before I met my husband, I cast a love spell. Two months later, I was in the theatre in Liverpool when Sean walked past me. I nearly passed out because he was so gorgeous. It took a while to bump into him again, but when I did I thought I’d better grab my chance.

"It must have worked, because we’ve been together for nine years now. But, really, I don’t use the spells in my own life any more… They should be a last resort.”

Samantha shares two children with her husband - daughters Eve, 12 and Olivia, eight.

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