Matthew Wolfenden has spoken for the first time about being suspended from his role on ITV’s Emmerdale after appearing to mimic a Chinese accent on the set
Emmerdale actor Matthew Wolfenden has revealed why he was suspended from the ITV soap opera and how it saw him suffer a nervous breakdown. The actor who plays local businessman David Metcalfe vanished from screens in 2021 alongside his co-star, Isabel Hodgins, who plays Victoria Sugden, leaving fans baffled.
At the time, it was reported that the pair had been embroiled in a heated row while filming scenes for Super Soap Week in the same year. Reports claimed that the pair came to blows while filming a scene which involved a waterfall, which aired on October 19, 2021. However, it later emerged that the soap had launched an investigation following claims of a race row.
But until now, Matthew, 45, has remained tight-lipped about his exit from the soap and has confirmed it came after they were accused of mimicking a Chinese accent around the workplace. “We were falsely accused of doing an accent on set,” he said.
Matthew went on to explain: “Whenever the word race is used, they have to take it seriously.” He explained that a young cast member had mistakenly thought they’d heard the pair putting on a Chinese accent and later complained to a producer about the incident.
He stated that the younger cast member told a producer they were “not very happy” about what they had heard on the set of the Yorkshire-based soap opera. “So, because of this, we did have to get suspended because as soon as that’s an issue, they have to go down the correct routes while they investigate what happens,” Matthew said.
Speaking on Lewis Nicholls Life Stories, he went on to say: “Unfortunately when you get suspended from a continuing drama, you have to get written out of storylines and that is not an easy process because the storylines are written six weeks in advance, you film six weeks in advance and then it’s on screen.
“So even if you’re off for two weeks that could be three months of not being on screen.” He said that he and Isabel had worked together a lot in the lead up to the suspension due to their characters being in a relationship and the pair loved watching comedies.
“So we were sat one day talking about what comedies we loved to watch and we were doing scenes, mimicking the scenes, doing the lines from the scenes,” he said. He went on to add: “And I said to her, ‘Have you ever seen the League of Gentlemen?’
“And there’s a scene in the League of Gentlemen where Reece Shearsmith dresses up as a lady called Pam Doove and it’s called the Orange Juice Scene if anyone wants to Google it and see what I mean. And he’s playing an actress who comes into an audition room and is very eloquent – it’s an old acting joke – and then the director says, ‘Go out of the room and come back in and say ‘Has anyone got a bottle of orange juice?’ for an audition. [She returns and does it in a different accent]. “
He stated that the younger star had overheard the conversation and assumed that Matthew was mimicking the Chinese accent, which led to him being suspended over the alleged “race row”. Matthew claims that bosses behind the soap urged him not to speak out publicly about the reason behind his suspension.
He told the podcast he “didn’t have a leg to stand on” as the Emmerdale press team had instructed him to “stay quiet.” Despite this, Matthew stated he was desperate to tell the truth and found it “difficult” not to speak out over an accusation of something he hadn’t done.
He later explained he became unwell due to the mounting stress and suffered a nervous breakdown. “I ended up in The Priory for a month,” he said. Matthew feared he’d lose his job and ended up hitting a “big spiral down” following the rumours. Despite his suspension, Matthew returned to the programme, but fortunately for him, the cast member who made the claim left while he was absent.
Matthew’s character eventually left Emmerdale in 2023 after two decades on the soap. It was initially suggested that David could be killed off after Matthew expressed an interest in taking on other roles. However, David didn’t die and he instead left to be with his ex Priya and their daughter Amba after learning that his son Jacob had fallen for his former partner Victoria. He couldn’t cope with the new romance and decided he had no choice but to make his departure from the Dales, leaving both Jacob and Pollard devastated.
If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk
The Mirror approached Emmerdale for comment.
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