Emmerdale fans moved as soap pays poignant tribute to late Pearl Ladderbanks star Meg Johnson
EMMERDALE fans were left emotional after the soap paid tribute to the beloved Pearl Ladderbanks actress Meg Johnson in a touching dedication.
Meg played the iconic Pearl Ladderbanks on Emmerdale from 2003 to 2020, but her family confirmed she had sadly died on Sunday at age of 86 after a battle with dementia.
In a joint statement with her family, ITV announced: ";It is with great sadness that we announce that actress Meg Johnson passed away peacefully yesterday evening surrounded by her family.
"Meg was a kind and wonderful lady, full of warmth and always with a twinkle in her eye. Meg had an outstanding career that ended with her playing Pearl Ladderbanks in Emmerdale from 2003.
"Meg had dementia for the last few years, but battled on personally and professionally regardless. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her."
Emmerdale paid tribute to the actress at the end of Monday's episode.
read more on emmerdale
A title card appeared which read: "Meg Johnson, 30 September 1936 - 1 July 2023."
Viewers took to Twitter following the episode to praise Emmerdale for their touching tribute.
One said: "Aw the tribute to Meg Johnson at the end! #Emmerdale."
Another wrote: "RIP Meg #Emmerdale."
Most read in Soaps
A third penned: "The tribute to Meg aka legend Pearl #Emmerdale."
Meg starred in the ITV soap for an impressive 17 years.
Her last scene aired in March 2020 where viewers saw Pearl leaving the village to move into a static home away from the Dales.
Over the years, her storylines saw pensioner Pearl defending her rapist son Frank Bernard Hartbourne, being trapped in a fire during the Sugden house explosion, developing a gambling addiction and faking Alzheimer's disease to prevent her addiction from being revealed.
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7.30pm on ITV1.