Ex-Emmerdale star Jason Merrells has admitted that the open-ended nature of soap left him frustrated.
Merrells told press including Digital Spy that he was "so proud" of his working on the ITV soap, but added that he missed "playing a story from A to B".
"That for me was the biggest frustration of being in a soap," he said. "Although I loved my time there, the biggest frustration is that you're not playing a story from A to B - you don't know what the end is and every week it's, 'Oh, we're going that way now?' - for me, it's about telling a story [from start to finish].
"I was so proud of Emmerdale - not just what I did, but what the other guys were doing in it. I thought we were easily the best in the business - and a lot of other people agree.
"I think sometimes within that momentum - that hothouse - you can get amazing things happening and you can go to the same place that all big-budget dramas can do. But as a general way of working… after a while, I preferred a change."
Merrells played Declan Macey on Emmerdale from 2010 to 2014. His next role is in ITV's four-part thriller Safe House, as a father who takes refuge with his family in the home of an ex-cop, played by Christopher Eccleston.
The show is being eyed by ITV as a potential returning series, though Merrells is not expected to appear beyond the first run.
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