Fans of the soap opera EMMERDALE have criticized it for giving actor Matthew Wolfenden’s character “terrible storylines” before he decided to quit.

This past weekend, The Sun published an exclusive on how 43-year-old Matthew will be leaving his 17-year role as David Metcalfe on the ITV serial opera.

Although Matthew joined Emmerdale in 2006, we previously covered how he cited a dearth of grim plotlines as the reason he left the soap opera.

It seems like ITV soap opera viewers now firmly concur with the dad of three.

They have vented on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the shopkeeper’s weak plotlines, with one user writing: “They’ve given him weak plots for ages. He was worthy of better.

Alternatively stated: “No surprise there! He hasn’t done anything for well over a year, and it’s obvious they don’t know what to do with him.

Another said, “It’s unfortunate. Great talent, but horrible storylines,” as someone else remarked.

Then, one said, “Not a surprise, he hasn’t had much story in ages,” and another, furious, said, “I’m not surprised, he’s barely in and hasn’t had a good storyline in months.”

Then a fan of soap opera commented, “Great actor, but he is hardly in it.”

Matthew admitted to friends that the current storylines involving his character were boring.

“Matthew has had an amazing time on the soap, but feels ready for a change,” a TV insider stated.

He hasn’t recently been receiving any grim narratives, so he wants to discover what else is available.

He will have a lot of support for whatever he chooses to do next because he is a fan favorite.

“He is quite enthusiastic about the possibilities.

He just announced his departure, so the writers are still planning his on-screen goodbye. There’s a chance David won’t survive.

In 2021, the actor was the subject of a race-row investigation.

Just a few weeks before to the announcement of his soap opera exit, Matthew surprised fans with a photo of him holding his doppelganger son.

Off-screen, Charley Webb, 35, who portrayed Debbie Dingle in the ITV soap from 2002 to 2021, and Matthew are married.