Emmerdale: Meena in tears after prison sentence
Paige was first introduced to the cast of Emmerdale in the Autumn of 2020 as Meena, the estranged sister of established character Manpreet Sharma (played by Rebecca Sarker). From the offset viewers of the ITV soap knew the villain had a troublesome past as she had an affair with Manpreet's first husband, which led to them losing contact with one another but nothing could have prepared them for the discovery she was actually a serial killer. For almost a year, the murderer got away with her crimes but in Monday night's episode, she was finally sentenced for claiming the lives of three villagers, bringing an end to Paige's time on the show.
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Why has Paige Sandhu left Emmerdale as Meena Jutla?
Although writers would have loved to have seen Meena carry on her reign of terror for longer, unfortunately, they knew the character had caused too much damage.
Knowing there was an endgame in sight for the villain, producers knew this would mean Paige would have to leave as they brought her contract to an end.
Explaining the decision to bring the killer's story to an end, producer Kate Brooks explained the thought process in a little more detail with Express.co.uk and other media.
The soap boss said: "I really hope [the fans like the twist]. So we could have killed Meena off but I like how we punish her and how weak she leaves the show.
"It's very fitting to her character, we take away the one thing Meena craves in the whole world, which is attention and notoriety, so once that is removed from Meena, I don’t know what she has got left."
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Emmerdale exit: Why has Paige Sandhu left as Meena Jutla? (Image: ITV)
Emmerdale: Meena Jutla was sentenced to 75 years in prison (Image: ITV)
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Kate continued: "She very quickly realises that this is the worst fate imaginable, it’s worse than death or anything else.
"They've waited quite a while to see this happen, with a serial killer story like this it can be quite Marmite but ultimately people love to hate Meena."
Although the temptation was there to keep Meena, the producer said it just couldn't happen, adding: "They can't continue down that path because there is nowhere else for them to go.
"We knew we had to give people a sense of justice and not just viewers, but also for our characters who are left because if they didn't receive that sense of justice or feel Meena had been punished accordingly to those crimes, there is no way we could have moved them on as characters.
"We ultimately have got to let Meena’s fate rest in the hands of the Soap Gods and they need to punish her accordingly and I think and hope viewers will be satisfied."
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Emmerdale: Meena Jutla star Paige Sandhu has been on the show for 18 months (Image: ITV)
It’s worse than death
Kate Brooks
Discussing her take on the conclusion to Meena's storyline, Paige said: "As I've said before, I always believed that Meena would end up dying. But I think this is the best ending.
"It was nice to see Meena having one last hurrah when she took over the court. It was very exciting and you just didn't know what was going to happen.
"But now, this is the worst thing for Meena. It's worse than death. She would choose death over going to prison for the amount of time that she does go down for.
"I think it's going to be really satisfying for the audience, particularly the people who really hate Meena, to see this ending.
"It is justice and there was a line written in Meena's last scene. The writer had written 'ding dong, the witch is finally gone' and I think that sums it up very well."
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Emmerdale: Meena Jutla was last seen crying in her prison cell after being sentenced (Image: ITV)
On the legacy her character has left behind, Paige added: "I think Meena would like herself to be remembered as the greatest mastermind villain that the world has ever seen!
"Personally, I'd just like her to be remembered as someone who was completely unpredictable.
"That was the choice that I always made and I think that's appropriate to psychopaths. In the list of symptoms, they react in inappropriate ways. My choice as an actress was always to react in the most inappropriate, abnormal way.
"You never really knew what you were going to get with Meena – what was going to come out of her mouth, how she was going to react.
"So I guess it's that – the unpredictability, the strangeness of her, the abnormality," the actress remarked.
How did Paige Sandhu leave Emmerdale as Meena Jutla?
With the murder trial being one of the most dramatic in the show's history, Meena was eventually found guilty of murdering Leanna Cavanagh (Mimi Slinger), Andrea Tate (Anna Nightingale) and Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon).
The police had thrown out the evidence she had killed her best friend Nadine years before arriving in the village and they also didn't know she had killed her own father.
However, the three murders were enough to send her down for life as the judge ordered her to be incarcerated for the remainder of her natural living life.
Combined, this was a total of 75 years, 25 years for each life she took and the villain was last seen crying in her cell as her plan had gone horribly wrong.
This was the last time viewers saw the serial killer but Paige was featured in a video on Emmerdale's social media platforms to have one last say about her time on the show.
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The actress said: "Meena has gone, finally! I'm sure some of you will be very happy, and some of you will be sad. I'm sad because I have loved playing her. She's literally been the dream role.
"I just wanted to come on here and say thank you so much for watching her journey and being part of it. I think she's had the most fun ever in the village
"I just want to say thank you all for all your support.
"Thank you to everyone at Emmerdale and ITV and all my beautiful actors and the crew. You're all amazing. You've made this experience just the best of my life and I will treasure these moments forever.
"And a big thank you, especially to Rebecca Sarker, my on-screen sister but also a sister in my heart. I love you so much."
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode airing on Thursdays.
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