Charlie, 54, has played show favourite Val Pollard for 11 years, making her debut way back in 2004.
Appearing on ITV’s Loose Women, Charlie admitted she wants to try new things.
She said: “I’m leaving the show. I’d like to thank all the people who watch Emmerdale who have been so lovely to me over the years and who have enjoyed the ups and downs of Eric and Val.
“I thought, let’s have a chance at another chapter in my life, you know just when it’s time to go.”
When pressed on how Val will leave the village, Charlie confessed that, while she’s not been told, she hopes it won’t have anything to do with her character’s HIV positive status.
She continued: “I am not at liberty to say and luckily I haven’t read the scripts. I would be very angry if it was HIV related, there would be hell to pay.
“Because I think the whole point of having Val as HIV positive is to show that you can live a happy and healthy life.”
“I’m going to have a break. I’ll just lie in a hammock – that’s all I can say!’
Will you be sad to see Charlie leave the show?