Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale star Olivia Bromley has explained why Dawn Taylor quits her job and packs a bag next week.
The troubled character looks set to take time out from the village after hitting rock bottom over the DI Malone murder cover-up.
Dawn is living in fear of a prison sentence after killing Malone and hiding his body in the village graveyard. She's also struggling with the heartbreak of recently ending her relationship with Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) to keep him out of the mess.
Related: Emmerdale's Billy Fletcher confronts Dawn Taylor after drunken slip-up
Next week, Dawn hits self-destruct to push Billy away for good – boasting that she has slept with his brother Ellis Chapman (Aaron Anthony). Viewers then see Dawn quit her job and leave Woodbine Cottage with a rucksack.
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Speaking about Dawn's plans to go, Olivia explained: "It's one of the lowest points she's been in for a long time, since coming to the village and getting her life back on track.
"Everything has fallen apart now. Dawn can't deal with the trauma and her coping mechanism is just to run away from it.
"Who knows where she's running to? She's in a very dark place and she doesn't have hope."
Asked whether Dawn could turn back to drugs, Olivia replied: "I think she very easily could turn back to drugs and really self-destruct."
Related: Emmerdale star Danny Miller welcomes another cute new addition to his family
Olivia also spoke about taking centre stage in Emmerdale's big murder plot and the possibility that Dawn will have to face the consequences one day.
On how long Dawn can remain a free woman, Olivia laughed: "I'm hoping a long time but it's a good question! That body is there, Malone is missing, so how long are people going to accept that he's on the run? I don't know. Dawn is in very dodgy territory.
"Dawn has not smiled in a while and it's been a rough road. She's just had so much to deal with.
Related: Emmerdale reveals Luke and Wendy's fates as Andrea makes a big decision
"But from an actor's point of view, it's great to play this character who is dealing with so much stuff and has such an amazing backstory to delve into.
"She has this tendency to really go off the rails. It's a complicated dynamic and great to play, but I wouldn't mind if she cracked a smile once in a while!"
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
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