Emmerdale fans were all saying the same thing this week, as Nicola King’s daughter Angelica turned up in the ITV Dales.

Angel is rarely seen in the soap nowadays, and looked a lot different to the last time folks had seen her when she rushed back home after seeing the video of her mum being attacked.

Some fans were sure that she had been recast, but in fact the role is still played by actress Rebecca Bakes, who took over from original child star Sophie Firth in 2009.

Angelica had a rocky start to life when she was kidnapped from the maternity ward of the hospital where she was born by Carl King’s wife Lexi, who was desperate for a child of her own.

The pair were found on the hospital roof after a daring escape.

Angelica has also been at the centre of a biting plotline when Cathy Hope bit her on the arm at the village kids’ club, which saw Nicola go on to bite youngster Cathy as revenge.

It saw her taken to court but escaped with a caution – despite her trial being the same day as her wedding to Jimmy.

Sophie, who played Angelica for three months as a baby, sadly died at the age of just three years old while visiting her grandmother’s house.

Daily Star takes a look into the lives of the Angelica King stars.

Sophie Firth

Sophie played Angel for three months in 2009, when she was a baby.

But the star’s life ended in tragedy when she was only three years old in 2012, when her dress caught fire while visiting her grandma’s house in Doncaster.

Sophie leaned over a gas fire at the home and her clothes ignited, with her mum Amy Harhoff attempting to smother the flames immediately with a blanket.

But the tot was sadly severely injured, with burns covering 70 percent of her body.

Though she was rushed to the burns unit at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, she sadly died nine days after being admitted.

She was surrounded by family when she died, with her devastated parents issuing a statement which praised their “bright and beautiful” little girl.

Her uncle Mick Harhoff added: “Sophie was such a lovely little girl and she was exceptionally bright. She always used to say that she wanted to be a princess.

“You do expect that one day you may bury your parents but you never expect to bury a child.”

Sophie was set to appear in a school nativity play just a week after her death.

She left behind a one-year-old baby brother as well as her parents.

An Emmerdale spokesperson said of the horrific incident: “We are devastated to hear of Sophie’s tragic death.

“Our sincere condolences go out to her family. Everyone at Emmerdale is thinking of them at this sad time.”

Nicola star Nicola Wheeler also shared her condolences on Twitter, writing at the time: “R.I.P. Sophie Firth. Thank you for your kind words and condolences, please also send them to @RachBoggon so Sophie's family reads them too x.”

Rebecca Bakes

Child actress Rebecca has starred as Angelica since 2009, and has gone from portraying her as a baby to a school pupil unafraid to talk back to her parents.

She sparked recasting rumours this week with her unrecognisable appearance, rocking up in the street in her school uniform.

Distracted viewers turned to Twitter with their thoughts, with one writing: “Angel has grown in years overnight. Like a different girl.”

Another added: “Blimey. Angel does exist then? Last time we saw her, wasn’t she 3?”

As a student, Rebecca attended Stage 84: The Yorkshire School of Performing Arts.

Alumni includes Coronation Street’s David Platt star Jack P. Shepherd and Girls Aloud icon Kimberley Walsh, sister of Emmerdale’s Amy Walsh.

The school has also been attended by plenty of other Emmerdale stars, including Vinny Dingle actor Bradley Johnson, Matthew Dingle star Joshua Chamberlain and Anya King actress Ceryen Maria Dean.

Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7:30pm on ITV

For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.

Source: Read Full Article