Emmerdale viewers reckon they’ve cracked how Victoria Sugden will bow out of the village following Isabel Hodgins’ announcement that she’s expecting her first baby.

The 31-year-old actress, who’s portrayed Victoria on the ITV soap since 2006, shared her pregnancy news just months after tying the knot

with Adam Whitehead. The soap favourite has hinted she’ll be stepping away from the programme temporarily to concentrate on motherhood.

Speaking about her choice, the ITV star revealed to The Mirror: “I will miss it. I love the people there, but I’ve worked there for 19 years, so I feel like I’ve done what I’ve wanted to do and been selfish with my career.”

She continued: “Now, it’s time to devote my life to being a mum, that feels right to me. But there’s still FaceTime, so they won’t forget me!”

Emmerdale enthusiasts have flooded social media with congratulations for the delighted pair regarding their baby announcement, whilst others have been theorising about Victoria’s departure storyline during Isabel’s maternity break, reports Belfast Live.

Throughout the last year, Emmerdale audiences have witnessed Victoria building bridges with her estranged half-brother John Sugden (played by Oliver Farnworth), who recently wed Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).

However, John harbours a chilling secret – he’s behind Nate Robinson’s (Jurell Carter) murder, disposing of his corpse in the river.

The paramedic has also endangered other residents’ lives to satisfy his ‘hero complex’ and has been clashing with sibling Robert (Ryan Hawley), who’s cottoned on to his peculiar conduct. John is privy to the location of Anthony Fox’s (Nicholas Day) body, a secret he has managed to keep under wraps.

However, fans are now speculating that Victoria might be the one to unmask John and potentially even kill him, resulting in a brief prison sentence.

One Emmerdale enthusiast took to Reddit to share their theory: “And more baby news. Isabel Hodgins is pregnant. I assume Vic will go on an extended visit to Diane (or go to prison for shovelling John, like it’s the family business).”

Another fan speculated: “Oh, she has looked pregnant for a long time. I thought she was going to jail for her maternity leave.”

A third joined the conversation: “Lovely news for Isabel. And story-wise it’s probably quite good timing for the writers – with the John story reaching a climax there are numerous ways Vic could leave the village for a while. As others have said, she could do a stretch in prison, or go on the run.”