Mark Jordon will not be returning to Emmerdale in the near future, the ITV soap has confirmed.
The actor, who played Daz Spencer from 2014 until January of this year, was this week found not guilty of affray, unlawful wounding and assault by beating after he bit OAP Andrew Potts.
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After the verdict was announced, Mark thanked his legal team, the judge and the jury as he spoke outside court with his co-star fiancée Laura Norton, who plays Kerry Wyatt.
And he expressed his desire to get back to work as soon as possible.
According to the Mail Online, Mark said: “I really am grateful to the jury for proving my innocence and especially for proving the innocence of my loved ones, who’ve had to endure this awful ordeal with me this last year.”
Read more: Tom Lister reveals he can never say never to an Emmerdale return
He continued: “I’m looking forward to getting back to our engagement and my career, which has been on hold.
“I just want to thank our families, our friends, our work colleagues and especially the members of the public, who have just been delightful and supportive.”
His soap character Daz was last seen on screen in January, when he moved away from the village to begin a new life in London.
A spokesperson explained there are “no current plans” for the character to return, as the actor had already exited the soap at the end of last year, which was unrelated to the court case.
So Daz is still at large!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrY1bk1BTPn/
On Tuesday (August 6), a jury of eight men and four women deliberated for six hours and 47 minutes before returning their verdict of not guilty.
Mark, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was cleared of all the charges after the court was told he acted in self-defence.
Mr Potts, 68, cried as he recalled the ‘frightening’ alleged assault as he took the witness stand.
The court heard how a row broke out outside the Farrars Arms on July 1 when Ms O’Neill made a disparaging comment about Mark’s daughter, who was straddling her boyfriend.
“I hope they are using protection,” she remarked.
The jury was told Ms O’Neill apologised when Mark confronted her, but then Mr Potts added: “I wouldn’t let my daughter act like that in front of me.”
Mr Potts said they left the pub and had walked down the road when a taxi pulled up in front of them and Mark got out, then pushed Ms O’Neill to the ground.
He said: “He then came towards me and he was still screaming and shouting and his face was… it was just horrendous, he was growling like a mad dog.”
Mr Potts said Mark bit his thumb and the palm of his hand, spitting out a chunk of skin, and the pair of them fell to the ground, where Mark bit his eyebrow.
Mark had always denied affray, unlawfully wounding Mr Potts and the assault by beating of Mrs O’Neill.
Mark’s fiancée Laura, who was with him when the alleged assault occurred, still stars in the soap as Kerry Wyatt.
She broke down in tears as the verdict was delivered.
Mark’s former co-stars Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard), Nick Miles (Jimmy King), and Sammy Winward (Katie Sugden) were in the front row of the public gallery as the trial began last week, according to The Independent.
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