Shila Iqbal is FIRED from role as Aiesha Richards

Emmerdale actress Shila Iqbal has been fired after posting a series of racist tweets in 2013, when she was 19 and attending college in Rochdale.

The star, 24, who played Aiesha Richards on the soap, has been dismissed by ITV bosses on Wednesday when the tweets were unearthed.

ITV sources exclusively revealed to MailOnline, she was immediately removed from the show after the messages were brought to bosses' attention, shortly before Shila deleted her entire Twitter account when the news came to light.  

Soon after the tweets and sacking emerged, Shila shared an impassioned apology in which she said: 'I am terribly sorry and take full responsibility for my use of such inappropriate language...

'I have paid the price and can no longer continue the job I loved the most at Emmerdale. Although I was young when I made the Tweets, it was still completely wrong of me to do so and I sincerely apologise...

'The only consideration I would ask is that I have recently received hateful tweets telling me that as a Muslim my Emmerdale role means that I am ‘committing sinful acts, promoting sin and deliberately going against the Quran’...

'We live in sensitive times for members of all communities and especially those in multi-racial Rochdale where I grew up.

MailOnline