Emmerdale star shares update after ‘extended’ surgery as he’s seen on crutches in hospital
Former Emmerdale cast member Matthew Wolfenden, who played David Metcalfe on the ITV show prior to his departure last year, has shared an update following an apparent surgery
A former Emmerdale cast member who announced that he was having surgery this week has shared updates following the procedure, which he said took longer than expected.
Matthew Wolfenden, 43 – best known for having played David Metcalfe on the ITV show – told his followers on Instagram earlier this week that he was awaiting surgery on his knee. He posted about the procedure on Tuesday.
Alongside a photo that appeared to show Matthew lying in a hospital bed, the actor wrote: “Ready to go down for surgery on my knee.” He however didn’t provide any further details at the time but has since shared updates on the platform.
Four hours after teasing the surgery, Matthew shared a photo of his leg bandaged up whilst lying in a hospital bed. He wrote: “All done!” He used RUN DMC and Aerosmith’s collaborative version of the song Walk This Way in the post.
Matthew later gave further details about the procedure, with him telling his followers in a subsequent post: “Repair to menuscus, patella tendon and cartilage damage all done. Took 2 hours instead of the 45 mins they initially thought!”
He also expressed gratitude over the NHS, sharing that he had received the treatment at a hospital in Harrogate. He commented: “Can’t tell you how amazing everything and everyone was at Harrogate District Hospital. Thank you.”
Matthew Wolfenden has shared updates with fans following an apparent surgery this week (
Instagram)
He had previously teased that he was awaiting treatment on his knee (
Instagram)
He has since shared a photo of himself stood aided by crutches in what appeared to be a hospital entrance. He was seen wearing a grey hoodie and matching shorts, with his bandaged leg visible in the photo. Matthew had opted to wear a pair of slippers and accessorised with a baseball cap.
Alongside the photo, Matthew teased to his followers: “All fixed!” He went on to suggest that he was being supported by a companion, writing in the post on Instagram: “Thanks [Heather] for picking me up and playing nurse this week.”
Matthew is best known for having worked on Emmerdale for more than a decade. He joined the cast in 2006 and it was announced in September last year that he had decided to leave, with the news following rumours that he had quit.
During an interview on This Morning at the time, he said: “I am so nervous about leaving, nearly 20 years, almost two decades. It feels like the right time, the door has been left open – they’re not killing me off, I’ve been promised. Who knows, I might be back [in the future]. Yeah, but we will see.”
The actor has since told fans that he’s received treatment and is bandaged up (
Instagram)
He expressed gratitude over the NHS in a subsequent post on social media this week (
Instagram)
His character David was last seen in November, having left the village to visit his ex-partner Priya Sharma (played by Fiona Wade) and their daughter Amba Metcalfe (Ava Jayasinghe). The departure came after David found out that his son Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant) had a relationship with Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins), who had previously dated David.
Earlier this month, David was mentioned when his family received news that he has no plans to return to the village. The scene saw Jacob discover that his grandfather Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) had received a phone call from him.
Eric said: “He is not coming back. He has decided to stay a lot longer with Priya.” When asked how long David would be away for, he added: “Forever.” Jacob’s mother Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) commented: “He’s clearly decided to start a life somewhere where there’s no bad memories.”
