Maisie Foster (also Wylde) is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Alice Coulthard. The character was introduced by series producer Anita Turner and first appeared in 2009. It was announced on 30 June 2010 that Alice Coulthard had quit the show and her character would be written out later in the year.
Creation
The character was first introduced to Emmerdale in February 2009, by series producer Anita Turner played by Alice Coulthard. The character was introduced as a 'fun time girl' and would 'cause a lot of trouble' for her parents, she is the daughter of Natasha (Amanda Donohoe) and Mark (Maxwell Caulfield). It was later revealed that Maisie had only been married six weeks earlier, but left her new husband soon after, moving to the village along with her two brothers and her parents.
Storylines
Maisie comes to the village for her father's 50th birthday party. At the party, she kisses Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher), and later that evening, tells her family that her marriage is over, despite only marrying six weeks before. Her husband Tristan arrives to collect Maisie after Natasha calls him, unaware Maisie had previously left him. She tells Nathan that she is fed up of Tristan's precise and tidy behaviour but agrees to go home with him.
However, as they are leaving, Maisie changes her mind and goes to the Woolpack, where she stays overnight. The next day, she asks if they need any staff, getting a job as barmaid. Within weeks, she decides she wants to own the pub and her father talks to Val Pollard (Charlie Hardwick) about buying it. Val and Maisie try persuading Val's sister Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen), to retire but Natasha calls off the sale when she finds out.
In March, she starts dating Andy, much to her family's horror – hearing gossip about Andy from Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) and Nicola De Souza (Nicola Wheeler) – so she claims she is dating Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock). However, she continues seeing Andy in secret until Debbie Dingle reveals the truth in the Woolpack so they date publicly. In mid-April, after a row with Natasha at a shooting party, Maisie moves in with Andy. By May, after getting fed up with being expected to help on Andy's farm, look after the farmhouse and Andy's daughter Sarah (Sophia Amber Moore), Maisie ends their relationship, returning to the pub until fellow lodger Sandy Thomas (Freddie Jones) sends her back to Home Farm.
Maisie flirts with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), in a relationship that intensifies, due to her parents' disapproval. Cain ends the relationship when Maisie has given him enough material to blackmail Mark. Attempting to forget him, Maisie goes on holiday with Natasha but Natasha returns alone, revealing that Maisie is having too much fun in Brazil to come home yet.
Maisie falls in love with Ryan Lamb (James Sutton). They keep their relationship a secret because Ryan had previously been in a relationship with Maisie's best friend, Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward). Ryan ends his relationship with Katie, but did not tell her why. Their parents catch them as they are about to sleep together and tell them they are siblings. A sickened Maisie lashes out at everyone, throwing a bowl of oranges and crumpling to the floor as she realises that she almost slept with her half-brother. Comforted by Katie one night, she is devastated when she discovers Ryan is sleeping on Katie's sofa. She is devastated, unable to simply "turn off" her feelings for Ryan. Maisie suffers a nervous breakdown, leading to her drinking excessively at work. After Natasha has to identify a body believed to be Mark's, Maisie and Nathan explain to Will that Mark is not going to come back, as he believes. Maisie's erratic behaviour continues and Natasha books her into a clinic in order for her to recover for her ordeal, and after a few weeks she returns home, learning to get along with her now extended family, and resolve her problems. Her friendship with Katie sours after Nathan tells Katie about her relationship with Ryan. She eventually establishes an amicable relationship with Ryan.
Maisie begins dating Nikhil Sharma (Rik Makarem) after realising that they have a mutual attraction to each other, and for a while they are happy together.