Life has changed a lot for Emmerdale’s Isobel Steele this year – it seems a lifetime ago that we saw Liv Flaherty under a flying caravan and, in many ways, it is.

After a big move to London from Leeds, the actress and musician is getting settled and enjoying the new opportunities and feeling of ‘adulting’ that comes with it.

We caught up with Isobel for a catch-up on where things are at – and she revealed the new music and exciting landscape that it brings with it, her future acting ambitions including whether she’d return to soap, and how it felt to leave Liv behind for good.

How has life been since you left Emmerdale?

It’s been busy. The biggest thing was moving to London. It takes a long time to settle into a new place. I’ve never really properly moved out, I feel like.

When I was living in Leeds, I lived in many different house shares and situations, but I always had Manchester only 40 minutes away on the motorway so it always felt like I’d half left home, half moved out, half mature, half not – just able to nip back when I wanted to.

This is quite a big move for me and it’s taken a long time to feel settled in and not like I want to get a last-minute train and get back home.

The majority of time I’ve spent trying to find a property and finally found one, thank God. Just settling in and auditioning and settling in to my new agency. Music is also on the go now because I’ve finally finished my EP which has been a long time. It’s all happening behind the scenes, so it’s exciting. It’s coming together.

It takes a long time to adjust after being somewhere for so long and making friends down here and figuring out where I like to go and where I don’t, and what I want to do. I’m giving it a lot of time to think about those things and things are just moving towards where I want them to be, so I’m really pleased.

Your music has always had a good reception on social media. That must have been good for the confidence that people reacted so well

Definitely. People reacted well early on, which gave me the confidence to want to do it. I’ve always wanted to do it, though. It was just time, I didn’t have the time to figure out how to release things properly.

I’m researching a lot more now, I’m speaking to friends who are in the music industry. It makes me laugh because I spent so long recording my last EP and I just released it, I didn’t even hype it up. There was no thought process about how to market myself, but that all comes with having the time to plan properly and not having anything big.

Emmerdale was very busy so whenever I’d get going with the music, I’d have a big storyline, which obviously is great, but it meant I had to put the music on the sideline to do the job I was in.

It’s hard to fully commit to something and the timescale when things can change is so quick, so that’s what I’m grateful for with this new chapter, just having the time to properly do things.

It feels like a new chapter, new things to talk about. I’m slowly burning through the songs I’ve written because I’ve written too many now, I’m trying to get them off my chest and get them out. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully getting a bit better at the marketing side of things.

Is your focus mainly on the music now? Are you still auditioning for acting roles?

I’m still auditioning plenty so it’s a funny one. They’re both very different for me in terms of what it requires me to do. The acting, my agent’s great and they’re finding me great things to audition for. I’m doing self tapes weekly.

It makes me feel involved in the industry and I know what’s up and coming and aware of casting directors. Those things I was never aware of because I was in like a soap bubble and I didn’t really know names and how it all worked with the self taping and things like that. In terms of the acting the only work I have to do really is practise and when I get an audition, do the best audition I can and send that off.

The music takes up my free time because I’m still trying to build up my own career and there’s a lot I can do on my own, there’s a lot of things I can do without a manager and without a label, which I don’t have, I’m independent. All these things that come with ease to an artist I’m having to do myself. It’s a lot of work to know how to do things. I’ve done a lot of Googling a lot of things trying to figure out how to do myself.

It depends which one comes first really I suppose. The acting I might get a great job and think ‘this is what I’ll be doing for a year – brilliant.’ But I might not get the right role and it might not be what I want, so luckily I’ve got something to lean back on that I’m really passionate about that I can do myself. They kind of come as a really good duo. They balance each other out.

You joined Emmerdale at a very young age. Is it scary and intimidating to go to auditions now or do you take it in your stride?

I remember before I got Emmerdale I used to be really confident in a room with people. It was very different back then because it was pre-Covid and everything was in person and it was before self tapes and I don’t think I’ve ever done a self-tape until I left Emmerdale.

But before that I used to be really confident in the room and just kind of young and naïve really, but I kind of felt happy in the presence of casting directors and people that I look up to.

You are in a bit of a comfy place in a soap because you aren’t auditioning and you’ve got regular work and it’s really ideal. It is a bit daunting to go back into auditions having so much experience as an actor but no experience in the industry. It’s like starting from scratch.

People don’t watch the soaps as much in London, particularly, and they don’t know I’ve got experience so to them I’m just a fresh face on the scene. I could have just graduated and it’s my first time in a room or with self tapes so it does feel like I’ve got all this history and experience and knowledge and yet I’m very new.

I just needed a few under my belt and I’m much better at it now.

Do you have any ideal roles you’d like to do?

It’s quite nice at the moment because I’ve got a variety of different things coming through, so I’m not in any box at the moment, I’m being shown a range of things. It’s nice to keep open-minded when you’ve come from playing the same character for a long time.

It’s nice to have these doors be opened. If I said I didn’t want to do a certain role I think it would be because I would be nervous about whether I would do ok because I’m not used to playing a huge range of characters so it does feel quite daunting.

I’d love to be in a period drama. I love period dramas. Something like that would be great. I’m just looking forward to getting involved in different projects and meeting the people in those projects because people who work in TV and film are great and I can’t wait to make loads of friends and build my connections.

Would you rule out another serial drama to focus on your music and experiencing different roles?

I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I wouldn’t really think about that right now, because I’ve just left one. I wouldn’t say no, but it’s not on my radar at the moment. I want to focus on the jobs that are coming through but when a job comes through and it’s right then it’s right, it doesn’t really matter what it is, it’s more about the character I’d be playing and the kind of ensemble.

Was it a blessing in disguise that your Emmerdale character was killed off, or would you have preferred that Liv stayed alive?

I don’t think it makes too much difference, to be honest, in terms of me. I decided I wanted to leave the show and I’ve left the show and that’s all I need to concern myself about. I wanted to leave to do other things and that’s what’s happened.

Whether I can go back or not is something I wouldn’t have thought about anyway, so in the current moment it’s not been affected by that decision, so I’m happy either way. It was nice to get to do dramatic scenes at the end and really go for it and really push myself. I’m really pleased with the way things have gone.

What were those final scenes like to film?

It was really full circle where we couldn’t believe it was actually going to be the last time I was there. We film so much and so quick you just get used to being there all the time, it’s like I’m never going to not be here.

It was emotional, it was funny, I was hysterical, it was everything. It was really nice to have scenes with Danny [Miller] and Brad [Johnson] and Lisa [Riley] and the people I worked a lot with in the last couple of years. So it was lovely and it was probably one of my favourite moments, really. I felt very appreciated.

Do you keep in touch with them?

Yeah, we talk all the time. They were my friends in that and they’re still my friends out of it. I can’t wait to see them soon. Once you’ve established a friendship in that circle it doesn’t matter if you’re not working for six months or you’re busy or someone isn’t, we’re all still friends and we’ve pushed past that point where we would have lost touch.

We’re way, way too friendly now to lose touch. That’s why I’m really grateful for the people I met there.

Do you have any actors or musicians who particularly stand out for you and inspire you?

At the moment the music artist Raye has really inspired me. I listen to a lot of new music but it’s not often that I’m like ‘wow,’ especially a full album as well. I listened to her album 21st Century Blues and I thought it was amazing.

The sound of the album is really a direction I’d like to go in. I can see myself going down that route. I think it’s really cool. She left her record label because they wouldn’t let her release this album so she released it independently and that’s a massive win for independent artists.

It weirdly feels like it links into the Emmerdale thing, leaving a bit of a safety blanket to do something else and it paying off. I believe it will pay off because I have hope and I know there’s great things out there and there’s loads more to do and there’s loads more people to meet.

What it takes to leave that safety blanket is inner belief and trust that it will be in your hands but you have to work a little bit for it. I’m inspired by her musically and creatively and in the path she’s taken.

Are you excited about what potentially could come next?

I’m really having a great time. I feel very different. I have a lot of time to plan things and think about things and enjoy my time in London settling in. I feel very creatively inspired at the moment and very fresh and very excited for better weather – aren’t we all?

Just to have a bit of a nice year figuring out exactly what I want to do and who I am and then heading down that direction. I feel very motivated at the moment, which is great.

Would you consider doing reality TV?

I’ve always wanted to do Strictly and I’m A Celeb and things like that. I wouldn’t rule it out. I think it’s all about timing and whether things are going to work in your favour or against your favour. I’m just waiting for things to land in front of me.

If it works and that was the right timing. I’m not chasing anything too much or thinking about anything too much, just letting things come and go and relaxing into how things are.

What kind of things do you do to relax?

Now that I’ve found a place I’m really getting into cooking. My housemate is actually my bass player in my band, which is very useful, and my guitar player isn’t far so it’s a bit of a creative house.

He’s a great chef so I’m getting into cooking and taking my time with recipes. Not having pesto pasta every night is quite nice.

I’m looking forward to getting into reading, journalling and cooking more, which feels like very adult hobbies – that’s what happens when you turn 22!

Do you have a signature dish?

I recently made a leek and spring onion crispy gnocchi that was really nice. Things aren’t that hard to cook is what I’ve realised. Everything looks harder than it is.

So I’m eating really well. I look after my body and my mind and just taking things easy and feeling very free at the moment.

What’s coming up for you in the next few weeks?

I have my first single out on April 14 and I’ve got an EP out in June and hoping to do some gigs this summer. I’ve got a few ready to book!

Check out Isobel Steele’s new single Out For Breakfast here.

You can keep up with all her news, updates and releases here.

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