Heavy/Hallmark “When Calls the Heart” stars Kayla Wallace, who left after season 10, and Erin Krakow
Millions of “When Calls The Heart” fans — affectionately called Hearties — were shocked by the apparent write-off of a main character during the Hallmark Channel‘s season 11 premiere on April 7, 2024.
Actress Kayla Wallace has played telephone-operator-turned-town- hairstylist Fiona Miller since the sixth season, but the season 11 premiere included the bombshell that Fiona had moved to Nashville to help her sister and other suffragettes fight for women’s right to vote.
In a new interview, WCTH star Erin Krakow says the Hope Valley community is “heartbroken” over Fiona’s departure, but that in real life, she’s thrilled for the Wallace’s new opportunities — and left the door open for her to potentially return to the series. Wallace, meanwhile, posted shortly after the premiere aired that she’s having the best year of her life.
Erin Krakow Says She Hopes Kayla Wallace Will Return to WCTH One Day
In an interview posted on April 7, Krakow told TV Insider that Wallace’s absence from season 11 is due to scheduling issues, given that she landed some exciting new projects late last year.
“We love Kayla Wallace,” she told the outlet. “We would love for her to be in every episode. Kayla had a really incredible opportunity on another TV series that films out of town. We’re excited for her.”
Wallace is currently in Fort Worth, Texas, filming the Paramount+ series, “Landman,” director Taylor Sheridan’s highly-anticipated follow-up to “Yellowstone.” The show will co-star Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm and Demi Moore, according to Parade magazine.
While filming was underway for season 11 of WCTH in 2023, Wallace was filming a second new project — the comedic feature film ““Wing Man,” co-starring comedians Harland Williams, Russell Peters and Jamie Kennedy, according to Deadline.
Though she has a full plate, Krakow said that Hope Valley would welcome Wallace — and her character Fiona — back with open arms anytime.
“We are hoping that we’ll be able to have Fiona back for some episodes,” she told TV Insider. “Who knows? But yeah, we truly, truly over the moon thrilled for Kayla.”
Erin Krakow Says Hope Valley is ‘Heartbroken’ Over Fiona Miller’s Departure
HallmarkKayla Wallace and Andrea Brooks in a season 10 scene on “When Calls The Heart”
One key moment in the season premiere that would have normally featured Fiona, the town hairdresser, was when Krakow’s character, Elizabeth Thornton, decided to chop off her long locks. With Fiona out of the picture, she wound up relying on her best friend, played by Pascale Sutton — but hopes that the swift news of Fiona’s absence didn’t feel like an afterthought to viewers.
“Not to make it about Elizabeth, but look, she goes to the barbershop and Robert’s there,” Krakow told TV Insider and then joked, “She’s not going to have Robert cut her hair!”
“Yeah, it’s a very close community,” she continued. “I think people are really heartbroken over the fact that Fiona’s not around. And truthfully, we don’t have enough time in the episode to really dig into that. And so hopefully it doesn’t feel like people are in any way cavalier about her departure.”
Fiona’s absence is most impactful for Andrea Brooks’ character, Dr. Faith Carter, who grapples with losing the constant companionship of her two friends — Fiona and Mei Sou, played by Amanda Wong, who is caught up in a new romance with Mike Hickham, played by Ben Rosenbaum.
“She’s got these two best girlfriends,” Krakow explained. “She’s got Mei, who is pretty distracted by Hickam at the moment, and she’s got Fiona who’s now written to say that she’s left Hope Valley indefinitely. And so I think Faith is struggling a bit with that loneliness and kind of trying to figure out what her place is.”
Krakow continued, “If Mei has this fun new romance and Fiona is really passionate about her work with the Suffragettes, what is it that’s going to really bring fulfillment to Faith’s life? Outside of obviously medicine, which is very important.”
Kayla Wallace Says This is Her ‘Favourite Year’ in New Post
Perhaps to assure fans that she’s all-good after departing WCTH, Wallace posted a series of Instagram photos the day after the premiere, celebrating how happy she is right now.
She captioned the post, “It’s not my birthday today. But so far, 30 is my favourite year. ♥️ 🤠 🐾”
The Canadian-born actress included multiple photos of herself with her fiancé, Hallmark star Kevin McGarry, who plays Nathan Grant on WCTH. The two met on the show and got engaged in 2022.
Wallace also included photos of their dog, Darla, and a picture with friends in front of the Hotel Drover in Fort Worth, where she’s filming “Landman.”
Many Hearties wished her well in the comment section of her post and expressed how sad they are to see her go.
“You are missed on WCTH,” one wrote. “Just not the same without you. Much continued success.”
“Y’all are So cute together ❤️,” another wrote about her photos with McGarry. “We’ll miss you on When calls the heart. Praying it’s not permanent”
Another pleaded, “‘Don’t leave us!!!’ Love, your fans on WCTH”
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