In a deeply moving and emotional moment that has touched fans across the country, Emmerdale legend Verity Rushworth has broken her silence following

a heartbreaking personal loss, sharing a poignant tribute that has resonated far beyond social media. Known to millions for her unforgettable portrayal of Donna Windsor

, the actress reminded viewers that behind the strength she brought to one of the soap’s most tragic storylines is a woman still navigating profound grief in her own life.

Verity, now 40, took to Instagram to mark the second anniversary of her father Michael’s death, posting a smiling photograph of him alongside words filled with love, longing, and quiet devastation. Her message was simple yet powerful, capturing the enduring ache of loss that time does not erase.

“Two years today,” she wrote. “Thought about every single day and missed more than anything. The best of the best. My number one dad.”

The tribute immediately prompted an outpouring of support from fans, fellow actors, and friends, many of whom have followed Verity’s journey both on and off screen for more than two decades. Messages of love flooded the comments, with followers praising her honesty and strength in sharing such a raw and personal moment.

For long-time Emmerdale viewers, Verity Rushworth is inseparable from Donna Windsor, a character whose story remains one of the most heartbreaking in the show’s history. Verity first joined the ITV soap in 1998, stepping into the role after Sophie Jeffrey, and quickly made Donna her own. Over the next eleven years, Donna became a cornerstone of the village — flawed, passionate, and endlessly compelling.

By the time Verity left the show in 2009, Donna had become the third longest-serving character in the Dales, her journey marked by intense emotional highs and devastating lows. Her tumultuous marriage to Marlon Dingle, her controversial actions as a police officer, and her explosive affair with Ross Barton cemented Donna as a character who lived on the edge, often driven by love but undone by circumstance.

When Verity returned to Emmerdale for a limited stint in 2014, fans were unprepared for the emotional impact of what followed. Donna’s terminal lung cancer diagnosis shattered hearts across the nation, and the storyline was handled with brutal realism. As her health deteriorated and her fear of losing control grew, Donna made the devastating decision to take her own life, leaping from a multi-storey car park while holding Gary North.

The scenes that followed — including the haunting flashback involving her daughter April Windsor — are still remembered as some of the most powerful in the soap’s history. For many viewers, Donna’s death was not just a plot twist but a moment that permanently changed the emotional landscape of Emmerdale.

Now, years later, Verity’s real-life grief has cast those scenes in an even more poignant light.

The actress first shared news of her father’s passing in January 2024, revealing that he had fought illness with extraordinary courage. In a statement that mirrored the compassion and vulnerability she once brought to Donna, Verity described her father as her “ultimate hero,” praising his strength, kindness, and unwavering ability to make others laugh, even in his final days.

“Dad fought the fight till the bitter end and showed immense strength and bravery throughout,” she wrote at the time. “He passed away peacefully in his bed, knowing just how very loved he is.”

Since then, Verity has continued to honor her father’s memory through heartfelt tributes, including one on his birthday last summer. Sharing family photographs, she reflected on how his presence lives on through her children, describing her son Ethan as his “carbon copy” and noting how her daughter Hazel shares his sense of humor and warmth.

Away from the soap world, Verity has built an impressive and diverse career. Since leaving Emmerdale, she has appeared in the BBC medical drama Doctors and carved out a successful path in theatre. Her performances as Velma in Chicago at Leicester’s Curve Theatre and Lauren in the West End production of Kinky Boots showcased her versatility and depth as a performer.

Off screen, Verity shares her life with theatre director Dominic Shaw, and together they are raising their two children, nine-year-old Amelie and six-year-old Ethan. Friends describe her as fiercely devoted to her family, a role that has taken on even greater significance since losing her father.

Meanwhile, Donna Windsor’s legacy continues to echo through Emmerdale via her on-screen daughter April. Over the past year, April has endured an extraordinary run of trauma, including homelessness, manipulation, and exploitation at the hands of dangerous figures Ray Walters and his mother Celia Daniels. Her storyline, which also involved the imprisonment of Bear Wolf and a chilling sequence of violence, has been one of the show’s darkest in recent memory.

The eventual downfall of Ray and Celia — including Celia being stabbed by her own son and Ray’s body later discovered being dragged through the village — has led into a new wave of mystery that is set to be unraveled in upcoming flashback episodes. For fans, the parallels between April’s suffering and Donna’s tragic fate have been impossible to ignore.

Verity Rushworth’s tribute arrives at a moment when grief, resilience, and legacy are being explored both on screen and in real life. Her words serve as a reminder that the emotions portrayed in soap operas often mirror the realities actors carry with them long after the cameras stop rolling.

In sharing her pain so openly, Verity has once again connected with audiences — not as Donna Windsor, but as a daughter still learning how to live with loss. And in doing so, she has shown that some of the most powerful performances happen not on screen, but in moments of quiet, honest remembrance.