Emmerdale confirms Mack’s exit story as Lawrence Robb wows on Strictly

The following article contains spoilers from the episode of Emmerdale dated October 13. It hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX and YouTube.

As Lawrence Robb continues to impress us all with his dancing talent on Strictly Come Dancing, Emmerdale has now confirmed a brief exit for Mackenzie Boyd.

Lawrence, who has played Mackenzie since 2020, successfully survived last week’s Strictly Dance Off alongside professional partner Jowita Przystał.

Lawrence and Jowita performed the very first Rumba of the 2026 series on Saturday. They danced to Back to Friends by Sombr, but the routine divided the judging panel.

The duo scored a total of 20 points, but votes from fans meant Lawrence and Jowita secured themselves a place in the next stage of the show.

Because Lawrence is incredibly busy learning new routines during the week, and shaking his hips in the Strictly ballroom on Saturday nights, ITV soap Emmerdale has written a small departure storyline for Mack, which was revealed in today’s episode.

Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) told Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) that he’s planning on sending Mackenzie to Germany for a farming course. This left Matty somewhat put out, as the character really wanted more help with the daily tasks on Emmerdale Farm.

At Jacobs Fold, Mackenzie updated Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) about Robert’s plan for him. Charity was sad at the prospect of Mackenzie being away for a few months, but agreed that it was a great opportunity for him and the future of the farm.

And it turns out Mack will be staying near Charity’s son Noah Dingle (Jack Downham), who left the village for work in Germany earlier this year.

Mack could certainly do with a break from life in the Dales, as past year has been full of drama for him.

Last summer, he discovered the truth about crazed medic John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth). In danger, Mack raced through the woods, but John shot him with a bow and arrow and then knocked him unconscious.

Mack was held captive for weeks in an underground bunker near John’s childhood home. After a showdown that resulted in John throwing himself and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) off a ravine, Aaron woke up from his coma and immediately told everyone that Mack was in trouble.

Earlier this year, Mackenzie’s world turned upside down when Charity revealed that she had a one-night stand with Ross Barton (Michael Parr), which resulted in her falling pregnant with baby Leyla.

Charity gave birth to the little girl and handed her to Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), allowing her to believe she was conceived as a result of their surrogacy plan.

As Mack prepares for his new adventure abroad, Lawrence’s Strictly journey continues.

While Mack is leaving the village for now, his exit won’t be forever, with the character expected to return not long after this year’s Strictly champion is revealed.