2008–2011 Leyla visits Emmerdale for a job interview with
Eric Pollard (
Chris Chittell). She tells him that she won Machinist of the Year in 2007 and left her last job because of "inappropriate overtime" with a young manager. Eric gives her the job and Leyla soon makes friends with her colleagues and joins the St. Mary's Church Choir, formed to enter a competition and save the church from closure. Months later, colleague
Lily Butterfield (
Anne Charleston) sees Leyla leaving the building late at night and arriving very early. Eventually, Leyla reveals she is sleeping there and that she was at
university. Unfortunately her part-time jobs as a cleaner and barmaid meant things got on top of her and she left. Lily asked Leyla to move in with her and
Edna Birch (
Shirley Stelfox), Lily's sister, who was unhappy with the arrangement so Lily and Leyla joined
Pearl Ladderbanks (
Meg Johnson). When Pearl or Lily ask Leyla about her family, she is evasive. Leyla is interested in
David Metcalfe (
Matthew Wolfenden), inviting him to a concert but he is sidetracked by
Nicola De Souza (
Nicola Wheeler), who is upset due to thinking that her father is terminally ill. On learning Rodney is healthy, David tells Leyla he can go after all. In early February, they go out for the night and meets
Skin (
Greg Wood), who drives them back to Emmerdale. When Skin tries getting close to Leyla, she makes him sleep in his van. The next day, Pearl sees him leaving with their valuables. David, by chance, knocks him down and Leyla kisses him as a thank you. They have a brief relationship but he breaks up her when she believes he has feelings for Nicola. In April, they reconcile and Leyla tells David that her mother is in a care home, so she needs to earn more to fund it. They grow closer when campaigning for his election to the local council, which he wins that June. Leyla starts work as deputy manager of the farm shop opened by
Natasha Wylde (
Amanda Donohoe) in the village. On seeing Maisie's new shoes, Leyla was jealous and stole £250 from the shop for a pair, planning to put it back when she got paid. However, Natasha's son
Nathan (
Lyndon Ogbourne) found out and surprised Leyla be being understanding. After going to a concert together, they got drunk and had a one-night stand. Attempting to quit her job, Nathan turned nasty and blackmailed her, but made David suspicious. In November, she admits to her
one-night stand with Nathan and, disgusted, he left. When he saw Nathan attacking Leyla, he punched him and later forgave her, reuniting in December. Leyla bought the farm shop and renamed it "Leyla's". Now officially together, they bought Farrers Barn. Leyla got the news that her mum had died and insisted on attending the funeral alone. She comforted her sister
Alicia Gallagher (
Natalie Anderson), during the service but Alicia insisted Leyla leave, saying that she could not be trusted. Leyla later visited her sister's house and watched her with her husband, Justin, and young son,
Jacob (
Joe-Warren Plant). She met Justin several times in secret, making David think she was having an affair. She swore she wasn't but wouldn't explain so David left for a council trip, thinking Leyla was lying. While away, Alicia and Jacob visited and Leyla's difficult relationship with her mother and sister was explained. Jacob is, in fact, Leyla's son. When she was 18, she got pregnant accidentally and her mum and Alicia encouraged her to let Alicia and her husband adopt the baby, despite Leyla not wanting to give Jacob away after he was born. After much persuasion, Leyla gave Jacob to Alicia as she couldn't have children and she felt like she owed her. It was later revealed that Alicia's husband is, in fact Jacob's biological father, after a drunken one night stand with Leyla. When Alicia revealed that she and Justin had split up, Leyla insisted they stay with her and David. David was unhappy but accepted it to make Leyla happy. Alicia soon got a job as barmaid at The Woolpack but annoyed David by assuming that Leyla would babysit. Eventually, David got so fed up of the complications that having Jacob around caused, he demanded Leyla choose: him or Jacob. She promptly left but later sent Jacob a present. After Alicia and David tell Jacob that Leyla is his birth mother, Jacob begins emailing Leyla.
2013–2018 Leyla returns, demanding to speak to Alicia and Jacob. She meets David and tells him that Jacob has been emailing her, as he knows she is his biological mother. Leyla then learns that David is marrying Alicia.
Val Pollard (
Charlie Hardwick) lock Leyla in a cupboard, to stop her ruining the wedding. She is later let out and sees Alicia, who promptly slaps her. Alicia sees that Jacob is confused and upset, following Leyla's visit, and agrees to let her be part of Jacob's life. After dropping Leyla at her flat, Alicia sees her leave and follows her to a strip club. She learns that Leyla is now a pole dancer and angrily drags her offstage before being arrested on suspicion of soliciting. They are released the next day and Leyla returns to Emmerdale with Alicia, much to David's annoyance. Leyla makes friends with
Priya Sharma (
Fiona Wade) who helps her get a job at the factory. She moves in with
Katie Sugden (
Sammy Winward). Leyla tries to help Priya through her pregnancy, as she has an eating disorder. She is surprised to learn that David is the baby's father but more concerned that Priya is putting the baby at risk. She denies that she has an eating problem but finally confides in her and Leyla accompanies Priya to a scan, where they are told the baby is smaller than average, but unharmed. However, Priya is worried but repeatedly tells Leyla not to tell anyone, adamant that she can cope alone. However, Leyla tells
Jai Sharma (
Chris Bisson), and he forces her to eat a biscuit, making her angry. She is also angry with Leyla for telling him but Leyla also tells Alicia. Alicia receives a £70,000 inheritance from the recently deceased Keith Cheesedale. Alicia accepts the money and learns that Mr. Cheesedale was Leyla's boss/lover. The money was mistakenly given to Alicia as Leyla's stage name was "Alicia Harding". Alicia and David refuse to give Leyla the money until Jacob throws it in the river. David and Leyla recover most of it and she repays Jacob the money he lent her and gives Alicia and David enough for a new car. A delighted Leyla then enjoys her windfall. Leyla later becomes business partners with
Megan Macey (
Gaynor Faye) and they decide to base their new-found business around wedding planning. They plan
Laurel Thomas (
Charlotte Bellamy) and
Marlon Dingle's (
Mark Charnock) wedding and Priya's wedding to
Rakesh Kotecha (Pasha Bocarie). When flirting with Megan's boyfriend, Jai, Leyla realises that she has a crush on him, touches him and they end up copulating. Leyla tries to end her affair with Jai repeatedly but keeps falling for his charms and they are caught by Rakesh. Leyla swears Rakesh to secrecy but her friends become suspicious, knowing that she is in a secret relationship. Jai and Leyla are nearly caught by Megan but Leyla manages to hide. After Jai is rushed to hospital following an accident at home, Megan discovers Jai and Leyla's affair. She tries to convince Leyla to sell her half of the business to her, but Leyla refuses. She does, however, agree to stay away from Jai and Megan reconciles with him. Leyla supports Alicia when she is sexually assaulted by
Lachlan White (Thomas Atkinson), and helps Alicia, David and Jacob through their difficult time. She slaps
Georgia Sharma (
Trudie Goodwin), for snide remarks about Alicia dress sense, saying that is what made Lachlan attack her. Alicia changes her style and appearance, upsetting Leyla as she tries to convince her sister not to change because of what Lachlan did. She is pleased for Alicia and David when they decide to move to Portugal but argues with Alicia on realising that she will not be able to spend time with Jacob. Leyla rekindles her affair with Jai, who is still with Megan, and he promises that he will marry Leyla after leaving Megan, which excites her. However, her feelings are challenged when she sees him violently grab
Rachel Breckle's (Gemma Oaten) and threaten to murder her if she does not give him custody of their son,
Archie. Leyla tells the court about Jai's behaviour, which causes Jai to lose his case for residency. The affair ends when she thinks that Megan has miscarried Jai's baby. Alicia returns to the village when Val is killed in a helicopter crash and is shocked by David's plans to stay and buy the shop back. When Alicia and David announce their separation, Leyla tries to make David see what he is throwing away and books him a ticket to Portugal but he refuses to go, frustrating Leyla. She says a tearful farewell to Alicia and Jacob and insists David made the wrong decision. Leyla tells him that Alicia is filing for divorce and is annoyed that he does not care. Leyla begins dating
Pete Barton (
Anthony Quinlan) and they become engaged. However, they end the relationship after deciding, on their wedding day, that they are rushing things. She later discovers from Pete's mother,
Emma Barton (
Gillian Kearney), that Pete had been having an affair with Leyla's best friend, Priya. She attacks Priya in the salon after finding out and declares they are no longer friends. Following the death of Pete's mother, Emma, and younger brother,
Finn Barton (
Joe Gill), Leyla supports Pete as a friend, however is shocked to learn that Pete could potentially be the father of his aunt,
Moira Dingle's (
Natalie J. Robb) baby after having sex with her while engaged to Leyla. After learning that Emma was murdered, Leyla also informs the police that Priya had threatened Emma.
2018–2025 Shahidi took maternity leave in early January 2018 and returned in October 2018 where her character Leyla reconciled with Jacob. In April 2019, Leyla is involved in the soap's Big Night Out and attacks paedophile teacher Maya Stepney following the revelation that she had been grooming her student Jacob Gallagher throughout the end of 2018 and start of 2019. She along with Priya Kotecha and Tracy Metcalfe attempted to cover up the teacher's supposed "death" believing that they had killed her. However, it was later revealed she had survived and she was later put on trial for her crimes. Although they hoped that would put an end to it, Leyla and David struggled as Jacob still didn't see what Maya had done as anything wrong and was convinced they were in love. Subsequently, he despised Leyla and David for what they had done and blamed them for Maya going to prison. In June 2021, Leyla marries Liam Cavanagh. Their wedding day is slightly catastrophic as Liam's ex-partner Bernice Blackstock does all she can to sabotage the day since she wanted Liam back, although in the end, she backs down, and lets the two get married. Not even a month after their marriage, Liam's daughter Leanna dies on her 18th birthday, supposedly after falling off a bridge, later found out to have been murdered by
Meena Jutla. Liam grieves and is very down as Leyla supports him. Liam begins to act suspiciously and starts illegally visiting his old house where he, Leanna, and his ex-wife lived when Leanna was a child. Leyla initially suspects that he is having an affair with Bernice, so follows him to the house and learns that he has been gardening where Leanna had planted a tree which was now fully grown. The home owner comes out and confronts Leyla, who puts up a fight and smashes a garden gnome. The police then arrive and Liam returns after a break, horrified by what he is seeing. Leyla explained everything to the police, who are sympathetic towards her. After she learns of her husband's interest in gardening, she gets him a spot at the village allotment, where he spends much time with various villagers, and eventually turns a tide. In January 2022, it is revealed that Leanna's death was not an accident and that she was actually murdered by their supposed friend, Meena Jutla, who had also murdered Nadine Butler, Leyla's business partner Andrea Tate, her neighbour Ben Tucker and had also attempted to murder several more people. Liam understandably regresses and feels as if he has lost Leanna all over again. Leyla too is affected by this. After this revelation, Meena flees the village, although returns on the day of her ex-boyfriend Billy Fletcher's wedding to Dawn Taylor, somebody who Meena did not like at all. Meena kidnaps them and holds them hostage on an abandoned viaduct and issues them an ultimatum. Leyla, who had been planning their wedding, realises that something is not right when the location of the limousine they had hired was on the viaduct, and not on the way to Home Farm, where the reception was. Leyla heads out to see what is going on, and is shocked to find Meena on the viaduct with Billy and Dawn. Dawn pleads with Leyla to go back, although as she is doing so, Meena shoots her with a gun. She is later taken to hospital, and fortunately survives, however, it's clear that had a huge impact on Leyla's mental health. At some point after her recovery, Leyla meets somebody called Suzy Merton who occasionally took cocaine. She also allows Leyla to take some, and she begins to come an addict. When Leyla spots Suzy in the village on a date with Vanessa Woodfield, she is horrified and worried that her drug use may be revealed. Eventually Leyla becomes okay with Suzy being in the village, and they even go to have a meal at Moira Dingle's house with Vanessa. When they are there, the conversation directs to Moira's daughter Holly, who died of a heroine overdose a few years prior. Moira points out the photo of Holly on the fridge, and Suzy is visibly on edge after seeing it. Afterwards, Leyla asks her what was wrong, and Suzy reveals that she knew Holly, and that she had given her the money for the heroine that killed her, thinking she was only going to buy cocaine. Following this, Suzy decides to get clean, and stops doing drugs permanently. Leyla reluctantly agrees, although when she cannot cope, she encourages Jai Sharma to give her his old dealers number, supposedly to make him a better person and that she would burn it on a fire. He agrees, and assumes that she had burnt it along with other bits of scrap, although she had actually hidden it in her hand and when he leaves, she starts using it. When she meets him, it's obvious that he is dodgy. He is very threatening and when Leyla calls him twice in one day after having to throw away the previous drugs she had purchased after a police officer was in her midst, he accuses her of ripping him off and selling his drugs on. Eventually, he begins to blackmail her and says that if she does not get Jai back on his drugs, he will not serve her again. Suzy discovers this along with Leyla feeling unwell after taking some of his drugs. She explains that dealers like him are bad news and that drugs are of terrible quality. Eventually she confronts the dealer and tells him that she had been recording when he was talking about dealing drugs, and tells him to leave and never bother Leyla again. Leyla is furious with Suzy and then tells her that if she doesn't give her the phone number of her dealer, she would tell Moira about her role in Hollys death. Suzy reluctantly agrees but tells her that their friendship is over. Leyla continues to take drugs and is eventually caught by David Metcalfe, who is disgusted by what he sees. Leyla begs him not to tell Liam, and he reluctantly agrees, but tells her that she needs to get help, she tells him that she has stop and has been attending support sessions, although avoids them and end up attending Italian for beginners. Eventually, Leyla calls up her dealer again, and explains that she has no money, so he therefore says that she can store drugs for him instead. The drugs are then stolen by Matty Barton, who plants them on Suzy to get revenge on her for Holly's death, after The Bartons learn the truth, although his plan backfires as Leyla finds the drugs and returns them to her office. That same day, Leyla takes more drugs and eventually has a heart attack. Liam then finds her unconscious and all is revealed. Liam is disgusted with his wife, and has Suzy and Cain Dingle return the bag of drugs to her dealer. Once she is off the hook, Liam forgives her and she acknowledged that she is an addict, and goes to rehab. When Leyla returns from Rehab in November, her relationship with Liam breaks down, as Liam kisses Bernice, and Leyla goes away again to stay with a friend. When she returns, they talk and agree that their marriage has come to the end of the line, and Liam informs Leyla that he has filed for divorce. On New Year's Eve, she is about to tell Liam she still has feelings for him before fireworks go off and he and Bernice are together, which causes her to relapse in early 2023 and returns to message Callum for drugs, which Jacob finds out about and is furious. Jacob decides to confront her former drug dealer Callum before he is stabbed. Leyla vows for revenge but he is nowhere to be seen. At the end of January, she is offered a job in London to expand her career as a wedding planner but eventually gives the job to Priya (
Fiona Wade) as she continues to deal with triggers from the damage Meena did to her and the village. She overcomes them and heads to London with her daughter Amber, which causes a stir between her and David. Leyla says goodbye to her best pal as she heads out. In March, there has been sightings of Callum before Leyla comes forward with information as he threatens to kidnap her. Leyla is then kidnapped before Jacob and Suzy search for her. They find her but also get trapped where the three are held at gunpoint, they all convince Callum to surrender, which he does, as they all move on and Leyla overcomes her addiction to drugs. In November, David is shocked at Jacobs affair with Victoria, his ex, and heads to London to join Priya and Amber before he and Leyla say goodbye and he asks Jacob to take care of her always. In 2024 she helps Eric run David's shop as she and Victoria later have a heated argument about her causing a havoc before Victoria slaps her after saying she is just as bad as Maya. In July she gathers around with her friends at the woolpack to mark an important celebration for Kerry. In February 2025 disaster strikes when Leyla is involved in a limousine crash with several other villagers, she is badly injured and eventually dies en route to the hospital. Jacob, who is on shift at the hospital, searches for Leyla and is devastated when he finds her in the mortuary. He tells her he is sorry and he loves her. Later with Eric, Jacob listens to a voicemail Leyla left on the night of the accident telling him she loves him very much. ==Reception==