Monica Mercuri
Saturday, May 18th, 2024
Credit: Everett Collection
All the Characters Who’ve Left When Calls the Heart Over the Years
Since its debut in 2014, When Calls the Heart has become one of the Hallmark Channel’s most cherished series. Hope Valley has lost a few main characters over the show’s 11 seasons, including ones that Hearties will never forget. Read on to discover who’s left When Calls the Heart and why they exited the drama.
When Calls the Heart is Hallmark’s historical drama series following the residents of Hope Valley (previously known as Coal Valley), a small town in Western Canada. The series is based on the Janette Oke book and the original 2013 Hallmark movie by the same name. It centers around Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), a young teacher accustomed to high-society life who moves to Hope Valley to teach her first classroom.
The beloved series returned for its 11th season in April 2024 with a bang (literally). In the Season 11 premiere, it was revealed that Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally) was shot but survived his wound. After the incident, Hearties were worried that the show was writing Lucas off, especially after Elizabeth called off their wedding and relationship in the Season 10 finale.
“We can assure everyone that Lucas is back for season 11. He’s a huge part of Hope Valley and always will be,” showrunner Lindsay Sturman clarified to Entertainment Tonight in October 2023. “But there’s definitely a cliffhanger and a few mysteries packed in there, and it will all be revealed next season.”
While Lucas is safe, one fan-favorite When Calls the Heart character might not be: Kayla Wallace’s character Fiona Miller. In Season 11, it’s revealed that Fiona is away working with her sister and the other Suffragettes, but with much work still to be done securing women’s rights, she will not be returning to Hope Valley right now. It’s unknown when and if Fiona will return.
Erin Krakow told TV Insider in April 2024 that Wallace had a scheduling conflict with another project. The actress was recently cast in Taylor Sheridan’s new Paramount+ series Landman.
“We love Kayla Wallace. 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,” she explained. While she said, “We are hoping that we’ll be able to have Fiona back for some episodes,” Krakow didn’t know for sure. “Who knows? But yeah, we truly, truly over the moon thrilled for Kayla.”
As we wait to learn Fiona’s fate in Season 11, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the biggest cast exits on When Calls the Heart that Hearties are still not over.
Dr. Carson Shepherd (Paul Greene) — Seasons 4 – 8
Paul Greene portrayed Dr. Carson Shepherd, Hope Valley’s new town doctor, from Seasons 4 to 8 of When Calls the Heart. He left the Hallmark series at the end of Season 8 after debating whether to accept the fellowship at Johns Hopkins and become a surgeon or propose to Faith (Andrea Brooks). Ultimately, he decided to take the fellowship and left Hope Valley.
Greene left the series in Season 8 to pursue new opportunities and focus on his family. At the time, he was expecting his first child with fiancée Kate Austin. “I also had a baby and was able to be there for the whole pregnancy,” the actor told TV Insider in 2022.
He continued, “I would never give up any of that for extra seasons. I have my gift…I make music, I have a podcast. I’m writing a parenting book. I try to be as present for all the little things. There is the whole fitness side. My wife and I coach people through a transformation process and a program called Freedom Alchemist. I have to tell myself enough to slow down and think about what my main priority is and go from there.”
Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin) — Seasons 1 – 6
Lori Loughlin starred as Abigail Stanton from Seasons 1 to 6 of When Calls the Heart. As one of the first widows introduced on the show, she moved to Hope Valley several years before her husband Noah and son Peter died in a mine explosion. Loughlin’s last episode was in Season 6 when When Calls the Heart wrote Abigail out by having her leave Hope Valley to take care of a sick family member.
Hallmark cut ties with Loughlin in March 2019 after she was arrested for her participation in Operation Varsity Blues, a criminal conspiracy aimed at getting students undergraduate admissions into elite universities in the U.S. According to NBC News, “Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, admitted having paid $500,000 to Rick Singer and Key Worldwide Foundation to falsely designate her daughters, Olivia Jade Giannulli, 20, and Isabella Rose Giannulli, 21, as recruits to the University of Southern California crew team.”
Brian Bird, the co-creator of WhenCalls the Heart, said that he would welcome Abigail back to the show in the future. “Some of the fans have asked what will happen to Abigail’s character, and shared their opinion that Hope Valley should be an example of forgiveness and grace,” he told From the Desk in 2019. “As Lori’s friend, I could not agree more, and Hope Valley will always be a place of second chances. However, in the real world, having a heart of forgiveness does not mean that justice can be ignored.”
Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing) — Seasons 1 – 5
Daniel Lissing portrayed Jack Thornton, Elizabeth’s main love interest, for Seasons 1 to 5 of When Calls The Heart. The couple tied the knot in Season 5, but a few days after their wedding, Jack is killed in a landslide while away on a training mission in Fort Clay. After his death, Elizabeth reveals she is pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy, whom she named after her late husband.
Lissing explained in a Facebook Live that he exited When Calls the Heart for personal reasons. “Circ*mstances arose for me where I needed to leave When Calls the Heart for reasons that are very personal to me,” he said. “I went to Hallmark and they were nothing but supportive of me. I went to the girls and they were nothing but supportive of me.”
The actor told Entertainment Tonight in 2020 that he has “no regrets” about leaving. “It’s funny the way the world works. If I had stayed on the show, and been there during season 6 and shot and all that kind of stuff, then I wouldn’t have met [my fiancee] Nadia, you know? And I wouldn’t be getting married and I wouldn’t be at this place in my life where I feel really in line with what I’m meant to be doing personally and professionally, so no regrets at all,” he explained.
Clara Stanton Flynn (Eva Bourne) — Seasons 2 – 8
Eva Bourne starred as Clara Stanon, Abigail Stanton’s daughter-in-law, from seasons 2 to 8 of When Calls the Heart. Clara lost her husband Peter to a coal mining accident just two days after their wedding, along with his father and 46 other men. Eva eventually marries Jesse Flynn, but they leave Hope Valley unexpectedly in Season 8 and don’t return.
“They’re homesteading,” Erin Krakow told the Hallmarkies Podcast when asked about their whereabouts. “Their characters are homesteading somewhere as newlyweds, but they’re not in Hope Valley with us this season. We miss them.”
It’s currently unknown why Eva Bourne left When Calls the Heart, other than she was written off for creative reasons. The actress went on to star in projects like CW’s Arrow, Netflix’s Firefly Lane, Prime Video’s The Man in the High Castle, and Paramount+’s Star Trek: Discovery.
Jesse Flynn (Aren Buchholz) — Seasons 3 – 8
Aren Buchholz played Jesse Flynn, someone who knew Frank during his sketchy past and arrived in Hope Valley to persuade the now-Pastor to rejoin the gang. Like Clara Stanton, Buchholz was likely written off for creative reasons after Jesse and Clara married and moved out of Hope Valley.
Since leaving When Calls the Heart, Aren hasn’t opened up about his exit and hasn’t appeared in other projects for the network. He’s appeared on the TV series Reginald the Vampire and had a guest role on the series Family Law.
Cat Montgomery (Chelah Horsdal) — Season 1
Chelah Horsdal appeared as Cat Montgomery, a widow and mother of three children, in Season 1 of When Calls the Heart. Montgomery supported the women of Coal Valley while working in the mines and was good friends with Elizabeth and Abigail.
Why Horsdal didn’t reveal her reason for not returning for Season 2, she told My Devotional Thoughts in 2017 that “as things evolved, there didn’t seem to be as defined a place in the storytelling for characters like Cat Montgomery.” She also confirmed that she would not be coming back.
Horsdal continued, “I have deep affection for the people on that show, and hope to see them go for years and years (in fact, one of my dearest friends, Erica Carroll, plays Dottie). I also understand and appreciate that Hearties were quite attached to Cat, as Michael and Brian Bird wrote a wonderful character. But no, I can confidently say she/I won’t be back.”
