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Hearties rejoice! Fiona is returning to Hope Valley for the Season 11 finale, but why did she leave in the first place? Keep reading to see why Fiona Miller left When Calls the Heart and if she’s coming back for good.
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Surprise! Fiona Is Back on When Calls the Heart — but Will She Stay in Hope Valley For Good?
When Calls the Heartis 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 theJanette Oke book and the 2013 Hallmark original movie of the same name. It centers on Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), a young school teacher accustomed to high-society life who moves to Hope Valley to teach her first classroom.
Fiona Miller was first introduced during Season 6. Played by Kayla Wallace, Miller was a phone operator-turned-barbershop owner who grew very close with the residents of Hope Valley. Fans were left shocked when she did not appear in the Season 11 premiere, and her exit from the series was confirmed shortly after the episode aired. So, why did Fiona Miller leave When Calls the Heart? Read on for everything there is to know about Kayla Wallace’s departure.
Why did Fiona Miller leave When Calls the Heart?
Fiona Miller was written off during the Season 11 premiere due to a conflict with Kayla Wallace’s schedule. In the premiere episode, Minnie (Natasha Burnett) received a telegram from Fiona, which revealed that the former telephone operator loves working with her sister and the other Suffragettes in Nashville and will not be returning home to Hope Valley.
Although Wallace was originally confirmed to return for Season 11, plans changed when she booked a role on the new Taylor Sheridan series Landman back in January 2024.
The upcoming series from the Yellowstone creator is based on the popular podcastBoomtownand will premiere on Paramount+ in late 2024 or 2025. It is described as “a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs.” Per the official synopsis, it will offer a “upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires that are fueling a boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.”
Wallace was cast as Rebecca Savage, an “extremely capable and intimidating liability attorney sent to West Texas to clean up a mess.” The series also stars Billy Bob Thornton. Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph and Jacob Lofland, among others. Wallace celebrated the news of her casting on Instagram, writing alongside a press release: “THRILLED. So grateful. Let’s GO!”
Although her new role has prevented her from returning to WCTH, to the dismay of Hearties, she still celebrated the premiere of Season 11 on her Instagram Story. “Season 11 BABY!” she captioned a photo of her real-life fiancé Kevin McGarry, who stars as Nathan Grant.
Krakow, who also serves as an executive producer, addressed Fiona’s absence from Season 11 shortly after the premiere aired. “Not to make it about Elizabeth, but look, she goes to the barbershop and Robert’s there. She’s not going to have Robert cut her hair,” Krakow told TV Insider. “Yeah, it’s a very close community. I think people are really heartbroken over the fact that Fiona’s not around.”
As for how the character was written off, Krakow added: “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.”
“We love Kayla Wallace. We would love for her to be in every episode,” she added of her co-star. “Kayla had a really incredible opportunity on another TV series that films out of town. We’re excited for her.”
The actress also hinted that we’d be seeing Fiona again. “We are hoping that we’ll be able to have Fiona back for some episodes. Who knows?” she said, adding: “But yeah — [we’re] truly over the moon thrilled for Kayla.”
In a promo for the Season 11 finale, titled “Anything for Love,” Fiona makes her return to Hope Valley just in time for Mei and Hickam’s wedding. “You didn’t think I’d miss you’re wedding, did you?” she tells Mei. It’s unclear if Fiona intends to stay in Hope Valley after the wedding, but filming for Landman is currently underway in Fort Worth, Texas, and Season 12 of WCTH begins filming next month in Vancouver, so her upcoming appearance is most likely a one-time visit.
When Calls the Heart airs on Sundays on Hallmark at 9/8c and streams on Peaco*ck.
For more on When Calls the Heart, check out this gallery to see what other alums of the show have been up to since leaving.
