Is Kayla Wallace Leaving ‘When Calls The Heart?’ Why Fiona May Be Gone For A While

Season 11 of When Calls the Heart returned on April 7, but one fan-favorite character was missing from the premiere episode. Is Kayla Wallace leaving When Calls The Heart? Here’s what to know about Fiona’s fate in the Hallmark series moving forward.

Based on Janette Oke’s novel of the same title from her Canadian West book series, When Calls the Heart is Hallmark Channel’s long-running drama that premiered in 2024. The show follows the story of a schoolteacher and single mother, Elizabeth Thornton (Erin Krakow), who lives in the quaint town of Hope Valley. Thornton relies on the help of townspeople and her friends as she navigates her life and the challenges that come with it.

Season 10 of When Calls the Heart ended with a dramatic cliffhanger — the potential death of Elizabeth’s ex-fiancé Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally) — leaving Hearties with many unanswered questions. (Warning: spoilers ahead for Season 11, Episode 1, “When Stars Align.”)

Thankfully, viewers learn in the Season 11 premiere that Lucas is alive but has a long road to recovery. There’s also the romantic tension between Elizabeth and Nathan (Kevin McGarry), who Krakow called “this other guy who has the potential to become [Elizabeth’s] great love,” to TV Insider. While this is a major focus in the episode, one character’s absence was largely felt during the Season 11 premiere: Fiona Miller, who is played by actress Kayla Wallace.

In the episode, Minnie (Natasha Burnett) tells Faith (Andrea Brooks) that Fiona sent a telegram that she loves working with her sister and the other Suffragettes. She also said that with so much work still to be done securing women’s rights, she will not be coming back to Hope Valley. So, does this mean that Kayla Wallace is leaving When Calls The Heart for good?

Is Kayla Wallace Leaving When Calls The Heart?

Although Kayla Wallace is not officially leaving When Calls the Heart, it’s unknown when she will return to the Hallmark drama. Lead star Erin Krakow told TV Insider that Wallace had a scheduling conflict with another project.

“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 Krakow added that “we are hoping that we’ll be able to have Fiona back for some episodes,” she said she doesn’t know for sure. “Who knows? But yeah, we truly, truly over the moon thrilled for Kayla.”

In January 2024, Wallace was cast in Taylor Sheridan’s new Paramount+ series Landman. The show is based on the podcast “Boomtown” and is set in West Texas, the world of oil rigs. Landman will be an “upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics,” according to Variety.

Wallace will portray Rebecca Savage, who is described as “an extremely capable and intimidating liability attorney sent to West Texas to clean up a mess.” Wallace shared her excitement about the new role on Instagram. “THRILLED. So grateful. Let’s GO!” she wrote.

Krakow said that Fiona’s absence will be felt by the entire Hope Valley community, especially Faith, who admitted that she was lonely, and Elizabeth.

“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 joked. “Yeah, it’s a very close community. I think people are really heartbroken over the fact that Fiona’s not around. 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.”

When Calls the Heart airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. on Hallmark Channel.