She leaves the house, unaware that she has left the front door open, leading to Marlon's beloved dog Daisy escaping. When Marlon is discharged from hospital following an operation on his eye, he is furious to discover that Cain has told Laurel to leave and they go and find her. They discover Laurel's car crashed into a tree and her pleading with Marlon not to come any closer. It is then revealed that Laurel has run over and killed Daisy. This leads to Marlon throwing Laurel out of the family home and him filing for legal separation. Desperate for a drink, Laurel leaves the village after Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen) refuse to serve her alcohol in The Woolpack. She finds a bar in town and flirts with a man in order to get free alcoholic drinks. She later has sex with the man, and initially regrets it the following day. She then returns to the village, and admits to Doug that she has a serious addiction and decides to have counselling. Laurel moves in with her ex-husband, Ashley, and his girlfriend Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton), which Harriet finds uncomfortable. Laurel later takes on a role at the salon, as a brands ambassador. She takes a sexually transmitted infection test, which shows that Laurel has contracted chlamydia from the man she slept with. Later that day, Ashley is run over by Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) while chasing after Laurel when Marlon shouts at her over her chlamydia. He is comatised, and Harriet believes that Laurel caused his accident after what she did to Marlon. When a drunken Laurel states that Ashley was chasing after her when he was hit by the car, Harriet slaps her and orders her to leave the hospital. When she later spies Sandy crying to Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox), Laurel believes that Ashley has died due to Sandy's extreme upset. She storms over to the pub and attacks Victoria, with a distraught Gabby overhearing Laurel announcing Ashley's "death". When she returns to the hospital, she is very sympathetic towards Harriet before she reveals her actions. Harriet and Marlon are infuriated by Laurel's thoughtless mistake, and she is subsequently hated by the other villagers. Laurel and Marlon eventually decide to split up after many failed attempts to repair their marriage. However, Laurel is informed that her mother, Hilary, has died from heart