Emma Keane is a fictional character from the Channel 4 school drama Ackley Bridge, portrayed by Liz White.

Her storylines in the series include her tumultuous relationship with daughter Chloe Voyle (Fern Deacon), supporting student Missy Booth (Poppy Lee Friar) through her life struggles and having an affair with colleague Samir Qureshi (Arsher Ali).

She auditioned regardless and was happy to have been cast in Ackley Bridge due to liking its subject matter, specifically for its representation of multicultural societies.

[1] White was appreciative that her character was not a typical teacher or mother and noted that Emma's journey with motherhood is not often depicted in media.

Across her tenure, Emma fights for the students to enjoy and to progress during their time in her class, due to wanting to improve the area she grew up in.

After having shaved her legs in the taxi, Emma arrives at Ackley Bridge College for her first day in flip-flops due to running late.

She arrives late to headteacher Mandy Carter's (Jo Joyner) staff meeting, who is a friend from her previous school.

Mandy oversees her English lesson, where Emma's daughter Chloe Voyle (Fern Deacon) shows up drunk and vomits in her classroom.

She explains that her grandmother has died, but asks her not to inform social services, otherwise her sister Hayley (Cody Ryan) will put into foster care.

When the Valley Trust take over Ackley Bridge College, Emma is replaced by Martin Evershed (Rob James-Collier) and moves away.

[1] She felt that it would help Emma, opining that she is often depicted as a character who is always searching for a love interest to fill the emotional gap in her life.

White thought that this should instead be filled by Chloe, and explained: "she's got this beautiful, smart, witty daughter right in front of her that she doesn't invest in as much as she could, and so I'd love to see that explored.

[1] White recalled a conversation with Friar where the pair decided off-screen that their characters had met at the school Emma previously taught at.

[1] On Emma's relationship with headteacher Mandy, White explained that they were initially both teachers on the same level of authority prior to the programme's beginning point.

White said that her character is not interested in a management position, but a conflict arises when Mandy "has to steer Emma in line with the way she wants the school to be".