'EastEnders' star Clay Milner Russell has quit the soap.
Clay Milner Russell has quit the BBC soap
The 24-year-old actor - who plays Bobby Beale on 'EastEnders' - has decided to walk away from the long-running BBC show in order to pursue other career opportunities.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Clay’s a talented actor and he’s ambitious.
"He was never going to stay in 'EastEnders' forever. He’s loved playing Bobby but he became an actor to play all kinds of roles and he wants to do that."
Despite this, it's been suggested that Clay - who joined 'EastEnders' in 2019 - could still return to Walford one day.
The insider explained: "The door is being left open but for now it’s a definite goodbye."
Clay - who was nominated for an Inside Soap award back in 2020 - is determined to try his hand a variety of roles over the coming years.
The source shared: "Clay is a young actor so he wants to use these years to try his hand at other roles.
"He absolutely loves working on 'EastEnders' and has made such great friends on the show so it was really difficult for him to make that decision, but having been a part of the show since 2019, he now feels like the time is right to explore other options."
The London-born actor succeeded Eliot Carrington as Booby back in 2019. But an 'EastEnders' spokesperson has confirmed that he will exit the soap later this year.
The spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Clay will be leaving 'EastEnders' later on this year, and we wish him the best for the future."