Danny-Boy Hatchard is leaving 'EastEnders'.
Danny-Boy Hatchard
The actor - who has played Lee Carter, son of Queen Vic landlords Mick and Linda Carter, since 2014 - will be written out of the BBC soap in the next few months.
A BBC source told The Sun on Sunday: "This was a tough decision but sometimes to create big storylines characters need to come and go."
Danny will be the third major star to leave the soap in the near future, after it was revealed that Samantha Womack and Rita Simons, who play Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell, are set to bow out next year.
All three exits are reportedly the brainchild of executive producer Sean O'Connor, who took over from Dominic Treadwell-Collins earlier this year.
A source said: "Sean's arrival has brought massive change to 'EastEnders', not least in the decision to exit Ronnie and Roxy.
"Others are now looking around and wondering who could be next to walk."
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that Ronnie and Roxy will leave together in the same dramatic storyline.
A soap insider said: "Rita and Samantha created the iconic Mitchell sisters and with their undeniable chemistry, they immediately created a double act that the viewers fell in love with. But when they all sat down to work out where to take them, they all felt it was the right time to rest them.
"When you look back over nearly a decade and realise what they have been through, it seems that most avenues have been exhausted. So when Sean proposed his idea to them, Rita jumped at the opportunity to do the storyline. She even stated that the sisters should go out the same way they arrived - together.
"Bosses desperately wanted to keep the news of their departures a secret, but once the news about Samantha leaked out, it was only a matter of time before people worked out Rita would be going too.
"It's a shame as it would have been a great surprise for the audience but there are still lots of twists to come before they leave our screens."
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