Nicole Barber-Lane
Nicole Barber-Lane has quit 'Hollyoaks'
The 39-year-old actress is to leave the Channel 4 drama after playing Myra McQueen for seven years because she wants to try her hand at other TV roles and spend some quality time with her family.
She said: "The job is fantastic, I love playing Myra. Over the last seven years we have had some great adventures with her and the McQueens. But now it is time for me to explore some new characters and roles and to have some fun with my family."
Bosses are lining up an explosive exit for the formidable matriarch later this year, which will see mouthy Myra get shot during a heated argument with her son-in-law Dr. Browning (Joseph Thompson).
While she lives to survive another day, viewers will be left wondering who pulled the trigger.
A show insider told the Daily Star newspaper: "The McQueens are one of the most iconic families in 'Hollyoaks' history. So it's only fitting that Myra, as head of the family, gets the best send off possible.
"She will be shot. Browning will be involved - but that doesn't mean he's the one who pulls the trigger. We all know there are a few others in the McQueen family who are handy with the gun, so wait and see.
"It's going to be an epic week of episodes that we are sure fans are going to love."
Meanwhile, Jesse Birdsall has landed the role of Fraser Black in the long-running soap.
The character will become a possible love interest for Sandy Roscoe (Gillian Taylforth) after her son Joe (Ayden Callaghan) attempts to set them up to sway her away from her current love interest Dodger Savage (Danny Mac).
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Fraser's arrival will really shake things up. Sandy's boys are unhappy about her relationship with Dodger and Fraser appears to be the perfect answer - at first."
Tagged in Gillian Taylforth