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Adam Woodyatt hints he will not return to 'EastEnders' as Ian Beale

Albertina Lloyd
·Contributor
·2-min read
Adam Woodyatt has hinted he may not return to 'EastEnders'. (ITV)
Adam Woodyatt has hinted he may not return to 'EastEnders'. (ITV)

EastEnders star Adam Woodyatt has hinted his soap career as Ian Beale may be over for good.

The 53-year-old actor — who has played the Albert Square chip shop owner for 36 years — is currently appearing in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, where his fellow campmates quizzed him on his future in the BBC soap.

Asked how long he had been in EastEnders, Woodyatt said: "October '84 to November 2020, so 36 years."

Read more: I'm A Celebrity: Naughty Boy clashes with another campmate over cooking

Loose Women's Frankie Bridge asked: “What made you leave EastEnders Adam?”

Watch: Who is I'm A Celeb's Frankie Bridge?

He replied: “I just had another opportunity. This play came up and I just fancied doing something different. The way the storyline is, they needed me to take a break. Yeah... the break’s just got longer.”

Paralympic athlete Kadeena Cox asked him: “Would you ever get into film?”

Woodyatt said: “I’m available as of April.”

Ian Beale is scared for his life after his attack. (BBC/Kieron McCarron/Matt Burlem/Amy Sharp)
Adam Woodyatt as Ian Beale in EastEnders. (BBC)

The soap star has been touring the country in a stage adaptation of Peter James hit crime novel Looking Good Dead, which was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The tour is due to end in April 2022 and Woodyatt then plans to travel to the US.

In July he revealed: "I won’t be going back until this time next year at the absolute earliest. I’m committed to touring with Looking Good Dead. I’m then going to America because my daughter is getting married."

Adam Woodyatt has palyed Ian Beale for 36 years. (Getty Images)
Adam Woodyatt has palyed Ian Beale for 36 years. (Getty Images)

Ian Beale was last seen in Albert Square in January 2021 when his then-wife Sharon tried to poison him because she had found out he was responsible for her son Dennis Rickman drowning in a boat disaster the year before.

With Phil Mitchell also threatening to kill him Ian fled Walford, throwing his mobile phone away and later sending Sharon a marriage annulment.

Read more: Adam Woodyatt living in a motorhome as he explores wild side

Yahoo UK has contacted the BBC for comment on Woodyatt's departure from the soap.

Watch: Adam Woodyatt in his first I'm A Celebrity Bushtucker Trial