BBC EastEnders Bobby Beale star quits soap after five years

BBC's EastEnders star Clay Milner Russell, known for his portrayal of Bobby Beale, has decided to leave the soap after an eventful five-year stint.

Bobby's character has been central to some of the show's most dramatic plots, including the tragic death of his sister Lucy. More drama unfolded recently as Bobby narrowly escaped death during a fire at Kathy's cafe, due to Rocky's reckless tampering with the electrics in a bid to claim insurance money for his gambling woes.

Elsewhere, Bobby's love life took centre stage in a romance with Anna Knight, which was nearly derailed when his best mate Freddie Slater, played by Bobby Brazier, had a fling with Anna, reports the Mirror.

"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. The door is being left open but for now it's a definite goodbye," an insider revealed to The Sun regarding Clay's decision to move on from the role he's embraced for the past five years.

"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."

An EastEnders spokeswoman confirmed: "We can confirm that Clay will be leaving EastEnders later on this year, and we wish him the best for the future," but details of how Bobby's character will exit the show remain under wraps.

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Bobby Brazier is set to make a comeback to Albert Square, as reported previously. A source told the Mirror: "Bobby is seen as one of the Square's brightest young stars, and to lose him would have been a massive blow for the show. For his part, he loves playing Freddie, but he was in such demand after Strictly."

They continued: "He felt he needed to give all of the offers open to him proper consideration. Thankfully he has now decided to renew his contract and everyone is thrilled. He does still have other projects he is in talks for, but they will run alongside his work on the show - much like Molly Rainford's single last year or Tameka Empson's recent play."

Catch the latest drama in EastEnders, airing Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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