Rachel Adedeji has quit ‘Hollyoaks’ after four years.
The 28-year-old actress – who plays Lisa Loveday on the Channel 4 soap – filmed her exit shortly before lockdown after deciding last year she wanted to move on from the show to explore other opportunities.
A soap spokeswoman told The Sun Online: "Rachel made the decision to leave ‘Hollyoaks’ to pursue other opportunities earlier last year which saddened us at ‘Hollyoaks’ as she is one of the leading cast members in the show.
"However, the notice period did allow the writers time to give Lisa Loveday an extremely gripping exit storyline.
"Viewers will see this story play out later this year as her final scenes were filmed shortly before lockdown."
It’s said Lisa’s departure from the village is set to air over the next couple of months.
A representative for Rachel revealed she "always" intended to move on with her career after a spell on the show.
Her spokesman added: "It had always been our intention for Rachel to leave the show after a period of time.
"She loved her time on ‘Hollyoaks’ and the exit storyline was openly discussed with the producers and her together, in a collaborative format."
News of her exit comes after the actress claimed she had experienced racism during her time on the programme.
Following Rachel’s comments, ‘Hollyoaks’ announced they are "investigating", and insisted they have "zero tolerance on racism".
A post on their social media channels read: "Hollyoaks has zero tolerance on racism. We are taking Rachel Adedeji’s comments extremely seriously and are investigating."
And yesterday (09.06.20), the show’s producer Lime Pictures issued a statement insisting it has "a zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows".