Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan quits ITV soap

Flanagan said she was "very excited about what the future might hold"

Actress Helen Flanagan is to give up her role as Coronation Street's Rosie Webster after 12 years on the soap.

"I feel that the time has come for me to move on and try something new," said the 21-year-old, who has been part of the ITV1 show since she was nine.

The Bury-born actress will shoot her final episodes in December but will be seen on screen until February 2012.

She was the second person to play Sally and Kevin Webster's eldest daughter, originally played by Emma Collinge.

"During my time growing up on Corrie I have made some amazing friends and learnt an awful lot," said Flanagan.

Her departure follows reports she had been suffering panic attacks on Coronation Street's Manchester set.

"I am trying to work out what triggers them so that I can start to deal with them and move forward," she told the Daily Mirror last month.

During her time on the Street, Flanagan's character has lost her virginity, become a Goth and had an affair with teacher John Stape, who subsequently kidnapped her.

She can currently be seen on ITV2 in Corrie spin-off Just Rosie, in which Rosie travels to London to become a model.