Gillian Wright to leave EastEnders after eight years

Gillian Wright is leaving EastEnders after eight years playing Jean Slater.

The actress said it had been "a huge privilege" to appear on the BBC soap.

She said: "I will miss EastEnders enormously, but it is time for me to step back and enjoy other acting challenges. I would love Jean to return to the Square one day. Let's hope this is not goodbye, but au revoir."

In the show she suffered with bipolar disorder, which strained her relationship with her two children.

"I treasure the viewers' care and love for the character, not only through her hard times but through all the laughter too," she added.

Jean Slater appeared briefly in the soap in December 2004 and then again in December 2005.

She returned as a character in 2006 and began making regular appearances from November of that year.

She left the series in January 2011, before returning again two months later.

The announcement of her departure comes days after the show's executive producer, Lorraine Newman, said she was leaving.

Newman, who has worked on the soap in various roles for more than 20 years, is being replaced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins, who is returning after three years away.

He said: "You never really leave EastEnders - and, for the past three years, the characters have all stubbornly stayed in my head."

EastEnders has been on air for more than 28 years.

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