Another EastEnders character departs as Claudette Hubbard bids farwell to the show

It's all change in EastEnders right now...

Following an explosive few weeks with the Mitchells that saw five characters say goodbye to Albert Square, today news broke that another character would be bidding the soap farewell. As Digital Spy reports, the villainous Claudette Hubbard will be leaving the show shortly. The website explains that actress Ellen Thomas, who plays the conniving matriarch, has landed the lead role in upcoming stage show The Hotel Cerise, which will run at The Theatre Royal Stratford East in October and November. While the door has been left open for Claudette's return, she's going to be away from the Square for a while. A spokesperson for the soap confirmed the news that Thomas would be leaving the show.

"As our regular viewers will know, Claudette has often been seen coming and going from the Square to visit her family and friends.

"This is the end of another stint for Claudette and we wish Ellen all the best for the future."

Claudette has been up to some... shenanigans since first arriving on the show in March 2015. Earlier this year saw her son Vincent and Vincent's father-in-law Patrick bury her under the floorboards as punishment for killing Vincent's father Henry. It was a whole big sticky mess. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t44iWRiGg94 Despite both Patrick and Vincent thinking that she was dead, she returned to the soap a little while later and after amending her previously wicked ways, she seemed to integrate into family life easily enough. But if this news is anything to go by, expect things to go south prettttty quickly. The news comes at an interesting time for EastEnders, as Ellen Thomas is the fifth star to announce their departure in recent weeks. As the Huffington Post reminds us, both Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell, played by Samantha Womack and Rita Simmons, are leaving as part of an “explosive” storyline, while the Carter family will also lose another family member. Masood Ahmed actor Nitin Ganatra also announced his decision to leave Walford behind earlier this month. Corr... talk about winter reboot. Read more...