Kellie Bright to Leave EastEnders After 13 Years as Linda Carter

Bright said she made the "tough decision" to leave more than a year ago but "happily" agreed to stay on to be part of an "exciting storyline". The BBC has promised "unmissable drama" before her on-screen exit, which is said to be "a while away", as confirmed by the BBC.

Kellie Bright’s biggest EastEnders storylines

As the landlady of Walford’s pub for around a decade, Linda Carter sat at the heart of some of the show’s most talked-about plots, spanning murder, sexual assault and alcoholism. More than 7 million people watched the 2014 episode in which she was raped by her brother-in-law Dean Wicks, a story that prompted dozens of complaints and led to a long-running arc about family conflict and trauma. In 2022 her husband vanished into the sea while trying to save Janine Butcher, and in the 2023 Christmas Day episode she stabbed Keanu Taylor to death to save her friend Sharon Watts, played by Letitia Dean.

The beating heart of EastEnders and a classic EastEnders icon.

Ben Wadey, executive producer

Executive producer Ben Wadey led the tributes, and with the character having most recently opened a B&B and enjoyed several romances, viewers now face a wait to see how the "beating heart" of the Square is written out.