'EastEnders' actress Barbara Windsor has quit the soap after eight years, saying she needs to take some time off.
But the actress, who plays landlady Peggy Mitchell, says she will be returning in 2004 after a year's hiatus.
Windsor said the decision was a tough one but a choice she had to make for her own sake and that of her character.
In a statement she said "This has been a very hard decision for me to make, because I'm so happy here on 'EastEnders', but it's been a long time without a proper break, and I just feel some time off would be good for me, and probably the character too".
The 65-year-old actress will return in 2004 with what is promised to be a big storyline.
