Departing EastEnders star Lindsey Coulson has confirmed that her character, Carol Jackson, will not be killed off in the BBC soap.
In an interview on ITV's This Morning, Coulson, who has played Carol for 22 years, said: "BBC bosses are keeping the door open for me - but I don't know how I'll go out."
There is speculation that the return of Dean Gaffney as Carol's son Robbie will be part of the exit storyline.
"I don't know what's going to happen exactly but I'm very hopeful that I will be working with Dean again," Coulson added.
As to what the future holds for her, she said: "I think I just need to jump off of a cliff every now and again. I need a new challenge and a new experience. I'm an actress and I want to be able to play different characters - although it might be hard at first because everyone sees me as Carol."
