Adam Thomas will leave Emmerdale at the end of this year after eight years playing heart-throb Adam Barton.
The 28-year-old said he has had a blast working on the popular soap and admits his decision to exit the show didn't come easily.
"I’ve had an amazing eight years working on Emmerdale and I’ve loved every minute of it," Thomas said in a statement.
"It was a really tough decision to take to leave but I felt that now is the time to move on and challenge myself with some new roles."
"I’d like to thank everyone at Emmerdale for both giving me the opportunity to work as part of such a great team and for giving my character Adam Barton some great storylines too," he added.
Thomas' exact departure date hasn’t yet been confirmed, meaning that there’s still plenty of explosive and dramatic storylines for his character to get involved with before he eventually gets written out.
"Everyone will be really gutted to see Adam go!" producer Iain McLeod said in another statement. "He’s a top bloke and a really talented actor.
"But he’s given us a lot of notice, so we’ve been able to prepare a huge exit story for him. I’m really excited to see it play out on screen - however sad it will be to wave goodbye to such a brilliant character and cast member."
It is rumoured that Adams decided to leave the show after bosses refused to give him time off for a €100,000 panto role.
