Kelvin Fletcher quit ‘Emmerdale’ when he was at his "happiest" on the soap.
The 34-year-old actor portrayed Andy Sugden on the ITV show from 1996 to 2016, and admits he was in a "weird position" when he decided to call time on his Dales career, but felt the need to try out other roles.
He said: "Whether it was a brave move or a foolish step, you can call it what you want, but I made the decision to leave probably when I was the happiest I had ever been at Emmerdale.
"The storylines on Emmerdale were great, the show was great and the morale around the place was great.
"But I found myself in this weird position. They had given me this sense of belief and sense of confidence and I felt that artistically I really coming into my own.
"Having played the same character for 20 years I had a real appetite to do other things, play different characters and work in different areas."
But Kelvin insists he didn’t want to necessarily move onto "bigger and better things", because he cannot envisage starring in a "better" show than the ITV soap.
He added to The Bolton News: "I just wanted to try things which you’ve not really got the opportunity to do when you’re in ‘Emmerdale’ as your commitment is so full on.
"When I left ‘Emmerdale’, it’s not as though I wanted to move on to bigger and better things. For me there isn’t really anything bigger and better than ‘Emmerdale’ and those shows.
"They are watched by millions every night, they are the bedrock of British TV. Nobody is as proud as me as what the shows are and what they represent. I just had this real appetite to try something else."
Kelvin is a dad to two-year-old daughter Marnie with wife Eliza Marsland, and the couple are expecting another little one.
In August, she wrote on Instagram: "So much to look forward this year! Feeling so lucky and excited for our family of 3 to become 4 (sic)"
She posted a picture of herself staring out from a building overlooking the Manchester skyline while cradling her baby bump.
Kelvin couldn’t resist making a little quip, writing "Looks like me already x (sic)"
Kelvin Fletcher quit Emmerdale ‘at his happiest’
