Davood Ghadami is set to leave ‘EastEnders’ in 2021.
The 38-year-old actor – who plays Kush Kazemi in the BBC soap – is poised to leave the show next year as part of a dramatic storyline.
A soap source told Metro.co.uk: "Bosses have a huge plot planned but although Davood was told in January, his departure it is not for a very long time yet – in fact Kush will be on screen until well into 2021.
"It’s a shame and he will be missed by everyone at Elstree but sometimes the cost of having a big storyline means losing big characters."
The actor’s exit has also been confirmed by BBC bosses.
A spokesperson for ‘EastEnders’ said: "We can confirm Davood will be leaving ‘EastEnders’ when his contract comes to an end next year. Davood has been a wonderful addition to ‘EastEnders’ and we wish him all the best for the future."
Head of BBC Continuing Drama Kate Oates has also heaped praise on Davood, who joined the soap in 2014.
She said: "Davood is a fantastic actor and a hugely popular company member, so we will miss him hugely."
Meanwhile, Davood recently admitted he "felt like a fraud" when filming ‘EastEnders’ knife-crime scenes.
Kush lost his brother Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi) as a result of knife-crime and Davood admitted that having family members of real-life victims on set was an eye-opening experience.
He explained: "Being watched by people who had gone through it for real … It must’ve been really hard for them. That’s something that, you know, you can’t really prepare for it. It’s very difficult.
"On one hand, you go, ‘I feel like a fraud’ because I’m walking down here pretending that this happened to me, and I’m worried that we’re doing it wrong, basically. I’m doing it wrong, not necessarily the show, or maybe it is – maybe this is going wrong."