Coronation Street actor Oliver Mellor has revealed he has said goodbye to the soap, saying 'it was time to leave'.
The 32-year-old, who has been playing hunky Dr Matt Carter since 2010, finished filming on Coronation Street earlier this year.
He told the Sunday Mercury: "There were quite long periods when I didn't appear at all, so I realised it was time to leave. They didn't try to make me stay - they admitted they didn't have any solid plans for the doctor and it would be more of the same.
"I thought, 'Fair enough, you've been great but it's time to go'. They just weren't progressing my character as much as I would like. As an actor you want some kind of consistency and to be busy."
Oliver, whose character was introduced in August 2010 as Gail McIntyre's (Helen Worth) new boss, had a fleeting romance with her daughter-in-law Tina (Michelle Keegan), although he was also involved in juicy storylines such as the 50th anniversary tram crash and the fire at the Rovers Return.
He added: "I wasn't being integrated into the rest of the street. It was great when Matt started dating Tina, but it never came to any real fruition."
Oliver - who stars in a new production of the play A Murder Has Been Arranged - admitted it is unlikely that Matt's departure will be explained on Coronation Street. But he hinted that his alter-ego could return in the future.
"It's a shame Matt doesn't get an exit storyline - they just stopped using him, unfortunately. But they're not killing him off, so you never know, he could return one day," he said.
