EastEnders favourite Brian Conley has quit the soap as Rocky Cotton — potentially leaving the Christmas death storyline in tatters.
Brian first arrived on the Square in May 2021 but is now set to leave the soap after two years according to The Sun.
A source allegedly told the publication: “Brian was a brilliant signing and has been a big hit with fans. But it looks as though he’s just not enjoying being on EastEnders anymore — and has been telling a lot of colleagues and telly friends he wanted out for a while."
The big Christmas storyline is thought to be in jeopardy, with claims they had already planned for another major character to be the mystery man who is killed in the Vic. Now, it is thought that Rocky could be killed off instead.
EastEnders revealed that someone will be murdered this Christmas in a special flashforward episode that saw six Walford women — Stacey, Suki, Linda, Sharon, Denise and Kathy all standing over an unknown corpse at the Vic.
In a surprise twist that EastEnders has never done before, the episode flashed forward to Christmas 2023 where a wedding was taking place at the Vic. It was soon revealed that Sharon was the bride as she was wearing a blood-splattered wedding dress.
Stacey could be seen with blood on her hands, Denise was holding a broken bottle of champagne, Linda had a split lip, Kathy had a ripped dress sleeve and a mystery male was seen lying dead on the floor of the pub.
“There was always a plan for a major death at Christmas — but it wasn’t initially going to be this. If Brian wants out, it makes sense to switch it around. There’s time to do that before they start filming the Christmas storylines,” The Sun's source revealed.
EastEnders officially confirmed Brian's exit in a statement: “We can confirm that Brian Conley will be leaving EastEnders. There is absolutely no truth in any claims of a feud with bosses and the show fully support Brian in his decision to leave which was made some time ago. We wish him the best of luck for the future as we continue to work towards his exit storyline which has been in the works for some time.”
Brian also posted a video message on his Instagram announcing his exit.
It seems he has plenty of work lined up after his departure. Not only will he be leading the cast of the Cinderella panto at the Milton Keynes Theatre at Christmas, but he also has a National Tour lined up. Brian is set to hit the road from Sunday, September 24. For tickets visit http://socomedy.co.uk/artist/brian-conley/
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
