An EastEnders star confirmed that she has left the BBC One soap – and fans are ‘gutted

An EastEnders favourite has waved goodbye to Albert Square, and the show’s devoted fans are proper gutted.

In recent episodes of the BBC drama, Suki Panesar (played by Balvinder Sopal) has had her life turned upside down after an old flame, Ayesha (portrayed by Laila Rouass), was brought back by her dastardly ex-hubby Nish (Navin Chowdhry).

The scheming Nish baited Ayesha back with the promise of an apology for the murder of her spouse Hardeep over two decades earlier. However, Nish’s true intentions were far from noble.

It was revealed he was aiming to throw a spanner in the works for Suki and her partner Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), sowing seeds of doubt about their future together.

But it turns out Laila Rouass, who brings Ayesha to life, ain’t sticking around in Walford, as she’s confirmed that Monday’s (August 12) instalment is her final curtain call, reports Devon Live.

Laila took to the ‘Gram with a snap alongside Navin, captioning it: “My last episode on @eastenders tonight. Thank you so much for all your wonderful messages and support.”

She went on to add: “Had the best time being Ayesha. Enjoy tonight’s episode and I’ll see you on screen again soon. Laila x,” leaving EastEnders supporters seriously miffed at her departure. Piling into the comments, one fan expressed their outrage, saying: “I for one am very cross! “

They continued: “I wanted you to take over Peggy’s, have an affair with Suki, Eve and Phil Mitchell too. Great job beautiful, I hope they have you back soon.”

One fan gushed: “You have been so good on Eastenders, I hope we will see you back on the Square, there is still some unfinished business between Suki and Ayesha.”

Another admirer commented: “Gutted. Really thought you were there to stay and what a lovely addition. Ayesha was refreshing.”

Meanwhile, another viewer joked: “Oh you was absolutely amazing, as you always are. going to miss you on my T.V and hope to see you back soon.”

Before her much-anticipated appearance on the show, Laila enthused: “I cannot tell you how excited I am to be in EastEnders! I was born in the East End and grew up there, and there was such a buzz when the show started.

“Even though I was little at the time, I can clearly remember the first episode and Doctor Legg arriving at the flat where Reg Cox had been murdered. I’ve also known Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar) for many years, so it was great to work with him again and to do scenes with Balvinder Sopal (Suki Panesar) and the rest of the Panesars as Ayesha reunites with them. This is a lifelong dream come true!”

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer