EastEnders star Jake Wood is leaving the show for a year.
Wood, who plays Max Branning in the BBC soap, will be returning next year.
He said: "I have been at EastEnders for nine years and I feel the time is right to give Max a break but it won't be for too long as I shall be back next year to see Max face another chapter of drama."
The show's executive producer, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, said: "When I returned to EastEnders both Jake and I agreed that Max has been through so much over the past nine years that we would give both him and Jake a break when the opportunity arose.
"That opportunity has come and it is the perfect time to send Max Branning out with a bang that will send ripples through the Square for the rest of the year until Jake returns."
One of Wood's most memorable storylines involved Max's affair with his daughter-in-law, Stacey, played by Lacey Turner.
EastEnders has not revealed how Wood's character will leave the show for his break.
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