‘EastEnders’ star Aaron Sidwell has clarified rumours surrounding his impending soap exit.
On Thursday (10 August) morning, ‘EastEnders’ bosses confirmed that Aaron’s character, Steven Beale, would be bidding farewell to Albert Square, in scenes set to air next month.
In the wake of the news, various media outlets suggested that this meant his contract had been cut short, as he signed a new deal with the soap earlier this year.
Taking to his Twitter in response to these reports, he’s now clarified that this is not the case, as the contract he signed was only for six months.
Addressing ‘EastEnders’ fans, he wrote: “I wanted to take this chance to clear up any confusion around my exit. There has been incorrect reports about me for some time now.
“Regardless of what you’ve read or believe, I didn’t sign a year-long contract back in March. I signed for six months. A decision both I and my representation were happy about as it gave me us the chance to continue working on other opportunities.”
He went on to say that while his current storyline has been “challenging”, he was not leaving the show as any sort of “protest”, insisting: “Challenges are what strengthen us and I want to thank the story team and writers for giving me one.”
It has since been revealed that Aaron has already bagged his first post-‘EastEnders’ role, as he’s set to tour the UK in a new production of ‘Wicked’, as the male lead, Fiyero.
The news of his soap exit comes after some of the younger members of the ‘EastEnders’ cast inadvertently let the cat out of the bag about an upcoming exit, with a rather clumsy social media post.
Catch up on all the latest soap news and spoilers here.