Barbara Windsor has made an out-of-the-blue decision to leave Eastenders next year after 15 years squawking around Albert Square.
Babs, who of course, plays Peggy Mitchell, declared that she's looking forward to spending more time with her "old man".
Windsor said: "EastEnders has been wonderful to me and it's no secret that it changed my life all of those years ago. "I'll be so sad to leave Peggy behind; she's such a wonderful character to play."
"I have had the pleasure of working with a marvellous cast and crew and have made many lasting good friends."
"To have had the honour of showing the Queen around the set is something that will stay with me forever. I would like to thank the BBC for the incredible opportunity they gave me and above all, I must thank the wonderful viewers for their support over the years.
"I'm looking forward to the future and I suppose when all's said and done, I should spend a bit more time with my old man, as he's not getting any younger."
Babs first appeared on Albert Square back in 1994 and since then, has been awarded an MBE as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards. How she'll leave the soap is still unclear. I'm thinking she'll probably get run over like all departing Eastenders characters.
Eastenders boss Diederick Santer said: "Barbara has contributed so much to EastEnders over the last 15 years, plus countless episodes, and countless amazing storylines.
"Peggy Mitchell is a truly iconic character, and along with Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp, Barbara has made the Mitchells the premier family of British soap.
"I so much enjoy working with her - catching up with the gossip, listening to her stories, talking about the show, benefiting from her advice, and most importantly revelling in her powerful, funny, passionate performances.
"All of us at EastEnders - and our audience - are going to miss her hugely."
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