EASTENDERS star Matthew James Morrison is leaving the soap after three years.
The actor – who plays Felix Baker in the BBC soap – will film his final scenes soon after bosses
made the decision to write out his character.
A source said: “It’s never an easy decision for bosses when they have to make the decision for a character to leave.
“Matthew has been great, but bosses felt the time was right to say goodbye to Felix.”
A BBC spokeswoman confirmed Matthew’s exit, telling The Sun: “We can confirm that Matthew will be leaving EastEnders later in the year.
“We wish him all the best for the future.”
The star made his debut in 2019 as part of the Baker family – cousins of the Taylors.
He arrived with dad Avery and brother Finlay, but Avery died just weeks after arriving in Walford, and Finlay was axed after a year.
Felix was the soap’s first ever drag queen character with his act Tara Misu.
He arrived with much fanfare in 2022 with Mathew saying at the time: “I am blessed to have the opportunity to step into the heels of the fierce Tara Misu as part of my role on EastEnders.
“It’s a privilege to represent the LGBTQIA+ community and to showcase the creative art of drag to both viewers at home and the residents of Walford.”
The character later became a barman at The Albert and took more of a backseat role.
EastEnders legend quits Walford in emotional scenes – but hints at shock return
Fans had criticised the soap for not making use of the character and not giving him a significant storyline.
In one memorable scene Felix as Tara became one of the few characters in EastEnders history to see off a raging Phil Mitchell.
WHEN Felix was first announced to be EastEnders first ever drag queen character – there was genuine excitement.
And then nothing happened. Within weeks his dad was dead and the brothers were forced into relative poverty.
And then more nothing happened. Why?
While Chris Clenshaw’s tenure did wonders for the show as a whole as well as revitalising some characters – Phil Mitchell being a standout example – others suffered.
Short of a few barbed comments, Felix and Tara were woefully underused.
A drag queen character should have soared in Walford – especially around the likes of Kat Slater, Sharon Watts and Elaine Peacock.
Instead, he disappeared completely.
Matthew was never given a chance to show off his talents and Tara was nothing more than a headline attached to a character.
If you’re going to make a big deal about introducing characters then you need to at least give them something to do – otherwise what’s the point?
The BBC soap also said farewell to boss Chris Clenshaw this week as he bowed out after three years having seen the soap revitalised for its 40th anniversary.
Former Channel 4 commissioning executive Ben Wadey is taking over as executive producer.
