EastEnders star Charlie Brooks quits the show

Charlie Brooks is leaving her role as Janine Butcher in EastEnders.

The actress told The Sun on Sunday that she was only ever due back on the show “for a year” but had chosen to extend her contract to see out a storyline.

 “I was only ever due back to EastEnders for a year, but when [executive producer] Chris Clenshaw presented me with his idea for the story, I couldn’t say no to staying a little longer.

“I’ve had an amazing time, as I always do when I go back. But as always with Janine, she probably should not outstay her welcome – for everyone’s sake.”

Janine currently has her hooks into Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), who is unaware of the extent to which she has gone to drive a wedge between him and his ex-wife Linda (Kellie Bright).

During a car accident with Linda in June, Janine swapped herself with an unconscious Linda in the driver’s seat to give the impression that Linda had been drunk at the wheel.

More recently, she was behind Linda’s daughter Annie being taken into temporary foster care after setting her up to look unfit as a mother.

Additionally, she stole money from Mick and Linda’s daughter, Nancy, and tried to use it to pay Linda to leave the Square.

Whether Janine’s sabotage of Linda will be exposed before she leaves Albert Square remains to be seen. According to The Sun, Charlie will film her “explosive” final scenes this year, which will air around New Year’s.

Brooks originally played the role of troublesome Janine between 1999-2004 and 2008-2014 with storylines covering prostitution, agoraphobia and drug addiction.

It was announced in June 2021 that the actress would reprise the role once more and she made her on screen comeback in September 2021.