Note: This article contains spoilers from Monday's E4 first look episode (July 22) of Hollyoaks, which some readers may prefer to avoid.
Hollyoaks boss Bryan Kirkwood has spoken to Digital Spy about the shock decision to kill off Harry Thompson.
Parry Glasspool has left the Channel 4 soap's cast after a five-year stint and fans have been left heartbroken over the death of his popular character.
Monday's E4 first look episode (July 22) saw Harry become the latest victim of serial killer Breda McQueen, who decided he was a "bad dad" and stabbed him in an alleyway.
Chatting to Digital Spy about Harry's tragic death, Kirkwood explained: "It was an incredibly difficult choice to make. We had been speaking to Parry, as we speak to all of our artists, and we felt that he was thinking of moving on at some point.
"We also felt really strongly that Breda – as our big, bad monster of 2019 – needed to kill someone really important.
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"For those audience members who enjoy having a big, heightened 'killer behind the curtain' story in Hollyoaks, we wanted to make sure that genre within the show is well-designed with massive impact.
"The audience had caught onto killers getting rid of actors who were maybe leaving anyway, but the death of Harry couldn't be bigger. He's Tony's son and he's James' boyfriend. The repercussions and the ripple effect are going to give those characters their biggest year yet."
He added: "We never, ever, take for granted how much our audience loves our characters and we are so lucky to have such loyal viewers.
"But sometimes difficult decisions have to be taken in order to propel other much-loved characters forwards.
"We think this was the right decision, and for James and Tony, takes them into life-changing territory."
Digital Spy has also spoken to Parry in an exclusive chat about his departure, which you can read in full here.
Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first look screenings at 7pm on E4.
Read more news, spoilers and gossip on our Hollyoaks homepage
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