Hollyoaks star Nikki Sanderson has opened up about the reason she's leaving after a decade.
The Maxine Minniver actor announced this week that she is stepping down from the Channel 4 soap, with her final scenes set to air in May.
"Deciding to leave was an incredibly difficult decision for me because Maxine is a huge, huge part of my life – and a part of my life that I've loved," she told OK in a lengthy interview.
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"It's difficult to think, 'It's time', and it wasn't an instant or overnight decision. It took me a long time to make it and it was something I genuinely fought with myself about, but I'm lucky that I could talk to people around me and get people's opinions.
"I'm grateful that I've had the stability for so long, now I've just got to embrace the instability of not knowing what's next."
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Another factor in Sanderson's decision is that she turned 40 last year.
"I know I'm older, and time is going fast, but I want to embrace it and be excited about my forties," she said. "I'm more confident and comfortable in myself than I used to be, and I want to make the most of whatever exciting things might come my way."
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The publication asked if her future plans could include a return to Coronation Street, where she played Candice Stowe between 1999 and 2005, and she said: "Never say never is my approach.
"I love Candice and I love Coronation Street, so I'd never close myself to anything if they did want me back in the future. That's the exciting thing about doing what I do. You just never know what might happen next."
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
