The Walking Dead star Pollyanna McIntosh has urged fans not to quit watching the show after Andrew Lincoln leaves in season nine.
After reports of his exit first broke, a survey of fans suggested that almost half of them would stop watching once Rick leaves, but McIntosh told Digital Spy that she hopes that doesn't happen, comparing it to spin-off show Fear the Walking Dead that has survived after major exits.
"It's been difficult for their audience losing some of their great lynchpins as well, but we've seen it go forward. Garret Dillahunt is a friend from a long time ago and seeing him and Lennie [James] do their work together has been an absolute joy," she explained.
"All I would say about it is you just never know how good it can get, and I don't want people to give up on The Walking Dead because of their grief over Andy, I think they're going to have a lot coming to them."
Lincoln is leaving the show after nine seasons in order to spend more time with his family, and McIntosh admitted that it's "very hard to be sore about it" given what it will mean for him and his family, adding that he has left the show with an "incredible legacy".
"It's weird and it's a strange thing. There's nobody that can replace Andy and that character has been the lynchpin of the series, but we have also lost people that we were incredibly attached to before and the story goes on to new and exciting heights," she added.
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"I have faith in the team to really surprise the audience and I certainly think the fans won't be disappointed with what happens after, it's some pretty cool stuff."
New showrunner Angela Kang recently spoke about the future of the show once Lincoln leaves and also praised the "positive legacy" he leaves behind.
"So, we have all these wonderful actors that are on our show that are gonna be just as positive, and wonderful, and warm as he was. And that's really the lasting legacy that Andy leaves us as a human being on our set," she enthused.
The Walking Dead returns to AMC in the US on October 7 and on FOX and NOW TV in the UK on October 8.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
