Lisa Hammond leaving EastEnders

Lisa Hammond is to depart \'EastEnders\'.

The 34-year-old actress has announced she is exiting the BBC One soap - in which she plays Donna Yates - after four years in the role.

She told Metro.co.uk: "It\'s been so great to play Donna for the past four years. I\'ve made lifelong friends at EastEnders and will really miss all of the brilliant cast and crew who have always been a pleasure to work with! I look forward to what the future brings."

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Whilst a spokesperson for the show added in a statement: "We can confirm Lisa will be leaving EastEnders in the coming months. Lisa has been a fantastic addition to the cast and she will be missed. We wish her all the very best for the future."

Lisa\'s exit scenes are expected to be shown in the summer as the actress is still on set. It is not currently known how she will exit the programme and if the door would be left open for a possible return one day.

Lisa also took to social media to share the news and captioned a link to the story, with the words: "Happy/sad :-) (sic)"

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During her four years on the show, Donna has been at the centre of some huge storylines. She didn\'t get off to a good start with Kat Moon and Bianca Butcher when she first arrived at Albert Square to check out the competition at Bridge Street Market, where she found out she had to move her clothing stall from Spring Lane Market to Bridge Street. A year into her time on Albert Square, Donna was joined on-screen by her foster-brother Vincent Hubbard and her foster-mother, Claudette Hubbard.