Madeleine West admitted her \'Neighbours\' departure dramatically changed plans for Dee Bliss.
The 39-year-old actress initially left the soap back in 2003 when her iconic character went missing at sea after being sent off a cliff whilst driving with new husband Toadie Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) on their wedding day, but there were other plans in place before she decided to quit after almost four years on the show.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, she said: "They had actually asked me to stay on for another few years and Dee and Toadie were going to get married, have babies.
"I\'d already been on the show for nearly four years by then and felt that it was the right time for me to move on. My background has been in stage since I was 5 years old and it was really time for me to play another character."
Madeleine - who returned in flashbacks in 2017 before making a proper comeback last year as both Dee and her character\'s identical twin Andrea Somers - also explained how she didn\'t want to overstay her welcome during her initial run.
She explained: "One thing I didn\'t want was for Dee; who is such a vibrant little light, and that\'s why I think that she has stuck in people\'s memories for so long, I didn\'t want her to dim and become less than she was- so I felt that it was time for her to go."
The soap star recently revealed she is definitely up for a more permanent return to \'Neighbours\' in the future, and it seems the writers just have to ask if they want her around full time.
She admitted: "I think you\'re going to have to lobby the boffins at \'Neighbours\' and [production company] Fremantle to make that happen, but I doubt I\'d say no!"
