Jake Wood 'excited about new horizons' ahead of EastEnders exit

Jake Wood is "excited" about the "new horizons" around the corner following his \'EastEnders\' exit announcement.

The 48-year-old star confirmed last week he will be departing the BBC One soap, on which he has played Max Branning since 2006, and the actor joked one of his most "traumatising" moments on programme was sharing a hot tub with Adam Woodyatt\'s character Ian Beale.

He wrote on Instagram: "After 15 years I will be leaving Eastenders at the end of this year. I have loved playing Max Branning who amongst other things in that time has had 4 marriages, 10 affairs, 4 children (2 dying from falling from the roof of The Queen Vic), been buried alive, watched unwanted DVDs at Xmas and perhaps most traumatising of all...shared a hot tub with Ian Beale. I have made some truly great friends whilst on the show and I\'ll miss everyone there. I\'m grateful they have left the door open for Max and I\'m excited to see what new horizons are around the corner. Thank you to everyone who has sent me messages this week, I appreciate the love and support (sic)"

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Last week, \'EastEnders\' executive producer Jon Sen praised the actor\'s contribution to the soap\'s success.

He reflected: "Jake is a truly wonderful actor and \'EastEnders\' have been extremely lucky to have him for so long.

"We have a big storyline for Max that starts in the coming weeks and we are all very excited to see that play out."

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Jake said: "I\'ve had 15 wonderful years at \'EastEnders\' and have made some truly great friends.

"I\'ll of course miss everyone there but I\'m grateful they have left the door open for Max and I\'m excited to see what the next chapter holds."