Ellen Thomas - Claudette

[Perdita]

EastEnders will be saying goodbye to Claudette Hubbard in a few weeks' time, Digital Spy can exclusively confirm.

Ellen Thomas, who plays Claudette, has recently filmed scenes which see her fearsome character departing Walford.

Digital Spy understands that Claudette has been written out after Ellen's latest stint back in the role - but the locals shouldn't sleep too easily, as the door has been left wide open for a future return.

Since departing, Ellen has landed the lead role in upcoming stage show The Hotel Cerise, which will run at The Theatre Royal Stratford East in October and November.

If you're a Claudette fan, don't worry too much though. She still has her family on Albert Square, providing plenty of reason to return further on down the line.

And as we saw when Vincent thought he'd seen the back of her on Mother's Day, Claudette is certainly fond of a shock comeback.

An EastEnders spokesperson told Digital Spy: "As our regular viewers will know, Claudette has often been seen coming and going from the Square to visit her family and friends.

"This is the end of another stint for Claudette and we wish Ellen all the best for the future."

Claudette has been appearing in EastEnders since March 2015.

Although she has her fair share of misdeeds under her belt - including causing Fatboy Chubb's death and murdering her husband - she's recently been trying to redeem herself by winning over her family again.

We've also been cheering on Claudette as she's opposed Babe Smith's blackmail of the Coker family, as well as striking up an unexpected romantic connection with Patrick Trueman.


Digital Spy

[lizann]

this busty villain had potential but failed which is a shame as played by a good actress

[Rear window]

dhe better be sorting babe out before she goes

[Perdita]

Sounds like EastEnders is lining up a pretty low-key exit storyline for Claudette Hubbard.

Last month, we exclusively revealed that Ellen Thomas had filmed her final scenes as Claudette - at least for now - and had already landed a new theatre role.

Ellen has now spoken about her departure for the first time in an interview with BBC Radio London, backing up producers' claims that the door is wide open for Claudette to come back. Phew.

"The story at the moment is that she's off on one of her trips and she's staying with her son and she's off," Ellen explained.

Nothing too explosive, then - but at least it means there's nothing stopping Claudette from reappearing.

Asked whether she'd return, Ellen replied: "She has family on the Square - so of course. You can't keep her away from her son and her granddaughter. You can't. You just can't."

Ellen also opened up over her long history with EastEnders. She first joined the show in 1990 for a short stint as Pearl Chadwick and also portrayed Grace Olubunmi in 2010 and 2011.

She laughed: "It's so long ago I can't remember the name of the first character I was. Then I was Grace and now I'm Claudette. Third time lucky. Give me a wig, give me a new pair of shoes and it's a new character!"

On how she felt when she first joined all those years ago, Ellen said: "Thrilled totally. It's the nation's favourite soap, it's my favourite soap, and I've grown up with it. So that is the big job.

"The first one, they were going to extend the character. I was there for 8 episodes. I was going to be extended, they talked about her flat and everything else, and then nothing happened.

"It was years and years later Grace Olubunmi came up, a Nigerian matriarch and all of that. And again, I think that went on for about two years.

"I've done two years now. This time Dominic Treadwell-Collins was the exec and he just said, 'No, I want a modern matriarch. I want somebody who is sexy, like you Ellen, and she doesn't suffer fools gladly, she's powerful.'

"I said, 'Sounds fabulous. Bring it.' And that's how Claudette came about."

Digital Spy

[Rear window]

Ellen has now spoken about her departure for the first time in an interview with BBC Radio London, backing up producers' claims that the door is wide open for Claudette to come back. Phew.

She's already had a pretty bizarre exit from the show that wasn't... I don't think they could possibly do another.

[Perdita]

Patrick Trueman is fast finding himself in the middle of a new EastEnders love triangle next week, but is his priority Dot or Claudette?

Patrick and Claudette recently confirmed that they were a fully-fledged couple but their relationship will hit the rocks when his attention is turned by his oldest friend Dot.

But it's not entirely what it seems.

Patrick becomes increasingly worried about Dot after it becomes apparent that she is avoiding seeing anyone and decides to invite her over for a drink at The Vic to get to the bottom of it.

However, it's fair to say that Patrick's actions do not go down well with Claudette, who will start to grow increasingly irritated by his friendship with Dot in scenes to be aired this week.

Patrick Trueman tries to comfort an agitated Dot Branning in EastEnders
© BBC

Patrick Trueman tries to comfort an agitated Dot Branning in EastEnders
© BBC

But as Claudette tries to make amends with Patrick, she becomes even more frustrated when Patrick is clearly distracted by Dot's whereabouts, before eventually leaving to find her.

After he finds Dot at home, the pair finally have a heart-to-heart, but Patrick remains unconvinced by Dot's claims that her unsociable antics are simply due to her hatred for Halloween.

Having released the real reason behind Dot's strange behaviour, Patrick continues to worry about her and even cancels a date with Claudette to take Dot out instead.

As Claudette waits for Patrick at Beales', she is furious when she learns of his whereabouts and storms over to the cafe to confront them. But with Patrick consumed with worry over Dot, what will he make of Claudette's childish behaviour?

Claudette Hubbard confronts Patrick Trueman for forgetting about their date in EastEnders
© BBC
EastEnders airs these scenes on Monday October 31 and Tuesday November 1 on BBC One.


Digital Spy

[Perdita]

EastEnders fans shouldn't feel too disappointed about Claudette Hubbard leaving the show as it looks like she could be back sooner than we thought.

Last month, we exclusively revealed that Ellen Thomas had filmed her final scenes as Claudette – for now – and had already landed a new theatre role.

Ellen later spoke openly her departure, backing up producers' claims that the door is wide open for Claudette to come back.

And it looks like she may not be away for that long at all. Phew.

"They've said: "We've left the door open, she's coming back and if we weren't interested, we'd kill her off!", Ellen explained to What's on Stage. "So I think six months, nine months – something like that."

"Hopefully she'll come back with fresh trouble because that's what Claudette majors in."

We wouldn't expect anything less...

Fans shouldn't be preparing to say goodbye to Claudette just yet, however, as there is plenty of drama in store before she bows out for a bit.

Recent episodes have already seen Claudette's relationship with Patrick hit the rocks and their problems will continue as she grows increasingly jealous of his friendship with Dot next week.

We already know that Claudette's exit plot will be fairly low key as she opts to go and stay with her son, but could it be Patrick that drives her out of Walford?

It's looking likely...


Digital Spy

[tammyy2j]

Vincent should contact her to return to sort out Aidan