tammyy2j
12-11-2009, 15:32
Hollyoaks actress Lena Kaur has quit the Channel 4 soap, Digital Spy can reveal.
The 23-year-old, who has played art student Leila Roy since June 2008, took the decision to leave the teen serial to pursue other acting opportunities.
Speaking exclusively to DS this afternoon, she said: "I decided to leave a while ago because I wanted to do something else. It's the same with every soap - you don't get time to rehearse, there are ups and down and it's so quick to film. You learn all the technical side of things, which is fabulous but for me, I want to move on."
She continued: "It seems like a good time to go as projects are being commissioned that are big for Asian actors - the casting world is moving forward. Young Asian actors are being cast in lead roles in which the characters are who they are regardless of their skin colour. Casting's definitely on a turn compared to what it was five or ten years ago."
In the show, her character is offered the opportunity of a lifetime to work with an artist in Paris. She teased: "When she leaves, though, will she leave a path of destruction in her wake? Or will she go off happily into the sunset?"
Kaur is due to finish filming at Hollyoaks' Liverpool-based home at Lime Pictures next week and will remain on screen until early January.
The 23-year-old, who has played art student Leila Roy since June 2008, took the decision to leave the teen serial to pursue other acting opportunities.
Speaking exclusively to DS this afternoon, she said: "I decided to leave a while ago because I wanted to do something else. It's the same with every soap - you don't get time to rehearse, there are ups and down and it's so quick to film. You learn all the technical side of things, which is fabulous but for me, I want to move on."
She continued: "It seems like a good time to go as projects are being commissioned that are big for Asian actors - the casting world is moving forward. Young Asian actors are being cast in lead roles in which the characters are who they are regardless of their skin colour. Casting's definitely on a turn compared to what it was five or ten years ago."
In the show, her character is offered the opportunity of a lifetime to work with an artist in Paris. She teased: "When she leaves, though, will she leave a path of destruction in her wake? Or will she go off happily into the sunset?"
Kaur is due to finish filming at Hollyoaks' Liverpool-based home at Lime Pictures next week and will remain on screen until early January.