The latest character to get the chop is "hardman" Andy Hunter, played by actor Michael Higgs. Higgs was brought in to fill the "tough guy" role after Steve McFadden's (Phil Mitchell) departure but has faced criticism from fans for being "unbelievable."
His sacking comes a month after the hiring of ex Bill actor Billy Murray as a new bad boy; indeed, the BBC ominously claimed that the new character would make Andy Hunter "look like small fry."
"We thank Michael for all his hard work," said a BBC spokeswoman today, adding that Higgs would be leaving next Easter.
Higgs is just the latest actor to be dropped as part of Hutchison's shakeup of the soap; also collecting their P45s are Scarlett Johnson (Vicki Fowler), Jill Halfpenny (Kate Mitchell), all six members of the Ferreira family and Leslie Grantham (Dirty Den).
