Updated: Gemma Bissix to leave 'EastEnders'

Gemma Bissix is to leave EastEnders later this year, it has been confirmed.

The actress, who plays maneater Clare Bates, will leave the show when her character's selfish intentions are exposed.

A Walford source told The Mirror: "Clare has been working her way round the men of Walford for the past few months but what she had thought was a masterplan to bag the man of her dreams soon gets out of hand.

"She is forced to flee as it is clear she is not welcome in Albert Square anymore."

A spokeswoman for the soap today confirmed that the 24-year-old is, in fact, leaving at the end of her current contract.

Speaking of her decision, the actress told DS: "I've had a great time at EastEnders and I have loved having the chance to play Clare again. I'm looking forward to trying new things."

Bissix first starred in the BBC One soap in 1993, but departed five years later with her on-screen father Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley). She returned to the show in February following a stint in Hollyoaks as the villainous Clare Devine.