{"id":30956,"date":"2023-03-09T07:30:01","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T06:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1797465"},"modified":"2023-03-09T08:19:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T07:19:39","slug":"eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders airs unannounced departure in early BBC iPlayer release"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"> The soap has aired a surprise exit for another Walford character. <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Laura Denby\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Thursday, 09 March 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body> <p><strong>Warning: This article includes spoilers for tonight\u2019s (9th March) episode of EastEnders.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">EastEnders<\/a> has aired a surprise exit for another Walford character, marking the second departure for the soap just this week.<\/p>\n<p>After less than two years on screen, Vi Highway (Gwen Taylor) left to live with eldest grandson <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-stuart-highway-exit-newsupdate\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ) and his wife Rainie (Tanya Franks)<\/a>, who were in need of a nanny for baby son Roland.<\/p>\n<p>Vi began the week by joining in writing supportive messages to a <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-whitney-dean-baby-goodbye-newsupdate\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">grieving Whitney Dean<\/a> (Shona McGarty), which reminded her of her own sadness after giving up a baby some years ago. Pal Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) offered some words of wisdom, before the pair headed off to another interview posing as the grandparents of local teen Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega).<\/p> <p>But Vi was now being plagued with mysterious calls from an unknown number, leaving her stressed. When Patrick suggested she answered the call, though, it turned out to be her beloved Stuart. Later, she was thrilled to tell her friend that she would be leaving to lend them a hand.<\/p>\n<p>Younger grandson Callum (Tony Clay) was stunned when Vi revealed her news, with his husband Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) jokingly referencing the fact that Stuart was her favourite \u2014 something Vi failed to deny.<\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\"&quot;padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><img data-crop-width=\"&quot;1962&quot;\" data-crop-height=\"&quot;1307&quot;\" class=\"&quot;wp-image-1786990\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/420068-49c5c88.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=611px%2C414px%2C1962px%2C1307px&amp;resize=620%2C413&quot;\" width=\"&quot;620&quot;\" height=\"&quot;413&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;&quot;\" title=\"&quot;&quot;\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" icon-camera-circle=\"\"\/> Gwen Taylor as Vi Highway in EastEnders.<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\"> <i>BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<p>The pair arranged to send Vi off with drinks at The Vic, and when the moment came to say goodbye, Vi admitted that she wasn\u2019t keen on the idea of gay marriage when she first arrived but that she now understood how important it was, happy to see Callum and Ben strong and united.<\/p>\n<p>After one last hug with Patrick and Callum, and warning Ben to look after Callum, Vi was on her way, leaving Ben to remark that she had just given them a \u201chomophobic seal of approval\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The BBC has confirmed to <a href=\"\/\/radiotimes.com\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;nofollow noopener noreferrer\" noopener=\"\" noreferrer=\"\" ugc=\"\">RadioTimes.com<\/a> that Thursday\u2019s episode does indeed feature Gwen Taylor\u2019s final scenes as Vi Highway. The character\u2019s exit was not announced prior to transmission.<\/p> <div class=\"&quot;brightcove\" embed=\"\"> <div class=\"&quot;embed__intrinsic&quot;\"> <div class=\"&quot;brightcove__player\" vjs-playlist-player-container=\"\"> <video data-video-id=\"&quot;6321547765112&quot;\" data-account=\"&quot;69912529001&quot;\" data-player=\"&quot;ByeOf0VZEl&quot;\" data-embed=\"&quot;default&quot;\" data-application-id=\"\" controls=\"\" class=\"&quot;video-js&quot;\"\/><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script src=\"&quot;\/\/players.brightcove.net\/69912529001\/ByeOf0VZEl_default\/index.min.js&quot;\"\/><p>Taylor made her first appearance in EastEnders in May 2021, arriving ahead of Callum and Ben\u2019s dramatic wedding week. She made quite the impact with her offensive remarks, but won the locals over and formed quite the friendship with Patrick.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul><li><a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-2023-storylines-explained\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">EastEnders 2023 storylines: Lola\u2019s death to Christmas flash-forward<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-new-filming-locations-revised-plans-newsupdate\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">EastEnders to get new filming locations in revised development plans<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><p><strong>Visit our dedicated\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/news\/soaps\/eastenders\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\">EastEnders<\/a>\u00a0page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>If yo<\/strong><strong>u\u2019re looking for more to watch, check out our\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a title=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/&quot;\" href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Soaps<\/a>\u00a0hub.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only \u00a31 with delivery to your home \u2013\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"\/\/radiotimes.com\/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\"><strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a><strong>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\"><strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> The soap has aired a surprise exit for another Walford character. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30957,"template":"","categories":[1,2,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/03\/eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release.jpg",768,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/03\/eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/03\/eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/03\/eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release.jpg",768,512,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/03\/eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release.jpg",768,512,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/03\/eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release.jpg",768,512,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/03\/eastenders-airs-unannounced-departure-in-early-bbc-iplayer-release.jpg",768,512,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The soap has aired a surprise exit for another Walford character.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/30956"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}