Hollyoaks star Nikki Sanderson quits show after 12 years as she prepares to film final scenes

Nikki Sanderson has quit her role on Hollyoaks.

Nikki, 40, joined the Channel 4 soap in 2012 as Maxine Minniver, following stints on both Coronation Street and Heartbeat. Now, she’s said to be keen to move on and take her career in a new direction - with her character’s final scenes due to air in just a couple of months.

“She met with bosses and told them of her plans to leave, she’d just turned 40 and felt the time was right to say goodbye to Maxine,” a source told The Sun, adding that Nikki was excited to “explore other opportunities” away from the show.

“Bosses have been plotting Maxine’s exit storyline for months and have promised it will be a fitting tribute to the character,” the insider claimed, saying that there would be plenty of “drama” for her departure.

Nikki’s exit from the soap will come soon, and she won’t be on set for much longer. “She will film her final scenes next month, which will go out on-screen in May,” the source said.

The star’s exit comes as a shock, after she laid out huge plans for Maxine just last summer. "I think she’d love to have more children. I think that if we’re thinking where she’d like to go forward, I think she’d like to advance in her career, as much as Maxine is ditsy and I love that about her, she is also very switched on,” Nikki said of what might happen in Maxine’s future.

"I think that it’d be lovely to see her go really far in her career, and obviously her and Minnie are just an awesome duo and just see them both.

"I’m trying to think because I don’t want it just to be about finding love, she doesn’t need somebody to complete her, she is full as she is, she would love to find someone to complement her as a couple, but I don’t think she necessarily needs anybody, she’s strong and independent.

"I love the fact that Maxine is always kind and considerate to other people and she’s always wanting to make sure everybody is ok, and she does everything in her power to look after people as well and make sure they’re ok and I love that element of her."

While Nikki seems to be making her own decision to leave, many other Hollyoaks stars and crew haven’t been so lucky. Hollyoaks was hit by major budget cuts last year, with bosses attempting to cut their staff down by 40% across the entire set. The show even reduced the amount of episodes aired back in September, with the show now on just three days per week instead of five.

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