EastEnders star Kellie Bright reduced to tears as Danny Dyer leaves the soap after nine years

EASTENDERS star Kellie Bright was reduced to tears following Danny Dyer's departure from the soap.

The actress, who arrived in the show in 2013 alongside Danny, playing the role of his wife Linda, has admitted she struggled to say goodbye.

Dyer, 45, revealed earlier this year that he would be leaving Albert Square for good after nine years.

With his final scenes airing on Christmas Day alongside Linda, Kellie has revealed there were lots of tears.

The 46-year-old said: "There were lots of tears on and off screen from me!

"I’m terrible at goodbyes anyway, and I hate change. It does feel like a massive end of an era.

"To have someone in your life on a daily basis for nine years and then to have to say goodbye to them is tough. I still speak to Danny all the time, and I’ll still see him, but it won’t be the same."

Kellie went on to say that it only really hit her that Danny was leaving for good when a 'best bits' montage played at his leaving party.

"There was stuff we’d forgotten about, and it was such a reminder of the stuff that we’ve done together," she said.

"It was amazing to see, we told so many stories, and we were such a team.  One of the hardest things I’ve found this year was Mick and Linda being split up. I’d have loved more Mick and Linda together."

Danny's final scenes saw the Mick Carter apparently drown at sea after the car his wife Janine was driving plunged into the water.

Mick had managed to rescue Janine and his unborn child and then went back into the water for his ex-wife Linda.

But Linda had already managed to free herself from the car and was left hysterical when Mick failed to resurface from the water.

EastEnders will air the fallout from Mick's departure in tonight's episode, which was 'leaked' online this morning leaving fans furious.