EastEnders confirms temporary Amy Mitchell exit in aftermath of Craig's death

EastEnders has confirmed that Amy Mitchell will temporarily leave the BBC soap following Craig Ingram's shock death. Since arriving in the soap to take over some of Jack Branning's workload on the force, Craig has targeted his teenage daughter Amy in a high-profile grooming storyline.

Craig reeled her in by promising to protect her and cover up her attack on Joel Marshall, eventually initiating an abusive relationship with her.

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His behaviour escalated, lying to Amy about why he lost his job, blackmailing her ex-boyfriend Denzel Danes, and manipulating Max Branning into releasing her trust fund early, essentially kidnapping Amy and fleeing Walford when he had the funds.

After trapping Amy in a secluded bedsit and attacking her when she tried to call Denzel for help, Amy struck him with a candlestick and killed him, leaving his body to be discovered while she fled back to Walford.

In scenes set to air next week, Amy is overwhelmed by what she has done and, while cracking under the pressure of keeping Craig's death a secret, falls out with Jack and later Harvey.

Sean Slater later spots Amy and encourages her to take some time away from Walford, but Jack soon arrives and orders her home.

Denise Fox tries to make Jack see sense, and they arrange for Amy to stay with family away from Walford while she recovers from recent events.

Related: EastEnders' Ellie Dadd speaks out about harrowing Amy and Craig story

Amy leaves for her holiday away from Walford, and Sean and Chelsea Fox finally put their differences aside.

While Craig’s body hasn’t yet been discovered, actor Matthew James Bailey has confirmed that this is the end for the villain.

"He is such a horrible character and I’m very happy to say goodbye to him, as I’m sure most of the British public are as well," he told Digital Spy.

"I’m very glad the story ends the way it does, I think the character has met a deserved end. We’ve worked with some incredible charities [Barnardo’s and End Violence Against Women].

"I hope we can spread enough awareness and give the audience enough information and enough red flags to recognise what manipulation and grooming looks like."

EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.

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