Daytime TV fans were shocked to discover that one of Doctors’ regulars is quitting the soap.
The series, based in a GP practice, dropped the bombshell about Dr Jimmi Clay, played by Adrian Lewis Morgan, during Monday’s episode.
Jimmi was invited to a gig by colleague and pal Dr Al Haskey, but turned him down… because he was flying out to a Buddhist retreat in Thailand the next day.
It was unclear whether this would be a permanent goodbye, as Jimmi only told Al he would be gone “for a while”.
Adrian has starred as Jimmi since 2002 and has said he has had the alter ego for so long, he sometimes blurs the boundaries between himself and his character.
He told Wales Online: “Jimmi suffers from OCD and I now check I’ve locked the car door three or four times. I catch myself doing things and it’s almost like I can’t help it.
“I think when you research certain behaviour patterns, you end up following them, and before playing Jimmi I didn’t used to check light switches or cupboards before going to bed.
“But I suppose it’s inevitable that I am like him as I’ve been playing him so long.”