EastEnders star Rukku Nahar has confirmed her exit from the BBC One soap, having played Habiba Habiba Ahmed for almost two years.
However, as her surprising exit scenes aired last night, EastEnders viewers were furious over the storyline, feeling it didn’t do her character justice.
Breaking the news of her departure over Twitter, actress Rukku, 24, said: “BYE BYE HABIBA!”
Welcoming the onset of a “new chapter” in her life, she continued: “Thank you @bbceastenders for welcoming me into one of the biggest soaps in the country!
“I’ve learnt so much in the last two years and I’m grateful to have made lifelong friendships.
“End of a chapter, onto the next one.”
Her EastEnders co-stars sent their farewells to the soap star, letting Rukku know she would be missed behind-the-scenes on the Elstree Studios filming set.
EastEnders viewers weren’t impressed by Habiba Ahmed’s final scenes on the soap (Image: BBC)
Dotty Cotton star Milly Zero wrote “Go fly beautiful girl,” while Louisa Lytton added a stream of heart emojis below the post.
Friday’s episode (October 23) saw Habiba give her sister Iqra Ahmed (Priya Davdra) an ultimatum, asking her to choose between family and her girlfriend Ash Kaur (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha).
When Iqra made it clear she had no intention to end things with Ash, Habiba suddenly announced she was leaving the East End, climbing into a taxi.
“I can’t do this any more, I can’t watch you with Ash, day in, day out, she is no good,” Habiba explained.
EastEnders star Rukku Nahar took to Instagram last night to confirm her exit from the BBC One soap (Image: rukkunahar/Instagram)
Iqra replied: “Habs, I love her.”
Watching from home, viewers felt Habiba’s character deserved a stronger exit plot, as she bid farewell to Walford in a storyline with little build-up.
One Twitter user said: “Habiba deserved a much better exit wtf!”
“Omg. That was actually Habiba’s final scenes in Walford, as if that was how she left,” wrote a second.
And a third penned: “HABIBA DESERVED BETTER!”
Recent scenes saw Jags and Habiba strike up a romance on the soap (Image: BBC/Jack Barnes)
“Wasn’t expecting Habiba to leave!” agreed a fourth.
Formerly a CBBC star, Rukku joined the cast of EastEnders in February 2019, appearing in Albert Square alongside her onscreen sister Iqra.
Her love life has been central to a number of storylines since, with a torrid love affair with Adam Bateman (Stephen Rahman-Hughes) and an ill-fated romance with Jags Panesar (Amar Adatia).
Eastenders airs on Mondays at 8.05pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.35pm and Fridays at 8.30pm on BBC One.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
