Felix Baker star Matthew James Morrison, who made history as Walford’s first ever regular drag queen Tara Misu, will exit EastEnders after three years, much to the disappointment of fans.
The character made his Square debut in 2022, arriving with brother Finlay (Ashley Byam) and dad Avery (Omar Lye-Fook, MBE).
Avery, as viewers will recall, died shortly after reconnecting with Mitch (Roger Griffiths) and Felix and Finlay decide to stay put to get to know their uncle.
Tara Misu was the Square’s first ever regular drag queen, making the character a trailblazing one.
In more recent years, Felix moved into No. 1 with Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) and Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams).
He also took up a job as a barman at The Prince Albert and in tonight’s episode he finds himself the target of drunk Harry Mitchell’s (Elijah Holloway) rage.
Felix works in The Prince Albert (Picture: BBC)
But after three years, Felix will exit Walford, with star Matthew said to be filming his final scenes soon, according to The Sun.
A BBC spokesperson told the publication: ‘We can confirm that Matthew will be leaving EastEnders later in the year.
‘We wish him all the best for the future.’
However, fans are devastated by the loss of the character, with many citing it as ‘seriously wasted potential’.
‘Felix deserved better!!! The only gender non-conforming character on EastEnders going feels disappointing… we need more stories about LGBTQ communities, not fewer,’ KT wrote on Twitter/X.
Mark agreed, penning: ‘Seriously wasted potential. The best scene Felix/Tara ever had was squaring up to Phil Mitchell in full drag.’
‘Not necessarily surprising but a bit of a shame. I liked Felix,’ another fan wrote.
Felix’s exit comes as new boss Ben Wadey commences his tenure as Executive Producer.
‘I’m thrilled to be returning to EastEnders at such an exciting time for the show,’ said Ben in September when it was annouced that he’d be taking over the serial.
‘Having grown up watching and loving EastEnders, it sparked my passion for television, and I feel I’ve known the residents of Walford my entire life – so to lead this iconic BBC soap into its next chapter is a true privilege.’
Metro has reached out to EastEnders for comment.
𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 “𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆 & 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆: 𝒇𝙞𝒍𝙢𝒔𝙥𝒐𝙞𝒍𝙚𝒓𝙨.𝙞𝒏𝙛𝒐” 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧-𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬.
