Zoe Lister leaving 'Hollyoaks'

The 27-year-old 'Hollyoaks' actress Zoe Lister - who has played tomboy film studies student Zoe Carpenter on the Channel 4 soap since 2006 - will film her last scenes for the soap in December.

Speaking about her decision to leave the programme, Lister said: "It's scary but also very, very exciting. I think three years in a soap is enough and you get to a point where you either make a decision that this is what you do or you want to try something different.

"I think that when you're an actor you don't imagine yourself in the same job for years so I think when you get to do a job for a few years you start thinking 'hang on, what am I doing this for?' "

Lister recently revealed her shock at discovering she would have to shoot a lesbian love scene with her co-star Loui Batley, who plays student Sarah Barnes.

She said: "I thought it was hilarious when I found out! I thought it'd be interesting, though. It was completely mental filming them. Loui and I just had a massive attack of the giggles.

“I think the crew were more embarrassed than we were. We were kind of ignored for the day."