EastEnders actress Clair Norris, who plays Bernie Taylor in the soap, has broken her silence after it was revealed she’d been axed by the BBC soap

Clair Norris has broken her silence on EastEnders axe (Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)

Actress Clair Norris, who plays Bernie Taylor in EastEnders, has spoken out weeks after it was revealed she had been axed from the BBC soap after eight years.

Clair, 27, joined her fellow castmates at this weekend’s British Soap Awards, in which the soap won an incredible 8 awards. It included wins for Best British Soap, Best Single Episode and Scene of the Year for Angie Watts’ surprise return.

The cast and crew were out in full force celebrating, as Clair addressed her exit for the first time in a post from the night – calling it an “amazing end”.

Clair joined the rest of the EastEnders cast for her final British Soap Awards(Image: Instagram/ @clair_norris)

Taking to her Instagram to post a picture of herself all glammed up in a teal dress on the night, Clair penned: “My last @thebritishsoapawards with my EE family. We [broom emoji] up last night, 8 awards & I couldn’t be prouder to be apart of this team! What a way to end this amazing journey, head held high & beaming from ear to ear.”

Clair was supported by both fans as colleagues in her post, with James Farrar, who plays Zack Hudson writing: “Head held HIGH,” along with a number of red heart emojis.

Emma Barton who plays Honey Mitchell echoed: “Love you,” as Elijah Holloway who plays Harry Mitchell gushed: “We looked lovely didn’t we.”

Clair Norris will be leaving the soap after playing the role of Bernie Taylor for eight years(Image: BBC)

Clair also posted pictures with co-star Matthew James Morrison, who has also been axed from the soap after playing the role of Felix Baker since 2022.

Bernie arrived in Walford in 2017 alongside mum Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and brother Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters). However, she’s the last one of her family members left on the Square with her mum Karen leaving EastEnders in 2023, shortly followed by the murder of her brother Keanu on Christmas Day.

According to The Sun, Bernie’s exit storyline didn’t come as a surprise to star Clair. A source told the publication: “Every time a soap gets a new boss they want to make their own changes – it’s nothing personal.

“The writing has been on the wall for Bernie for some time so it wasn’t really a surprise to Clair.”

“She was the last Taylor standing and it’s time to close the chapter on them and let Clair go on to do other things.”