UPDATE
Samantha has officially confirmed her exit from EastEnders. Tweeting her loyal followers, she wrote: "Thank you SO much for all your kind words about me leaving EE,It's so humbling to know you loved Ronnie as much as I did! Very grateful Xxx"
So it really is the end for Ronnie Mitchell!
After 10 years of utterly amazing and sometimes controversial storylines, Ronnie Mitchell (played by Sam) is rumoured to be leaving the soap this year.
According to The Sun, an insider revealed that Samantha was offered an epic exit storyline from new executive producer Sean O’Connor and jumped at the chance to 'go out with a bang'.
They said: “It was felt that with everything Ronnie has been through over the past nine years, it is now time to rest the character.
“She already has a few projects lined up so she won’t be off screen for long.”
An EastEnders spokesperson revealed last night: “Samantha has created an iconic character in Ronnie Mitchell.”
She added: “However, she was recently offered a big storyline which she happily accepted that leads to Ronnie departing Walford. We wish Samantha all the best for the future.”
Ronnie is currently playing happy families with Jack Branning and son Matthew currently, after finding out the true identity of mysterious Andy Flynn– but that all could change in an instant.
Ronnie's character has been at the centre of some of the soaps most harrowing storylines: the baby swap storyline that dominated the press, the tragic cot-death of her child James, being raped by her father, a long jail sentence and seeing her daughter die in front of her eyes.
The insider adds that Ronnie will remain in EastEnders until next year, so that leaves a lot of time to build up to her dramatic exit.
Will Ronnie be killed off once and for all? Or will she have a happily ever after?
We're definitely gutted another legendary Mitchell is leaving us. What about poor Roxy?
**What do you think about this? Is Ronnie one of your favourite characters? **
Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter (@CloserOnline).