Charlie Suff says leaving EastEnders as Johnny Carter is “gutting,” even with his departure due in the coming months. Speaking at The National Television Awards 2026, he paired that exit with a pointed tease: the Carters still have “a lot in store” as autumn turns dramatic.
The National Television Awards 2026
The comments landed after last month’s notice that Suff would be leaving the One soap, turning a routine cast exit into a live storyline question for viewers. He has played Johnny Carter since 2024, making him the third actor in the role after Sam Strike and Ted Reilly, so his exit closes another chapter in a character line that has already changed hands twice.
“It’s gutting. I absolutely love being a part of the show. I love everyone in it. I love the crew. I love the team. It's been an amazing thing to be part of,” he said. That kind of language is not just farewell talk; it tells viewers the departure is coming from a place of attachment rather than a clean break, which is why the reaction reads so differently from a standard cast turnover.
Johnny Carter and the Carters
“But I've had an amazing few years, and what an honour to go out with the Carters,” Suff added. He then pushed the story beyond the goodbye, saying, “There's a lot in store for the guys. It's very dramatic. It's all part of the big autumn drama, and yeah, there's lots in store for the guys.”
That line matters because Johnny Carter has been tied to some of the soap’s most visible family drama since arriving on the Square in 2024, first to help his struggling mother Linda and later through the murder of Keanu Taylor and his romance with Callum Highway. The public exit comment tells viewers the character is not being written out quietly; the final stretch is being used to keep the Carters central on screen while the departure still sits ahead.
Johnny Carter in the coming months
For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: Johnny Carter is still on the board for now, and the exit sits in the coming months, not immediately. That gives EastEnders room to turn Suff’s departure into a plot device rather than a sudden off-screen cut, and it leaves one unanswered piece that now carries the weight of the whole story — what exactly is the big autumn drama for the Carters?
