Hollyoaks has waved goodbye to Imran Maalik, with star Ijaz Rana having confirmed his departure from the show after six years as the popular character.

Imran, as viewers know, decided to embark on an exciting new chapter of his life, moving to London to share a flat with brother Sami (Rishi Nair), who left the eponymous village a number of years ago.

After finding out that best friend Juliet Nightingale’s (Niamh Blackshaw) cancer was terminal, he resolved to stay put, but Juliet refused to let him miss out on such a big job opportunity, urging him to grab life with both hands.

Taking her advice, Imran packed up his belongings and decided to move, with Tuesday’s (May 30) first look offering of the Channel 4 soap proving to be his last.

Yazz (Haeisha Mistry), meanwhile, struggled with the thought of saying goodbye to her brother, admitting that she’s ‘jealous’ of his success, worried that her dreams of winning a Pulitzer will never come to pass.

Juliet hugged Imran goodbye, after urging him to grab this opportunity and never look back (Picture: Lime Pictures)

The young journalist also discovered that she is pregnant, and is not sure what do about it, with husband Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) unaware of what’s on her mind.

Despite what she has going on in her own life, however, Yazz made time for her beloved brother, showing up at the bus stop to see him off.

Imran then said goodbye to Misbah and Yazz (Picture: Lime Pictures)

Imran was overwhelmed with emotion as he said goodbye to his loved ones, with Misbah (Harvey Virdi), Zain Rizwaan (Jonas Khan), Tom, Yazz, Juliet and Brooke Hathaway (Tylan Grant) all present for his departure scenes.

The chef shared a particular heartfelt goodbye with Juliet who, despite promising that she wouldn’t cry, struggled to hold back the tears as she said farewell.

Imran then said goodbye to both Yazz and Misbah, apologising for anything that he’s put them through over the years, stating that he doesn’t feel like he deserves a family like them.

Imran left the village after saying goodbye to his loved ones (Picture: Lime Pictures)

After a number of hugs and farewells, he got onto the bus and left the village, staring at his loved ones as they drifted out of sight.

Ijaz, who has captivated us with his incredible work on a number of important storylines, confirmed his departure in a video shared with Metro.co.uk, as he thanks fans for supporting him and his character over the last six years.

We’re not crying, we swear.

Hollyoaks continues Wednesday May 31 at 7pm on E4 or stream the next episode from midnight on All4. 

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Another big goodbye and we’re not crying, we swear!