Shirley has blamed herself for Mick’s death in EastEnders (Picture: BBC)

Shirley Carter’s (Linda Henry) world has been devastated once again in EastEnders, following the tragic disappearance of Mick (Danny Dyer) at sea on Christmas Day.

Having already struggled to come to terms with the death of Tina, who was murdered by evil Gray Atkins, Shirley is now having to process the likelihood that Mick has died – which has resulted in emotional scenes in recent days.

We’re now set to see her depart Walford in the wake of what’s happened.

But is this the end for Shirley Carter in Albert Square? Here’s what you need to know…

Is Shirley Carter leaving EastEnders for good?

Although Shirley will be leaving the Square this week, it’s not the last we’ve seen of the character.

A spokesperson for the soap has confirmed: ‘Linda Henry will be returning to EastEnders’.

However, it’s unclear how long the character will depart for, and when we’ll be seeing Shirley again.

The character’s decision to leave comes after scenes in which grief-stricken Shirley blamed herself for Mick’s death.

After Denise (Diane Paris) and Jean (Gillian Wright) found her slumped on the ground after a vodka binge, Shirley confessed that she has to accept that Mick is dead – adding that it is all her fault.

Shirley continued that she didn’t intervene with Janine (Charlie Brooks), as she didn’t with Gray in relation to Tina.

Despite her friends’ attempts to convince her otherwise, she ultimately decided she had to get out of Walford – and after handing the keys to the pub to Denise for her to look after the place, left the Square to go and stay with her daughter Carly.

The dramatic scenes saw Mick swim out to sea and disappear (Picture: BBC)

We’ll just have to keep watching to see when Shirley does decide to return – or whether she’ll be involved in the ongoing storyline involving Linda (Kellie Bright) – who is set for some serious screen time following Mick’s death.

Discussing the big plans to come, Chris confirmed that Linda would be at the centre of a new storyline – which is one that the show hasn’t ever done before.

‘Kellie is going to start shooting something in January that goes out in February and it’s something that we as a show haven’t done before,’ he teased. ‘Linda’s at the centre of that.’

EastEnders continues on BBC One on Thursday night at 7.30pm.

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Tragedy has struck the Carters again.