Dirty Den actor leaves EastEnders

Leslie Grantham has been back in EastEnders for just over a year

Leslie Grantham, who plays "Dirty" Den Watts in soap EastEnders, is to leave the show, the BBC has confirmed.

"All I can say is the stories are true, that he's leaving," a BBC spokesman said, but would not give more details.

Grantham made a high-profile return to the hit BBC One show in 2003 after 14 years away.

But he hit the headlines in May after a newspaper printed photographs of him apparently exposing himself via a webcam from his dressing room.

The news of his departure follows recent press reports that he had been axed by new executive producer Kathleen Hutchison.

Dirty Den was one of the most famous TV characters of the 1980s

The Ferreira family and Kate Mitchell, played by Jill Halfpenny, have already left since Ms Hutchison arrived.

Grantham shot to fame as the landlord of the Queen Victoria pub, married to Angie (Anita Dobson), but originally left the soap when his character was apparently shot dead in February 1989.

More than 16 million viewers watched Dirty Den return with the words "Hello princess" to stunned daughter Sharon in September 2003.

After the newspaper revelations in May, the actor apologised to his fellow cast members and viewers.

"I very much regret that a moment's stupidity has cast a shadow over what I consider one of Britain's best shows of which I'm thoroughly proud to be a part," he said at the time.