Days of our Lives star Camila Banus has announced her exit from the long-running soap, after 13 years on our screens.
The 32-year-old has played Gabi Hernandez on the popular program for well over a decade, but confirmed that she has officially moved on.
In a chat with the Wrap, she revealed that she had already wrapped her final scenes on April 28, leaving her character behind for good.
‘There’s definitely been a lot of changes at Days, the last couple of years, one being moving to Peacock,’ she said, reflecting on the show’s move from NBC.
‘Although it’s been wonderful and we’ve had a super great reception, for me, I felt like that was kind of like the initial start for changes happening in general.
‘And I just saw that as a sign for me to start the next chapter in my life.’
Camila made her debut as Gabi in October, 2010, replacing another actress in the role, and has become a firm favorite with viewers.
In the candid chat, the star explained that she was ‘open to renegotiating’ a shooting schedule that would afford her more time off, but producers weren’t convinced.
‘And certain other factors that were involved that they didn’t go for. At first, it was just easy to say, “Well, if you can’t meet these demands, then I can’t”, and move on with a new contract,’ she continued to the Wrap.
‘But then I talked to producers and they had a call with me and they were like, “Well, what can we do?” And I honestly, “I need to slow down. And part of that is you guys accepting this shooting schedule for me, and you won’t. So I have to respectfully bow out and say thank you, and that’s all I can do.”’
Revealing why she wanted to slow her schedule down, the soap star explained that she is trying to start a family with her husband, Marlon Aquino, two years after they tied the knot.
As well as this, she is hopeful for ‘other opportunities’ and ‘big things’ in her future, after playing Gabi for 13 years.
Days of our Lives has been on our screens for nearly 60 years, first premiering on NBC in 1965.
It follows the trials, tribulations and daily debacles of locals in the fictional town of Salem, including the Brady, Horton, Carver and DiMera families.
The program made the move from NBC to Peacock last September, in a huge shake-up for both networks.
Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said of the changes at the time: ‘This programming shift benefits both Peacock and NBC and is reflective of our broader strategy to utilize our portfolio to maximize reach and strengthen engagement with viewers.
‘With a large percentage of the Days of Our Lives audience already watching digitally, this move enables us to build the show’s loyal fanbase on streaming while simultaneously bolstering the network daytime offering with an urgent, live programming opportunity for partners and consumers.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Peacock for a comment.
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