Susan Flannery exiting The Bold and the Beautiful

The Bold and the Beautiful is set to lose one of its biggest stars later this year. Four-time Emmy winner Susan Flannery will exit the role of Stephanie Forrester by year's end. Flannery is one of the show's four remaining original cast members.

In the course of 24 hours, two reports surfaced regarding multiple-Emmy winner Susan Flannery's (Stephanie Forrester) status with The Bold and the Beautiful. While both agreed that Flannery has inked a new contract with the show, the reports differed on exactly how long the actress will be sticking around. Now comes word that Flannery will exit the show by year's end.

On Monday, Soaps In Depth reported that Flannery had "told the powers-that-be of her intention to leave the show." Both sides reached an agreement on a short-term contract that would allow Flannery's alter ego to stick around long enough to craft a suitable exit.

The following day, Soap Opera Digest announced that Flannery wasn't going anywhere. In an interview, Bradley Bell, B&B's head writer and executive producer, confirmed that Flannery had "for quite some time" been thinking that she "needed a break" from the daily rigors of soap opera acting.

Bell promised that Flannery would have "an incredible time with a new storyline that we've never seen before," but the show-runner stopped short of revealing details of the story, or whether or not the storyline was developed as a way for Stephanie to be ushered off the canvas.

Meanwhile, TVLine announced today that Flannery is "parting ways with The Bold and the Beautiful after 25 years -- and most amicably, at that."

As one of the show's four remaining original cast members, Flannery's exit comes as a huge blow to The Bold and the Beautiful. Earlier this month, Ronn Moss (Ridge Forrester) announced that, after 25 years, he'd be exiting the show. Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Logan) has been signed to another contract and will not be leaving. There's been no news regarding John McCook (Eric Forrester), the show's other member of the so-called "core four."

From 2000 to 2003 Flannery won three Outstanding Lead Actress trophies at the Daytime Emmys. The actress has an additional win for her work on Days of our Lives in 1975. Since 2000, Flannery has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy on eight different occasions.

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A B&B rep confirmed that Flannery recently signed a new contract with the show but added, "It's our policy not to comment on the terms of actors' contracts."

Flannery is expected to last air in December.

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