Hollyoaks star Imran Adams quits soap as Mitchell Deveraux - Money

Hollyoaks actor Imran Adams has become the second black cast member to quit the show since the racism row.

The star, who plays Mitchell Devereux, will bow out of the soap shortly after his character gets married.

A spokesperson for the show told MailOnline: ‘Imran Adams will be leaving Hollyoaks later this year at the end of his current contract.’

Moving on: Hollyoaks star Imran Adams has quit the soap as Mitchell Deveraux becoming the show’s second black cast member to leave since the racism row

Insiders have told The Sun Imran is ‘happy to move onto new projects’ after appearing on the show for less than two years.’

Rachel Adedeji was the first black actor to leave the show following the racism row – she played Imran’s onscreen cousin Lisa Loveday.

Imran joined the show in February 2019 and during his stint, his character has discovered he has a secret twin brother, his dad, played by Richard Blackwood is a hard-hitting gangster and he has come out as gay.

He will bow out of the show weeks after Mitchell marries boyfriebd Scott Drinkwell.

Delay: Rachel Adedeji (pictured) left the show last year after making accusations of ‘behind-the-scenes racism

In June, it was reported that the cast were ‘at war’ following Rachel Adedeji’s accusations of ‘behind-the-scenes’ racism and claims that co-star Lysette Anthony is ‘actual trash’.

Bosses are now reportedly having a ‘string of meetings’ as there is a ‘real divide’ between the cast.

Lysette Anthony quit Twitter after facing backlash amid the show’s racism row.

The actress, 56, who plays Marnie Nightingale, was branded ‘actual trash’ by Rachel Adedeji, 28, who quit the soap following accusations of ‘behind-the-scenes’ racism.

A spokesperson for the show told MailOnline: ‘Imran Adams will be leaving Hollyoaks later this year at the end of his current contract’

Lysette deactivated her profile after her former co-star Charlie Clapham, 28, shared a screenshot of a text allegedly from her hitting out at cast members who supported Rachel.

In the messages, Lysette appeared to claim stars who supported Rachel were ‘traitors,’ before adding: ‘Sorry but we’re not going to have a job to come back to if this stuff keeps being disseminated.’

Charlie – who played Freddie Roscoe on Hollyoaks from 2013 to 2017 – shared the series of messages which appeared to be discussing Rachel’s decision to speak out about her experience on the soap.

Rachel has accused the show of ‘behind-the-scenes’ racism after criticising their response to the recent furore over the Black Lives Matter movement, leading soap bosses to apologise and announce a plan to ‘stamp out discrimination.’

Troubled: Bosses are now reportedly having a ‘string of meetings’ as there is a ‘real divide’ between the cast

In the messages, Lysette – who joined the soap in 2016 – wrote: ‘Well, to be fair they both have that embittered, traitor vibe going on.

‘Sorry but we’re not going to have a job to come back to if this stuff keeps being disseminated.’

Re-posting the messages Charlie angrily posted: ‘Dear @chezLysette if supporting a former castmate, whilst she speaks of being racially discriminated against, makes me a traitor… then so be it.

‘As for embittered, you’re currently finishing (finished) where I started out. Salty much? – Best, CC/FR.’

Equally furious at Lysette’s comments, Rachel responded to Charlie’s tweet with a GIF of someone throwing rubbish into a bin.

Drama: Stephanie Davis quit her role in June saying it was ‘not what she wanted but what she knew was right’

She wrote: ‘@chezLysette you are actual trash.. Charlie, you are a King and a true ally!! Love you my bro! X x.’

Rachel made the decision to leave the show last year, with a Hollyoaks spokesman saying the show was ‘saddened’ by her departure.

The announcement came one day after Hollyoaks also released a statement in response to Rachel’s accusations of racism while working on the show.

Bosses detailed they were ‘deeply shocked and saddened’ by issues detailed by Rachel, and stated the soap has a ‘zero tolerance on racism or any form of discrimination.’

Upset: IUn June, Lysette Anthony quit Twitter after facing backlash amid the show’s racism row

Drama: Ex-Hollyoaks star Charlie Clapham shared a Whatsapp exchange in which Lysette appeared to make the comments relating to Rachel’s recent claims

Fury: Equally furious at Lysette’s comments, Rachel responded to Charlie’s tweet with a GIF of someone throwing rubbish into a bin

The show detailed a series of steps they have launched in order to ‘stamp out discrimination.’

The statement comes after Rachel slammed the show’s response to the recent furore over the Black Lives Matter movement.

The star took to her Twitter to say she doesn’t agree with Hollyoaks’ recent post addressing the movement, noting it wasn’t progressive after revealing she was aware of racial slurs and injustices happening on set.

Hollyoaks uploaded a video of actress Kelle Bryan, who plays Martine Deveraux, discussing the movement’s issues.

Fuming: Charlie shared the messages with a tweet slamming Lysette’s comments, which was quickly supported by Rachel and several other stars (pictured in May 2016)

A recent surge in interest of the Black Lives Matter movement was kickstarted by the senseless killing of George Floyd, who died after a white policeman, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.

This prompted Rachel to talk about her own experience of racism.

The soap star said she was ‘disappointed’ and directly called the show out over racist incidents she says happened during her time on Hollyoaks.

Actress Mandip Gill, who played Phoebe McQueen in Hollyoaks until she left in 2015, replied to Rachel’s statement with a series of clapping emojis.

Departing: Rachel confirmed that she had quit Hollyoaks after four years on the soap. She filmed her exit scenes before the country was placed in lockdown

Racism: Rachel had slammed the show’s response to the recent furore over the Black Lives Matter movement, detailing racist incidents she says happened backstage

And Karl Collins, who played Rachel’s onscreen father Louis Loveday in Hollyoaks until 2019, showed his support and praised her ‘bravery.’

Amanda, who portrayed Holly Cunningham on the show from 2013 to 2019, took to Twitter and Instagram on Sunday to implore her former colleagues to put forth a more concerted effort, amid protests over racial injustice sweeping the globe.

A Hollyoaks spokesperson previously said: ‘We are really concerned to read Rachel’s comments on social media about Hollyoaks this evening. We will be in touch with Rachel directly.’

Meanwhile, Stephanie Davis revealed in June that she had quit Hollyoaks after 10 years on the soap as Sinead O’Connor .

The 27-year-old actress admitted it was ‘not what she wanted but what she knew was right’.

HOLLYOAKS’ STATEMENT IN FULL

‘Hollyoaks has been deeply shocked and saddened by issues that have been brought to our attention over the weekend.

‘Lime Pictures strives to have zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows but it is clear we have further work to do.

‘We must stamp out implicit bias which means calling out racism wherever and whenever we see it.

‘We will continue to add to our action plan as we continue and broaden our dialogue with cast and staff.

‘We are reaching out to all of our cast and staff that have raised matters to make sure that we address individual issues and concerns.

‘We have asked all cast, staff and freelancers to share with us any further issues of concern or instances of unacceptable behaviour that they have not previously raised.

‘We are working with unconscious bias trainers to augment Lime’s all staff training to help address concerns raised by cast and staff.

‘All BAME staff, freelancers and cast will be offered mentoring from Lime’s senior management.

‘We will build on our work towards making Lime as diverse and inclusive as possible across all aspects of recruitment and talent retention, on and off screen.

‘Lime’s BAME writers and directors schemes will be reviewed and augmented to drive greater inclusivity within the industry.

‘We are undertaking an immediate and in depth review of company and cast liaison across Lime.

‘We will be producing a Hollyoaks podcast where our black cast will share their experiences on racism to their audience.

‘We are very conscious that we need to do more and are committed to making changes that we need to make.

‘The onus is upon our company collectively and us all as individuals within our community to tackle racism, and it is a responsibility which all of us here at Hollyoaks are taking on fully.’

Statement: Former Hollyoaks castmember Amanda Clapham previously took to Twitter and Instagram to implore her former colleagues to put forth a more concerted effort

A Hollyoaks spokesperson previously said: ‘We are really concerned to read Rachel’s comments on social media about Hollyoaks this evening. We will be in touch with Rachel directly.’ (Rachel pictured with her co-stars)