Popular Neighbours star Sharon Johal leaves the show after playing Deepika ‘Dipi’ Rebecchi for four years
After four years on Neighbours playing Deepika ‘Dipi’ Rebecchi, Sharon Johal has confirmed she is leaving the show.
Posting to Instagram on Wednesday, the 32-year-old actress revealed she was saying goodbye to her popular character.
‘Goodbye. It is with sadness I’ve announced today that I will be leaving @Neighbours,’ she said.
Farewell, Ramsay Street: After four years on Neighbours playing Deepika ‘Dipi’ Rebecchi, actress Sharon Johal (pictured) has confirmed she is leaving the show
‘Some of you may have seen this coming, but to be honest I put the motions into play over a year ago,’ she added.
Sharon said there were ‘a number of reasons’ behind her decision to leave the Channel 10 soap.
But it’s not all bad news for Neighbours fans, as she hopes to remain a part of the show in some capacity, perhaps as a director.
Time to go: Posting to Instagram on Wednesday, the 32-year-old actress (left, with co-star Tim Robards) revealed she was saying goodbye to her popular character
‘I am so excited for what the future holds. As you might have read, I’m already shadow-directing on Neighbours with Tenika [Smith].
‘And I look forward to telling stories from my unique perspective, gaze and experience – whether that be behind the camera, in front of it, in writing or production, I intend to make positive impact.’
Also in her farewell post, Sharon touched on the trolling she’d faced ‘online and offline’ as a result of her appearance on Neighbours.
Racism: Neighbours star Sharon Johal (pictured) revealed how racism has been ‘a constant’ in her life, in a column penned for The Sunday Telegraph’s Stellar magazine this weekend
Sharon, a third-generation Australian of Indian heritage, recently wrote a column for Stellar magazine about the ‘constant’ racism she’d experienced in her life.
She spoke of her difficulty finding work before starring in Neighbours, and said she was ‘incessantly trolled on social media’ and, at times, in public.
‘People say things like “go back to your country” and “you and your filthy children need to leave Ramsay Street”,’ Sharon said.
On-screen siblings: Sharon Johal pictured with her onscreen brother Dhruv Malge (left), who plays Jay Rebecchi and sister Olivia Junkeer (right), who plays Yashvi Rebecchi
‘We must persevere’: Despite being pleased at how the soap is featuring a diverse cast, Sharon said we must continue in ensuring there’s greater representation on television and in media. Pictured with co-star Don Hany
Earlier this month, fellow actress Bonnie Anderson revealed she was also leaving the show to ‘focus on my music and songwriting and more acting’.
‘Neighbours really changed my life for the better in so, so many ways,’ she told the Herald Sun.
‘I feel like at the age I was, 23, when I joined the show it has really shaped me into the person that I am today. I have overcome a lot, I have grown and I am proud of the way I live my life.’
Another one bites the dust: Earlier this month, fellow actress Bonnie Anderson revealed she was also leaving the show to ‘focus on my music and songwriting and more acting’. Pictured, Neighbours stars Bonnie Anderson, April Rose Pengilly and Sharon Johal