By Steve Pemberton has spoken of the "difficult decision" to leave Benidorm alongside his on-screen family.
The Garvey family - consisting of Mick (Pemberton), Janice (Siobhan Finneran), Madge (Sheila Reid) and Michael (Oliver Stokes) - will depart the holiday resort in the ITV sitcom's latest episode on Friday (January 9).
"Benidorm has always been more than just a TV show for us," he said. "We're such good friends and part of one big happy family.
"Working on Benidorm has been the most fun I've ever had. I'd have kept going for the rest of my life, but there are other considerations. It was a very difficult decision, but the amount of time we were away from home was key."
He continued: "We all sat down and discussed it during series 6. It's great that we had the same instinct to go at the same time. No one wanted to go on their own. So all things considered, it was absolutely the right time to leave."
Speaking about their last day on set, he added: "It was very emotional. We spent the final day shooting by the pool. I identify with the experience of being in Benidorm and bickering on the sunbeds by the pool. So that final day felt completely right. It was a wonderful way to go out."
Benidorm continues on Friday at 9pm on ITV. The seventh series' first episode attracted over 5.3 million viewers last week.
