Coronation Street character Roy Cropper is leaving the soap

Legendary soap character Roy Cropper is set to leave Coronation Street, as actor David Neilson decides to take a 'three month break' from the cobbles of Corrie.

Soap star David, who has played café owner Roy since 1995 after initially only being signed for six episodes, is reportedly leaving the drama behind for a short hiatus.

The Sun reported that David wants to 'recharge', as well as take some time to try a potential career move to theatre acting by joining a stage show.

David, along with Roy's infamous old shopping bag no doubt, is currently filming his final scenes, which are set to appear in the show in January 2016.

Producers on the ITV program have stated they are 'happy to accommodate' his plans to leave Weatherfield; 'Our writers have been able to explain his absence in the show for viewers.'

A spokesperson for the channel said; 'We try to accommodate requests from the cast as best we can and we wish David well.'

The previously unknown actor rose to fame in the ITV favourite and has starred in classic story lines such as marrying the first transsexual character to feature in a British soap opera, Hayley, his wife's subsequent diagnosis with pancreatic cancer and her eventual suicide.

The 66 year old and his fictional wife also played the role of foster parents to character Fiz Brown, played by Jennie McAlpine.

David won 'Best Actor' at both the 2013 and 2014 Inside Soap Awards for his portrayal of Roy.

The Victoria Street resident won't be the first to have traded the cobbles for elsewhere, following in the wake of his colleague Liz Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth from 1974 to 2008.

Liz has switched from the streets of Salford to the rolling hills of Yorkshire and is set to make her debut in Emmerdale on Christmas Day.

We are definitely going to need some tissues nearby for this exit, but at least there is still time for one last round at The Rovers.