Chris Sadrinna (Brad Armstrong) takes a moment to look back on his time with Home and Away as he moves on to a new change of pace in his life.

“(My kids) get totally suspended in the disbelief, they want to know what's happening next. They get into it to the point of tears and laughing, they get really emotional.”

This is how Chris Sadrinna's four and eight year old daughters react as they religiously watch him play Brad Armstrong on Home and Away.

His two daughters, along with the rest of the global audiences, won't see him on-screen anymore after this season.

Asked about his reaction to leaving the set, Chris seems a bit reluctant and emotional. “It's only hit me in the last couple of days,” says Chris. “It's been a ball, I've had a blast. Lots of big storylines, it's a bit sad, really. You put so much time and effort into a character, and it kind of slips away.”

Since his appearance on set in 2006, Brad quickly became a cast favourite, pulling on the heartstrings of the audience with the loss of his wife, Emily. After a short courtship with Sally, he proposed, only to be stood up at the altar.

Sally bailing out on him at their wedding was obviously a serious and emotional scene for Chris to play, but he also had his fair share of fun during his time with the cast.

“What was fun? All the big stuff, a lot of the stuff I've worked on with Kate, she's the one I've worked with the most. I've loved it. We really had a good time together. We went to some good places, it was nice,” he said.

The call to acting did not surface until High School “There were a bunch of guys who were a couple of years older than me, who did all the lead roles in all the plays at school. For a public school it had quite a strong drama company, so an opportunity came up to audition for a production of Sweet Charity when I was in Year 8. In Year 10 I joined the NSW Public Schools Senior Drama Company, and that is when I really started taking it seriously because you worked with good directors and in professional theatres. We did shows at the Zenith, The Opera House and Newtown Theatre and got used to doing shows for longer than a week.” he said.

His blossoming relationship with Sally Fletcher, played by Kate Ritchie, actually helped to lead to the decision for Chris to leave the Home and Away set. Kate recently announced her decision to leave the show after a lifelong career of being an Aussie TV icon, and as Kate made the decision to leave, it was perfect timing for Chris too.

Chris, who is 32 years old, sees his absence from Home and Away as a way to focus on one of the most important aspects of his life, his family. With a wife and two kids, it was difficult for Chris to juggle the all-encompassing Home and Away role and the family commitments. “It was hard for me to get out. I went to a lot of the important big nights and anything I could take the kids and Kelly along to.”

Chris won't leave Home and Away empty-handed. He “learnt on the job” just like Kate, and reminisces on some of the testing scenes that made him grow as an actor.

“The one with Emily, my wife. All the big stuff, the stuff where you got to think about it, and the storylines that kind of pushed me as an actor to tell the story. All the in between stuff, backing up other people's storylines can get a bit monotonous, a bit boring. And it's actually harder to do. It's nice when you get a lead line that you can work towards and play with.”

Even though Chris will be leaving the show, there's definitely no hard feelings. “I'm really pleased with the storyline,” explains Chris. “Brad does live on in Summer Bay after he leaves for Tasmania in an interesting way, which I find really lovely, really cool.”

Chris won't be seen around Summer Bay anymore, but can we expect to see him on-screen anywhere else soon?

“For now, I've got a house to renovate. I'll be painting and sanding floors and auditioning too. I came very close to getting a job on McCloud's Daughters.”

After the house is finished, Chris said his plans beyond are pretty open to opportunity.

“I've been to L.A., but if I went overseas, it would be either to London or New York,” said Chris. “I'd like to go study acting for awhile. I know to work and find a job in L.A. is pretty hard. I wouldn't want to take the whole family over there and work as a waiter or cab driver trying to find a job. If something popped up and I ended up over there I wouldn't mind. It's a pretty hard life in L.A. I would go overseas to study and see what happened from there.”

Interview by Tania Seager