Nina Dobrev quits The Vampire Diaries

Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley star in The Vampire Diaries.

Actress Nina Dobrev has confirmed reports she's quitting hit TV series The Vampire Diaries.

The 26 year old will be leaving the hit show at the end of the current sixth season.

In a new Instagram post linked to photos from her Easter weekend farewell party, Dobrev writes, "Dearest TVD Family, I've just spent the most beautiful weekend on Lake Lanier in Georgia with my own TVD Family, the cast and crew of The Vampire Diaries. I want to be the first to tell you that it wasn't just a holiday celebration, it was a goodbye party. I always knew I wanted Elena's story to be a six season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime."

She adds, "I was a human, a vampire, a doppelganger, a crazy immortal, a doppelganger pretending to be human, a human pretending to be a doppelganger. I got kidnapped, killed, resurrected, tortured, cursed, body-snatched, was dead and undead, and there's still so much more to come before the season finale in May.

"Elena fell in love not once, but twice, with two epic soulmates, and I myself made some of the best friends I'll ever know and built an extended family I will love forever.

"There's more to come before we wrap this up, and I promise you'll get to hear all about my experiences over the next month as we approach the season finale... but until then I invite you to hop on the roller coaster ride that is Elena Gilbert's life and join me as I celebrate her and prepare to say goodbye to her - and to my work family - as I move on to the next chapter of my life."

In a statement, The Vampire Diaries executive producer Julie Plec, insists the show will continue without leading lady Dobrev.

She writes: "Saying goodbye to Nina is both bittersweet and beautiful. After six-plus years together, the entire cast and crew of The Vampire Diaries has reached a level of closeness that I don't think any of us ever expected.

"Nina is excited to spread her wings, get some rest, travel the world and also take it by storm, and we support her a thousand-fold. We will miss Nina and the four hundred characters she played, but we look forward to the insane and exciting challenge of continuing to tell stories of our Salvatore Brothers and our much-loved and gifted ensemble."

- WENN