The Walking Dead: Former actor Laurie Holden claims Andrea 'was supposed to be there until the end'

'I felt like I got shot - none of it was supposed to happen the way it did'

Such is the high turnover of characters in AMC's The Walking Dead that it's hard to recall a time when certain characters were front and centre of many of the show's plotlines.

One such character was Andrea who was played with fiery gusto by Laurie Holden. Originally appearing as one of the main characters in the show's first season, it was the season three finale which saw the character meet her demise after getting in too deep with villain The Governor (David Morrissey).

Holden attended Walker Stalker convention in New Jersey where FanFest News reported her candid thoughts on being killed off back in 2012.

Holden said:

“Well I had an 8-year deal, I was supposed to be there until the end. I was supposed to end up with Rick. I was supposed to save Woodbury on a horse, and I was buying a house in Atlanta. I got the call at 10 o'clock the night before, while I was shooting, from the show runner who is no longer a part of The Walking Dead, saying that they couldn’t write the episode and that he was killing my character. So [when] we all got the script, everybody on the set was sobbing. I felt like I got shot. None of it was supposed to happen the way it did.”

Hand-picked by original showrunner Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), the majority of Holden's scenes were shared with characters including Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn), Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). Her character is still alive in the comic books the series is based upon.

Holden doesn't harbour hard feelings, going so far as to applaud the current quality of the drama.

"I think The Walking Dead is in a really good place now with Scott Gimple. It wasn't the ship that it is now. I'm very grateful how it was written that I went out with grace and with a stellar cast. It wasn't the way that I wanted but I love the way I went out."