One of the original vampires may have left CW’s The Originals, but the show must go on (and it shall! Australian actress Claire Holt who played Rebekah Mikaelson has left the show after just one season)

The Originals is the spinoff show of hit CW show The Vampire Diaries, which stars Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder and is currently midway through it's fifth season. Holt had initially been part of the supporting cast in The Vampire Diaries but then went to star in the spinoff alongside her onscreen family.

claire holt joseph morganHolt with her onscreen brother Joseph Morgan, who plays Klauss

Holt and her onscreen brothers Klaus and Elijah played by Joseph Morgan and Daniel Gillies respectively, formed part of the original family of vampires who were turned by their witch mother who had been trying to turn them immortal in order to protect them from werewolves. The result was that they became vampires and craved blood and killing and all that stuff.  She wasn't best pleased about the outcome.  That’s a supernatural tangle, right there!

More: Why did Claire Holt leave The Originals?

While The Vampire Diaries focuses on Elena and her relationships with the Salvatore brothers, The Originals focuses on the Mikaelson family. Klaus, a werewolf-vampire hybrid plans to take down a previous protege of his, who has taken control of New Orleans. Klaus originally built the city and wants to take it back under his control. The siblings had been forced to abandon the city when their father, Mikael, a vampire hunter (this just keeps getting more and more sordid!) tries to hunt them down.  Did we mention that Mikael became an immortal vampire hunter to hunt down the abominations that his wife had created?  These guys need Jerry Springer in their lives.

The series has just received the green light to produce a second season, although Holt will not be part of the project, despite it’s popularity. Her character was last shown driving away by herself since her brother Klaus had released her. Although Holt has left the show as a main cast member, there are rumours that she may return at some point for a guest appearance.

Why she chose to leave the show, we just don’t know. Often an actor just feels that they have exhausted the part and they need to move onto something else to keep their career fresh. Although Claire’s IMDb doesn’t indicate that she has any other acting roles lined up. Perhaps she just needs a little bit of time off to recuperate.

Are you a fan of either The Vampire Diaries or The Originals? Do you think that it was a wise decision to give the Mikaelson family their own spinoff, or do you miss seeing them at odds with Elena, Stefan and Damon?

Watch Claire Holt in the trailer for Blue Like Jazz