Former Chicago PD star Jesse Lee Soffer has opened up about his departure from the series.

The actor played Detective Jay Halstead on the police procedural from its inception, though bowed out of the series after 10 seasons last October.

Opening up to Variety about his decision to leave, Soffer admitted that “there’s no good answer”, though he “was ready for more”.

jesse lee soffer

Jim Spellman – Getty Images

“Eventually, you know the character so well, there’s not much that can shift or transform,” the actor explained.

“I really wanted to grow and expand, and we’ve only got this one trip. If I signed up again, it would have been for another three years. I would have turned 40 on the show. I thought, ‘You know what? It’s time to take a risk’.

“It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my life. Let’s be honest: I love the fans of our show so much, and I love my fans. I know that they’re still grieving this, and to some degree, I am too.”

The character was written out with a storyline that saw him sent to Bolivia to take down a cartel with the army, with his trip being extended. However, Soffer admitted that he could return in the future, stating that the door is “definitely not” closed.

“Never say never. I feel so bad for the fans that are like, ‘Is he going to come back?’ ‘What’s he going to do?’ ‘What’s going on with him and Hailey?’” he added.

jesse lee soffer , tracy spiridako, chicago pd

NBC

“I like to think — and I hope the fans think this too — that he’s just in another country right now, doing what he does best and making the world a safer place.

“In a family, sometimes somebody moves away or goes to college somewhere else. I still love it. I still love the fans. And I still love Halstead. Halstead’s always going to be in my blood. That’s never going to change.”