Lisa Edelstein will not reprise her role of endocrinologist Lisa Cuddy in the upcoming eighth season of ‘House,’ TVLine is reporting. The actress released a statement confirming the news, saying that she decided not to return to the role of the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital dean of medicine and chief administrator after much consideration. “I am moving onward with a combination of disappointment at leaving behind a character I have loved playing for seven years,” she added.

Edelstein also said that she is excited about new acting and producing opportunities in the future. She made the announcement after her contract expired at the end of the current seventh season, which airs its finale on May 23, 2011. She was expected to return to the show, however, as fellow original cast members Robert Sean Leonard and Omar Epps, whose contracts also expired this year, signed new deals.

Hugh Laurie, who portrays the title character, Peter Jacobson and Olivia Wilde, who is now the only remaining female character on the hit medical drama, were already greenlit for next year. However, much like this season, Wilde won’t appear on ‘House’ as often as she once did, as she wants to continue focusing on her movie career.

Written by: Karen Benardello