Fans of popular comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine will soon have to bid farewell to sassy secretary Gina Linetti.

Actress Chelsea Peretti, who plays the well-loved character, announced her departure from the series in a tweet on Wednesday (Oct 3), but kept the door open for a future return.

"I won't be doing a full season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine in Season Six. But that doesn't mean I won't ever be back," said Peretti.

"I want to thank you for the hours you spent watching Gina be Gina: confident, idiotic-but-smart, pithy, and infused with rhythm and cell-phone radiation (sic)."

Adding that "it is hard for me to know exactly what to say," the American said that fellow actress Emmy Rossum had put it best in a farewell letter that was published in August. Rossum had penned the letter when she left the cast of television series Shameless.

Peretti highlighted parts of the letter which she said were relevant to her own case, such as how there were real friendships in the series that brought characters back, and how she was not gone but just "moving down the block".

Replying to Peretti's tweet, fellow Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast member Joel McKinnon Miller said: "Things aren't the same around here. They say change is good. Not so much this time. Miss you.

"Cheers to one of the greats!"

Peretti's tweet on her leaving the show has attracted some 12,000 retweets and more than 90,000 likes. Many of those who responded were devastated fans.

Twitter user Fayloveskaty said: "I am so sad but trying to remember that Gina Linetti is more of a state of mind who will live with me forever.

Another Twitter user, Softdianetti, said: "I just woke up and this is the first thing I read and I am actually tearing up? You have no idea how much you mean to me."

Fans of the comedy series, which features a team of detectives in the New York City Police Department, were earlier dealt a shock in May, when the show was axed by the Fox network.

But the show was immediately revived by American broadcaster NBC, much to the relief of fans.

The sixth season of the show will premiere next year, and will run over 18 episodes.