EastEnders' Lacey Turner addresses return after BBC soap exit
She'll be dearly missed!
It was an emotional ride on EastEnders last week as fan favourite Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) made her departure from Albert Square, with plenty of tears shed.
Upon the return of Max Branning (Jake Wood), drama brewed between the former flames, with Max declaring his feelings for Stacey had come rushing back, but Stacey wasn't having it and replied that she was moving away.
Despite Lily (Lillia Turner) and baby Charli not moving away with Stacey, she supported her mum starting a new life in Brazil with Arthur (Rocco Brenner) and Hope (Isabelle Smith).
With such an explosive exit, could Stacey ever return to Walford? Well, fans are in luck as Turner has confirmed that she won't be gone for long.
In an sweet goodbye video on YouTube, Turner could be seen given well wishes from the cast and crew on her final day on set, before reassuring them: "I will be back in a minute."
"Thank you, everyone. I am coming back, I won't be long. I can't do speeches but thank you. I love you all very much and it's a very special place to work," she said.
It was confirmed back in May that Lacey Turner would be leaving the BBC soap, in order to focus on life outside of the show.
Lacey told The Sun: "It's time for myself and Stacey to take a rest and who knows what Stacey will get up to in her time away? Knowing Stacey, it will never be boring."
An EastEnders spokeswoman told the publication at the time: "We can confirm that Lacey will be off-screen later this year, but there is plenty of more drama to come beforehand and we will look forward to planning Stacey’s return when Lacey decides the time is right."
It has certainly been quite the rollercoaster year for Stacey, after losing her beloved Martin Fowler (James Bye) in the emotional 40th anniversary live episode.
With the Slater clan now running The Queen Vic and Lily still on the Square, there is plenty of opportunity for Stacey to return, and we certainly can't wait for that moment!
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
