EastEnders confirms Lacey Turner exit as grieving Stacey Slater to take a break from Walford

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 paper: "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."

RadioTimes.com has reached out to the BBC for additional comment on this story.

The Sun reports that Turner made the decision to take a break from the show following a busy time for Lacey, both on the show and off the show, having recently given birth to her third child in January.

Despite recently giving birth, Turner went on to feature heavily in the 40th anniversary live episode in February, which centred on Stacey losing her beloved second husband, Martin Fowler (James Bye).

After a short time off-screen ahead of Martin's funeral, Stacey has been back in Walford since laying her soulmate to rest and has been struggling with grief since.

Next week in EastEnders, Stacey will be seen not leaving her bedroom as she struggles with her loss, leaving her eldest daughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) to care for herself, her baby daughter, and siblings.

As concerns grow among the family for Stacey, it appears her mental health is at a low point, but just how bad is Stacey feeling, and will this contribute to her exit from Walford?

Turner previously left EastEnders in 2010 and was absent until a return in 2014.

Outside of EastEnders, Turner recently turned her hand to presenting with the podcast We Started Here, which focused on the careers of soap stars before and after their time in continuing dramas, with guests including Jessie Wallace, Mandip Gill, and Anita Dobson.

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EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

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