Born in 1988, Lacey Turner grew up in north London, not far from the Elstree Studios where EastEnders is filmed.

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She landed the part of Albert Square’s favourite troublemaker in 2004, at the age of 17, after years of dancing, singing and acting classes, and a brief stint at the Sylvia Young Theatre School.

As Stacey Slater (later Branning), Turner won the hearts of viewers - as well as multiple National Television Awards and British Soap Awards - though she left the soap in 2010 to pursue other opportunities, returning in 2014.

During her break, she won acclaim for her role in Our Girl (2013), where she played an impoverished young Briton who decides to join the army. She also starred in various supernatural television series including thriller Bedlam (2012), comedy-drama Switch (2012), and drama Being Human (2011).


Soon after appearing in Walford in 2004, Stacey entered a short-lived marriage with Bradley Branning. She was later raped by Archie Mitchell, after which she discovered she was pregnant. Fearing that Archie was the father, Stacey murdered him, though the real father turned out to be Ryan Malloy.

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Under threat of police discovery, Stacey was forced to flee Albert Square with her baby -named Lily -to Mexico.

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Returning to Albert Square only four years later, in 2014, Stacey eventually had another child; a boy, named Arthur.

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