Lacey Turner: EastEnders legend to leave BBC soap later this year as star says she needs 'rest' from the show

Lacey, who has played Stacey Slater on the BBC soap for more than 20 years, revealed that she is planning a “rest” from the show later this year. The star, 37, had just returned to the soap from maternity leave in February after giving birth to her third child Gipsy.

Lacey told The Sun: She told The Sun newspaper: "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 insider revealed that Lacey, who previously leave the show between 2010 and 2014, made the decision to step back last year, with her character Stacey recently heavily involved in the show’s storylines. They said: "Lacey made the decision last year to take some time out from the show, she’s had a busy year both on and off screen, so it feels a good time to give Stacey a rest.

"Lacey loves 'EastEnders', and it’s no secret how much 'EastEnders' love Lacey, so it’s not a question of if she will be back, but when."

An EastEnders spokeswoman said: "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.”

Lacey’s character Stacey was key to the soap’s 40th anniversary storyline, in which her long-term love interest Martin Fowler (James Bye) proclaimed his love before dying in the rubble of the Queen Victoria. She spoke about her heartbreak over the storyline, telling the ‘Happy Mum, Happy Baby’ podcast: "It was hard because James and I are really close, like brother and sister.

"I felt like he had died - every tear that came out of my eye [while filming] was genuine sadness, I didn’t rehearse it."