Tissues at the ready as the end beckons for one of EastEnders’ finest, with the seeds of Stacey Slater’s (Lacey Turner) exit storyline well and truly set in motion next week.
It was confirmed earlier this year that Lacey, who made her Walford debut in 2004, would be taking an indefinite break from the show.
‘We can confirm that Lacey will be off-screen later this year’, a spokesperson for the BBC One soap said at the time.
‘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.’
They certainly weren’t wrong about the drama, with the past few months having proven incredibly eventful for the Slaters.
The return of the beloved Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) after two decades in particular went down a storm with fans.
The storyline in question, which saw Zoe shot on Bridge Street just hours upon setting foot back in Walford, also led to Stacey contemplating her future in the Square.
What happened to Zoe brought back memories of her role in the demise of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) as well as losing Martin Fowler (James Bye), who perished in the Queen Vic fire in February.
Questioning if she really wants to spend her life surrounded by memories of trauma, it became quite clear that Stacey was thinking about leaving.
And next week, an opportunity comes her way to do just that.
The Slaters find themselves at the centre of an ordeal in upcoming scenes, one which leaves them reeling.
Zoe attempts to defend herself to Kat (Jessie Wallace), Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) and Stacey but it’s clear that the clan have their suspicions about her as she evades the truth about what happened in her past.
Later, Stacey finds out that Sean (Rob Kazinsky) has invited her and Lily (Lilia Turner) to live with him in Brazil. The matriarch shares this news with Lil, who encourages her mum to accept the invitation.
The question is: will she do so?
The moment is soon interrupted by Kat and Zoe, who are at each other’s throats once more but later in the week Stacey is ecstatic as she informs Lily that she’s gone and done it – she’s booked their flights!
The moment is interrupted by Jean (Gillian Wright), which leaves Stace with no choice but tell her mum everything. The news comes as a shock to Jean but she covers her hurt as Stacey and Lily take it upon themselves to set about sharing the update with Ricky.
When Stacey doesn’t show, however, Lily is tasked with breaking the news to both Ricky and Jack (Scott Maslen). The question is: just how will they take the news?
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One or watch first from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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