Lacey Turner taking a break from EastEnders

The actress is taking a one year break from her role as Stacey Fowler, according to reports.

Turner, 32, took maternity leave from the saga in 2019, with her alter-ego fleeing Walford after hitting Phil Mitchell over the bonce with a spanner.

She is due to return to screens as Stacey Fowler in Monday night’s (21st September) episode.

However, The Daily Star reports that plans are already afoot to write the actress out of the show again, as she takes an “extended break” from her role.

“Lacey will be taking a break. The top bosses agreed to give her some time off from the show,” an insider told the paper.

How the soap will work Turner’s further time off into the scripts remains to be seen, but the actress apparently has no plans to quit the show for good.

“This is a great opportunity for the writers to come up with something big for Lacey to get her teeth into. She has always been a big hit with fans. There is no doubt they will really miss her while she’s off screen,” the insider added

Memorable EastEnders storylines featuring the character of Stacey include her affair with Max Branning, struggles with bi-polar and the Who Killed Archie? saga.

Last week, it was reported that Jake Wood is leaving the BBC One soap after 14 years in the role of Max Branning.