EastEnders' Lacey Turner reveals why on-screen death led to soap exit decision

 "It's a decision I found hard to fathom."

EastEnders star Lacey Turner has revealed that a major on-screen death led to her decision to leave. The star, who has been an iconic staple of the soap over the past two decades and is currently appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, departed Walford last year.

Lacey has now opened up about that period in her new memoir Gold Dust: My Life (So Far) with the Women Who Shaped Me, admitting that James Bye's departure due to Martin Fowler's death during the 40th anniversary last year spurred on her choice.

Reflecting on the choice to kill the character off, she admitted (via Metro): "It’s a decision I found hard to fathom, and to be completely honest, one I’m still not over. I kept on asking ‘why’ – because it made no sense to me, surely there was another way?

Lacey shared that she tried to convince producers not to kill Martin off, though the soap had "made their minds up and it was no good".

"What I couldn’t be sure of was how Stacey would survive in Walford without Martin, and I didn’t know how I’d survive there without James," Lacey continued. "I started to wonder if now might be the right time for me to step away too, I was about to have a baby, James was going, and Natalie Cassidy [Sonia] was also leaving.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised I needed some real time out and I loved the idea of taking my foot off the gas and being with my family for a while, so I told them I wanted to go too."

The star further revealed that her real-life pregnancy near to the time of the live episode left bosses "turning green" as her due date was "scarily close".

I promised them I’d be there, even if it was in my maternity dressing gown," she said. "As promised I made it back for the live episode just four weeks after giving birth and then stayed on to shoot Stacey’s mental health decline."

Lacey went on to admit that she does "miss Stacey", though "she was tired and she needed a break", as did the actor herself.

"She’d run out of things to go through," she wrote. "There’s only so much s*** one person can suffer before you think it’s time to stop. I don’t know what the future holds… I hope it’s not the end for Stacey."

It comes after it was recently reported that Lacey could be returning as a guest star soon before a proper comeback next year, and she has since shared an update on a potential return.