British Soap Awards 2011 - Corrie wins big; EastEnders retains top prize

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

CONTINUED: EastEnders won the coveted prize again

EASTENDERS won the main award again last week at the British Soap Awards.  Once again, it set an example as to why it is considered as the best soap on television in recent times as it swept to a fourth success in a row for Best British Soap.

     For the first time in history, the awards moved away from its usual home of the BBC Television Centre but instead of relocating down the road to The O2 Arena like many other awards shows now, it chose the ITV Granada Studios in Manchester.  With 17 awards to fight for, and most critics this was the best year gone by for British Soap, everything than just pride was all to play for.

     The relocation to Manchester seemed to pay dividends for Coronation Street.  Despite missing out on the main gong, the local soap took away nine awards from the evening.  Michelle Keegan retained her crown for ‘Sexiest Female’ for the third year in the row whilst the Tram Crash for the 50th Anniversary at Christmas deservedly won ‘Spectacular Scene’ as did for ‘Best Single Episode’ for its live episode and ‘Best Storyline’ for Kevin Webster’s affair with Molly Dobbs, which climaxed around the time of the crash.

     The soap’s other successes came from Jane Danson winning ‘Best Dramatic Performance’, Alexander Bain becoming the inaugural winner of the ‘Best Young Performance’ award, Patti Clare earning ‘Best Comedy Performance’ whilst the biggest plaudits went the legendary Bill Tarmey for getting the ‘Best Exit’ gong and then the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his 30 years of work on the show as the legendary Jack Duckworth.

     There was to be only four awards on the night for EastEnders.  There was another ‘Sexiest Male’ gong for Scott Maslen and the ‘Best Actress’ award for the recently-returned Jessie Wallace who also took the ‘Best On-Screen Partnership’ award with Shane Richie.  By claiming ‘Best British Soap,’ it shows the influence that former Hollyoaks boss Bryan Kirkwood has had, since his arrival last year.

     The remaining soaps were left with few scraps again though Emmerdale broke the recent tradition of Corrie and EastEnders dominating the viewer-voted awards as Danny Miller rightfully won ‘Best Actor.’  The rural soap’s only other success came in the form of a posthumous honour for the late Gavin Blyth with the ‘Special Achievement’ award.  The 51 year-old, who has helped turn around the soap’s fortunes, tragically died back in November after a short battle with illness.

     Hollyoaks also earned two awards, both going to popular newbie Emmet J. Scanlan with awards for ‘Best Newcomer’ and a viewer award for ‘Villain of The Year.’  After only being nominated in two categories, daytime soap Doctors unsurprisingly went home empty-handed, ending its surprise success in recent editions of the ceremony.

     In truth, the year that soap has produced has been breathtaking. Corrie won the battle but it was truly EastEnders who won the war.

British Soap Awards 2011 - The nominations

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

NEXT Saturday, the stars of Britain’s five premier soaps will gather at the BBC Television Centre in London to celebrate, reflect and reminisce the big events in soap over the past twelve months.  Several talking points have been raised following the release of the British Soap Awards nominations last week, so it’s only fitting to have a look at some of the contenders and possible winners or losers.

PROMISE: Will Danny's acting skills finally earn him an award?

     The viewing public once again have their say in six of the awards, which are the most hotly contested.  In ‘Sexiest Male’, Keith Duffy and Chris Fountain of Coronation Street (Ciaran McCarthy and Tommy Duckworth), the latter has only been present since last month, will go up against EastEnders’ Scott Maslen (Jack Branning) and Emmerdale’s Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy).  The ‘Sexiest Female’ award also swayed in favour of Corrie with nominations for Alison King (Carla Connor) and Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre) with competition from EastEnders’ Rita Simons (Roxy Mitchell) and Hollyoaks Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes McQueen).

     In ‘Villain Of The Year’, EastEnders heads the running with Charlie Brooks (Janine Molloy) and Don Gilet (Lucas Johnson) but they will have their work cut out with Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow) from Corrie, beating obvious candidate Graeme Hawley (John Stape) and Emmet J. Scanlan (Brendan Brady) from Hollyoaks.

     A strong field for ‘Best Actress’ features Corrie’s Katherine Kelly (Becky McDonald), Jessie Wallace from EastEnders (Kat Moon), Emmerdale’s Jane Cox (Lisa Dingle), who won honourable praise for her recent rape storyline and a surprise nod for Claire Cooper (Jacqui McQueen) from Hollyoaks.  In ‘Best Actor’, Chris Gascoyne (Peter Barlow) from Corrie and Shane Richie (Alfie Moon) from EastEnders will compete alongside popular figures Danny Miller and Emmet J. Scanlan.

     The remaining awards are determined by an expert panel.  They have made some questionable choices in the past but they believe they know they are doing.  One of the most anticipated awards will be for ‘Spectacular Scene of the Year.’  The clear favourite is Corrie’s Tram Crash with opposition from EastEnders’ Queen Vic Fire, Emmerdale for the extreme car crash that left Jackson Walsh (Marc Silcock) paralyzed and Hollyoaks for its lift shaft stunt.  In ‘Best Single Episode,’ Corrie’s Live Episode is also the obvious choice with no rather stiff competition for it whilst the ‘Best Storyline’ is contested by Corrie for Kevin Webster’s (Michael Le Vell) affair with the late Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) which destroyed the closely-knitted Webster clan, Doctors for Karen’s abortion and Emmerdale hoping to cause an upset with Holly Barton’s (Sophie Powles) drug addiction.  Despite a national outcry, EastEnders’ Baby Swap storyline is nominated.  If it wins, many would expect outrage and fury from fans and media commentators alike.

OUTSIDER: Steph's Hollyoaks exit last November was a tearjerker

     For ‘Best Comedy Performance’, it’s a close call with the favourites being EastEnders Tameka Empson (Kim Fox) and Hollyoaks Alex Carter (Lee Hunter).  Despite not being put forward for Best Actress, Jane Danson (Leanne Barlow) is still preferred by many to win the ‘Best Dramatic Performance’ award.  She will be hard pushed by Danny Miller, his third nomination overall, Claire Cooper and EastEnders Lindsey Coulson (Carol Jackson).  The ‘Best Exit’ award will sometimes shed a tear or two, and this year is no exception with Corrie’s Bill Tarmey (Jack Duckworth), Emmerdale’s Andy Devine (Shadrach Dingle), EastEnders Lacey Turner (Stacey Branning) and Hollyoaks Carley Stenson (Steph Roach).  It isn’t surprising that Turner would be considered favourite but Stenson’s exit in November’s Il Gnosh fire was very well-handled and could be Hollyoaks best chance at success this year.

SNUB: Sophie and Sian's Corrie romance is popular, but not enough for an award

     One new award is for ‘Best Young Performance,’ a simple renaming of the dramatic performance for a young actor or actress.  The main contenders are all nominated, Corrie’s Alexander Bain (Simon Barlow), EastEnders Maisie Smith (Tiffany Butcher), Emmerdale’s Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle) and Hollyoaks Ellis Hollins (Tom Cunningham).  The real surprises come from the ‘Best On-Screen Partnership’ nominations.  Although well-known contenders Katherine Kelly & Simon Gregson, Jessie Wallace & Shane Ritchie and Emma Atkins & Jeff Hordley are in the running, it’s very surprising to see only one same-sex duo in the list, Kieron Richardson and Emmet J. Scanlan for Hollyoaks.  I emphasise that because the last year has seen a sharp rise in focusing on storylines with same-sex relationships.  So it’s very shocking that EastEnders Christian Clarke and Syed Masood (John Partridge & Marc Elliott), Emmerdale’s Danny Miller & Marc Silcock (Aaron Livesey & Jackson Walsh) and Corrie’s lesbian couple Brooke Vincent & Sacha Parkinson (Sophie Webster & Sian Powers) weren’t considered to be nominated considering all of their heightened popularity from viewers.

     Finally, the ‘Best Newcomer’ is also widely contested between four popular new faces.  Corrie’s Paula Lane (Kylie Turner), EastEnders Ricky Norwood (Fatboy Chubb), Emmerdale’s Pauline Quirke (Hazel Rhodes) and for Hollyoaks, you guessed it, Emmet J. Scanlan, five nominations for him.  To conclude, all five soaps are nominated for the viewer-voted ‘Best British Soap’ as usual and the ‘Special Achievement’ and ‘Lifetime Achievement’ will be unveiled on the night.  Although no clues have been given yet, the Lifetime honour is rumoured to go to Corrie again for either Bill Tarmey or William Roache (Ken Barlow), who has been in the soap since day one.  Once again, This Morning host Phillip Schofield presents the ceremony.

     In closing, this year’s awards are so close for contention.  Corrie, EastEnders and Emmerdale have nominations in every category, Hollyoaks managed to get more than many experts first predicted whilst Doctors only got two nominations, perhaps sealing that it will go away empty handed.

The ceremony takes place next Saturday and will be broadcast on ITV1 next Wednesday.  May the best soap win!

Soap's spectacular scenes of 2010/11

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

IN A few months time, it will be the time of year again for the British Soap Awards.  This is when the stars of the nation’s biggest shows gather to see who the cream of the crop was in the last twelve months.  One of the most anticipated awards this year will be for ‘Spectacular Scene of the Year’ with each of the big four soaps having a big contender for the award.  I will now analyse all four of them in closer detail.  All that I will say is that one word keeps popping up in them.

EastEnders – The Queen Vic Burns

Date: 9 September 2010

The Build-Up

Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) is always someone never to mess with, as are any of the Mitchell’s.  He was left seething when mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) gave away his daughter and swore revenge on her.  Before he did, he started drinking more heavily before succumbing to an addiction of crack cocaine.

The Disaster

Peggy soon took matters into her own hands, barricading Phil inside a locked room in the Queen Vic for him to go cold turkey.  He soon broke out and a furious confrontation with Peggy led to Phil striking a match.  Peggy called his bluff, believing he wouldn’t be able to do it, so Phil dropped a match and in a few ghastly seconds, the packed pub erupted into a blazing inferno.  Miraculously, everyone escaped before a huge explosion destroyed what was very little of it left.

The Aftermath

The Vic was reduced to shell; everything had been completely wiped out.  Depressed, Peggy left Albert Square, refusing to tell anyone where she was going and determined never to come back again.  Kat and Alfie Moon (Jessie Wallace & Shane Ritchie) soon returned to the Square and purchased the pub.  Within weeks, it was back to normal.

The Verdict

The scenes were literally breathtaking but it was a bitter disappointment to many that nobody perished in the explosion as rumours were hype that the fire would ultimately claim Peggy’s life.

Hollyoaks – The Il Gnosh Disaster

Date: 8 – 12 November 2010

The Build-Up

Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) may be ambitious in his Il Gnosh restaurant but over recent months, it had been facing financial ruin.  This was not helped by his ex, Mandy (Sarah Jayne-Dunn) returning with the help of Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) to destroy him.  Warren even gets Tony’s brother Dom (John Pickard) onto his side by offering him cash to burn the eatery down.

The Disaster

On bonfire night, a mysterious figure set light to the store room of the restaurant and it quickly spread to the flat upstairs.  Mercedes (Jennifer Metcalfe) and Malachy (Glen Wilson) are thrown to the ground by the resulting explosion.  Gilly (Anthony Quinlan) and Steph (Carley Stenson) run to the scene and Steph runs in to save Amy Barnes (Ashley Slainia-Davies) and her children Leah and Lucas.  Knowing that she is dying of cancer, Steph remains in the building as it burns whilst Malachy later dies in hospital.

The Aftermath

Amy left to receive treatment in Manchester on her injuries.  Mercedes soon got over Malachy’s death by getting into a love triangle whilst Kris (Gerard McCarthy) returned to mourn the loss of his brother.  Ravi Roy (Stephen Uppal) is found in Middlesbrough, having been suspected as a fatality in the fire and leaves to be with his parents, as his aneurysm has returned.  Eventually, Dom confessed to Tony that he set the fire off to destroy a laptop which Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke) had told him had pictures of Amber (Lydia Lloyd-Henry).  Tony had previously accused Dom of getting Amber pregnant.  Despite Dom’s pleas to allow him to leave the village, Tony phones the police and watches on as his brother is led away for a long stint in jail.

The Verdict

This was no doubt a ploy by the soap to give it attention by falling ratings.  Nevertheless it was spectacular as they could have made it.

Coronation Street – The Tram Crash

Date: 6 December 2010

The Build-Up

This incident really came out of the blue but several situations were ongoing at the time.  Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) and Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) were making preparations to marry, against the wishes of her ex Nick Tilsley (Ben Price).  Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) was preparing to leave the Street and before leaving, dropped a bombshell on husband Tyrone (Alan Henshaw) that he wasn’t baby Jack’s dad and John Stape (Graeme Hawley) was determined not to have his murderous secret ousted.

The Disaster

Set on the night of Peter & Leanne’s stag and hen nights, Nick had the intention of revealing his and Leanne’s sordid affair in The Joinery bar.  Whilst Leanne and Ken Barlow (William Roache) were making their way over to the bar to try and stop him, a sudden explosion ripped through the building.  As shocked residents raced over to help the wounded, a tram suddenly derailed thanks to the viaduct being damaged in the blast and crashed onto the cobbles, wrecking the Corner Shop.  One of its carriages then smashed into The Kabin and sent the Peacock’s house up in flames.  Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) and Molly were killed in the devastating events whilst Peter married Leanne in hospital before undergoing life-saving surgery.

The Aftermath

It may have been three months ago now but its effects are still being felt today.  Following Ashley’s death, his wife Claire (Julia Hallam) and her kids left the Street to start afresh abroad.  Meanwhile before she died, Molly confessed to Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) about her and Kevin’s affair which was subsequently came out in public at Molly’s funeral.  Sally threw Kevin (Michael Le Vell) out of the Webster house.  Kevin soon became public enemy number one with everyone in Weatherfield. Finally, Leanne’s affair with Nick was also exposed with the aid of the returning Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) who told all to Peter and leading to Peter embarrassing the pair at a second wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day.

The Verdict

This was quite simply some of the best scenes ever to grace soap.  I reckon it will still be talked about for years and even decades to come.

Emmerdale – The Arson Attack

Date: 13 January 2011

The Build-Up

The new police inspector Nick Henshall (Michael McKell) seemed to be charming and innocent but unknown to anyone, he had a criminal past.  The only person who was suspicious of him was Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher).  Then again, it was because Henshall was dating his ex, Katie (Sammy Winward).

The Disaster

Sure enough Andy was right as Henshall, dressed in black, committed the worst possible crime by setting fire to a rubbish bin outside Katie’s house and it soon spread out of control.  Andy and Carl King (Tom Lister) braved the flames to save Katie along with her housemates Gennie Walker (Sian Reese-Williams) and Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter).  The flames soon rushed along the row of neighbouring houses before eventually resting at Viv Hope’s flat.  Terry Woods (Billy Hartman) dived in to try and save Viv (Deena Payne) but fears arose when he took longer than expected.  When the downstairs Post Office Shop exploded in a fireball, Terry and Viv had no chance and their bodies were soon dragged out.

The Aftermath

Given his criminal past, it was no surprise that Andy was among the accused for starting the fire.  A successful frame from Henshall himself had him charged with the crime.  Later, Katie discovered documents surrounding Henshall’s ex-wife dying in similar circumstances.  Henshall came clean and confessed but not before taking her hostage for several hours before ending it all by shooting himself dead.

The Verdict

Emmerdale just loves a good disaster and this is no exception.  While it certainly wasn’t among the ranks of EastEnders or Corrie, it was still pretty impressive.

These are four spectacular scenes that have graced the screens of soap over recent months but the question is what the best was?  That will of course be decided by a panel of soap experts come the awards itself in May. 

Bye Bye Barbara

Tonight, we say goodbye to one of soap’s most loved icons, as Barbara Windsor bows out of EastEnders, after having played the Mitchell matriarch Peggy Mitchell for sixteen years.  Our favourite barmaid could only watch in horror last night, as she saw her beloved pub, The Queen Vic explode in a ball of flame, following a tense stand-off with her estranged son, Phil Mitchell.

Tonight, as the Mitchell family struggle to come to terms with the previous night’s traumatic events, Peggy realises that she must move away and start afresh, if the rest of the family are ever going to move out of her shadow, therefore bringing down the curtain on a glorious and tempestuous time in Albert Square.

Peggy was first cast in Walford back in 1991, and Barbara took over in 1994.  Since then, has been involved in some of the soap’s biggest storylines, from battling breast cancer, regular run-ins with Sharon Watts, and three doomed marriages to the likes of clueless Frank Butcher and the devious Archie Mitchell.  Barbara received the Best Actress gong at the 1999 British Soap Awards, and received a Lifetime Achievement award at the same ceremony a decade later.

After a two-year absence between 2003 and 2005, whilst fighting the Epstein-Barr virus, Barbara returned to EastEnders at the end of 2005.  Last October, she announced her decision to quite EastEnders, so she could spend more time with her family and her third husband, Scott. 

Peggy’s impact on Albert Square and Barbara’s time in EastEnders will never be forgotten.  She is similar to what Ken Barlow is to Coronation Street and Harold Bishop to Neighbours, a true soap icon.  Everyone working at the BBC and those who watch EastEnders will certainly miss her presence. 

Best wishes for the future Barbara.  

Excellent Enders Storm The Soap Awards

      

On Wednesday night, ITV screened the annual 12^th British Soap Awards bash, held at BBC Television Centre on May 7^th.  The night was dominated by the stars of BBC’s EastEnders, which scooped a staggering ten awards, the highest for any soap in any given year.

EastEnders, celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year was a class above the rest from the competitors this year, Coronation Street, Doctors, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.  It scooped all of the key awards, including Best British Soap for a third consecutive year.  Its spectacular live episode, as part of the anniversary celebration in February, which featured Stacey Slater being revealed as Archie Mitchell’s killer was the clear winner of Best Single Episode.  Lacey Turner, who is leaving the show later in the year, scooped the double for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance.  Also collected a duo of awards was Scott Maslen.  The former star of The Bill, who plays the dynamic Jack Branning won the Best Actor category and was voted Sexiest Male for the second consecutive year.  Charlie Clements, whose character Bradley Branning, fell to his shocking death in the live episode won Best Exit, holding off stiff competition from Jamie Lomas demise in Hollyoaks.  Finally, the evil Archie Mitchell, played by the distinguished Larry Lamb won Best Villain.

With EastEnders storming away with all the key awards, it left the rest fighting over the minor crumbs and comforts.  Like Hollyoaks last year, Emmerdale was nominated in every single category, yet failed to pick up an award.  That was apart from established writer Bill Lyons, who won the Special Achievement Award.  Lyons has been part of the writing team since 1984, and was behind the brains of the dramatic Emmerdale Plane Crash storyline in December 1993, which turned the show’s fortunes around.  For the second consecutive year, Hollyoaks had a tough time of things, as their domination of the 2008 ceremony seems a distant memory.  However, they did win the Most Spectacular Scene award, for the parachute skydiving stunt during its Hollyoaks Later show last October and saw Sarah Barnes (Loui Batley) plunge to her death. 

BBC daytime show Doctors did well again, collecting two awards, for Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor/Actress and Best On-Screen Partnership, which left Coronation Street, normally a traditional frontrunner with a tame three winners.  Michelle Keegan won Sexiest Female and there was a deserved Lifetime Achievement Award for Betty Driver, who is famous for Betty’s hotpots in the Rovers Return.  The most emotional part of the how evening was the fitting tribute to the dearly missed Maggie Jones.  Maggie, who played the hilarious Blanche Hunt, Deirdre Barlow’s mum in Coronation Street passed away last Christmas.  As the VT finished of her video tribute, the whole auditorium stood up in appreciation and applause, with many tears shed for a fantastic icon of Weatherfield.

However, the night firmly belonged as expected to EastEnders.  The other soaps have a lot to do over the next twelve months, to avoid this kind of whitewash from the Walford stars again.   

   

British Soap Awards 2010 - The Nominations

Soap's biggest TV night of the year is coming very soon, with the announcement today of the nominations for the annual bash, The British Soap Awards.  The forces of EastEnders, Emmerdale, Doctors, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street will lock horns once again, to see which soap the public has voted the creme of the crop in the past twelve months.


Below are all the nominations for the nine panel-based categories.  The Best Actor, Best Actresses, Sexiest Male, Sexiest Female and Villian of the Year will be announced on the night (The public have been voting on these awards since February)

Best Comedy Performance

Craig Gazey (Graeme Proctor, Coronation Street)

Nina Wadia (Zainab Masood, EastEnders)

Dominic Brunt (Paddy Kirk, Emmerdale)

Bronagh Waugh (Cheryl Brady, Hollyoaks)

 

Best Dramatic Performance

Chris Gascoyne (Peter Barlow, Coronation Street)

Lacey Turner (Stacey Branning, EastEnders)

Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy, Emmerdale)

Glen Wallace (Malachy Fisher, Hollyoaks)

 

Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actrees

Alexander Bain (Simon Barlow, Coronation Street)

Ami Metcalf (Sapphire Cox, Doctors)

Maisie Smith (Tiffany Butcher, EastEnders)

Oscar Lloyd (Will Wylde, Emmerdale)

 

Best Exit

Reece Dinsdale (Joe McIntyre, Coronation Street)

Charlie Clements (Bradley Branning, EastEnders)

Maxwell Caulfield (Mark Wylde, Emmerdale)

Jamie Lomas (Warren Fox, Hollyoaks)

 

Best Newcomer

Sophie Abelson (Cherry Malone, Doctors)

Marc Elliott (Syed Masood, EastEnders)

Lyndon Ogbourne (Nathan Wylde, Emmerdale)

Bronagh Waugh (Cheryl Brady, Hollyoaks)

 

Best On-Screen Partnership

Katherine Kelly & Simon Gregson (Becky & Steve McDonald, Coronation Street)

Jan Pearson & Chris Walker (Karen & Rob Hollins, Doctors)

Sid Owen & Patsy Palmer (Ricky & Bianca Butcher, EastEnders)

Nick Miles & Nicola Wheeler (Jimmy King & Nicola De Souza, Emmerdale)

 

Best Storyline

Peter's Alcohol Addiction (Coronation Street)

Zara's Revenge (Doctors)

Who Killed Archie Mitchell? (EastEnders)

Aaron's Sexuality (Emmerdale)

 

Spectacular Scene of the Year

Joe Drowns To His Death (Coronation Street)

The Siege (Doctors)

A Car Crashes Through Home Farm Shop (Emmerdale)

Skydiving Disaster/Sarah Plummets To Her Death (Hollyoaks)

 

Best Single Episode

Peter's Drinking Gets Out Of Control (Coronation Street)

'Master Of The Universe' - The Siege (Doctors)

The Live Episode/Archie's Killer Is Revealed (EastEnders)

Aaron Confesses That He Is Gay (Emmerdale)

 

Best British Soap (voted by the viewers)

Coronation Street

Doctors

EastEnders

Emmerdale

Hollyoaks

 

Despite a barrage of criticism from many, it is to many surprise that Emmerdale has the honour this year of earning a nomination in each panel-based category.  It doesn't guarantee success though, as Hollyoaks found out last year, when they had similar treatment, but walked away empty-handed.  Emmerdale has 9 nominations, Coronation Street and EastEnders have been nominated for 8, with daytime soap Doctors scooping 6 nominations and Hollyoaks a disappointing 5.

The awards ceremony will be on Saturday night at BBC Television Centre and will be hosted by This Morning anchorman Phillip Schofield.  The ceremony will be broadcast on ITV1 on Wednesday 19th May, a week later than planned, due to Fulham's involvement in the UEFA Europa League final.

Best of luck to everyone who has been nominated!

Blow For The Square As The Lovely Lacey Quits

New executive producer Bryan Kirkwood and his bosses were dealt a huge blow to their future plans for BBC’s EastEnders last week, when news broke through of the impending departure of one of the most popular actresses in Albert Square history; Lacey Turner is to leave the show.

Turner, who plays the popular character Stacey Slater, has seeked the desire to chase up other opportunities in the world of acting.  Having played Stacey since 2004, the time may be right for her to move onto pastures new.  However, EastEnders will be a poorer show without her extraordinary talent, that made her stand out, even during the mid-part of the last decade, when the show was in rapid decline.

Lacey has had some incredible storylines in her six years on the Square.  She arrived in November 2004, as a meddling character, determined to cause havoc for many people, whatever it took.  Quickly, she soon settled down with Bradley Branning and the two lovebirds embarked on a Romeo & Juliet romance.  Stacey was also involved in the year-long affair with Bradley’s dad Max, which kept viewers hooked on how Bradley would find out what his cheating wife and deceitful Dad had been upto.  On Christmas Day 2007, all was revealed on a DVD, in one of EastEnders finest recent moments.  Since then, Stacey also had to deal with the disease, bipolar, a first of British soaps.  It saw Lacey take on some really challenging and gritty roles, making her standout even more than before.

More recently, Stacey married Bradley again, but in the live episode to culminate EastEnders 25^th anniversary, Bradley, on the run from the police plunged to his tragic death off the roof of the Queen Vic.  Seconds later, Stacey confessed to Max that she had been the one who killed the hated Archie Mitchell on Christmas Day 2009.  A showdown between the two recently occurred on-screen, as Max tried to catch-up and make Stacey pay for her actions. 

On her departure, Lacey told the media website Digital Spy: “I've had the most fantastic time at EastEnders. Stacey has been such a brilliant role for me to play, as has being part of the feisty Slater family.  "I'm so lucky to have had such challenging storylines, from the affair with Max and being diagnosed with bipolar to the complete shock of being revealed as Archie's killer during the live 25th Anniversary episode."  "I'll miss Stacey and everyone in Albert Square very much but the time has come to try something different."

In the past five years, Turner’s successful acting has won her numerous awards, ranging from Best Actress at the National Television Awards, to Best Newcomer at the British Soap Awards.  She has amassed a staggering twenty-eight awards, some as part of a storyline and the Best Serial Drama, which EastEnders normally ends up winning.

Kirkwood has confirmed that a dramatic exit is being written for Stacey, and the door will remain open to one of Walford’s most favourite and iconic characters making a return in the future.  So don’t worry Stacey fans, she won’t be departing in a coffin, no need for the tissues!

Lacey Turner has been a real credit to EastEnders and she will be profoundly missed by everyone at the BBC.  However, her success playing Stacey Slater surely means we haven’t seen the last of her on television.  She can only go onto brighter and bigger ventures in the future.