Lacey Amelia Turner (born 28 March 1988) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Stacey Slater on the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2004–2010, 2014–present), for which she has won over thirty awards, including four National Television Awards and ten British Soap Awards. She has also appeared on Bedlam, Switch (both 2012) and Our Girl (2013–2014). Early life Turner was born in Edgware, in the London Borough of Barnet, to Catholic parents Bev and Les. She was raised along with her two younger sisters in Hertfordshire, near the BBC television studios in Elstree. She had commented: "From my bedroom window you could see part of the square [the external filming lot for EastEnders], and you could hear them all filming at night. I used to say to my mum: "I wanna be on that!" It was whilst living there that Turner decided to become an actress. At the age of 10, Turner trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, but left after a year stating that it "wasn't my cup of tea". She has since revealed that she was bullied whilst at school for being "too geeky". Instead, she attended a local girls' private school, Peterborough and Saint Margaret's School in Bushey and went to dance, singing and acting classes outside school. Career EastEnders Turner's earliest work included appearances on stage and in advertisements (notably a Haribo advert). In 2004, Turner went on to audition for the role of Demi Miller on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Though she failed to get that part, she was instead given the role of Stacey, a new addition to the popular Slater family. She started in the soap the day after leaving school, and made her first appearance on-screen in November 2004. Turner speaks with Received Pronunciation, and had to affect a cockney accent for the role. Commenting on the role, Turner said: "I always dreamt of being on the show and so I can't believe that I've fulfilled my greatest ambition!" Since joining the show, her character has featured in numerous high-profile storylines, including abortion, drug abuse, a troubled relationship with her mother, discovering she has bipolar disorder, an affair with her father-in-law and the murder of her rapist Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb). Turner starred in a live episode of EastEnders on 19 February 2010 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the soap opera. The live episode gained