EastEnders star Lacey Turner has broken her silence on co-star James Bye’s exit following Martin Fowler’s tragic death.
The BBC soap’s live 40th anniversary episode saw The Queen Vic explode while several Albert Square residents were inside.
Martin was trapped under a fallen beam in the wreckage, using his heartbreaking final moments to reconcile with Stacey Slater and discuss their future plans together.
Sadly, when emergency services lifted the beam, Martin died shortly after, leaving Stacey and his loved ones devastated.
Martin first appeared in EastEnders in 1985 as a child, with James taking on the role in 2014 and starring in more than 1,000 episodes in the role.
Breaking her silence over his exit, Lacey shared a throwback photo from 2015 of Martin and Stacey, as well as a picture 10 years later of the actors at an event on her Instagram page.
In the caption, she wrote: “There are no words to describe how I feel! Thank you for holding my hand not only throughout the crazy, terrifying, amazing, heartbreaking experience of the live ep but for holding it for the last 10 years! On and off screen!”
She continued: “My best mate, a proper partner in crime! We laughed everyday from the very beginning until the very end and for that I will be forever grateful!
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“Here’s to you @jimmybye! You are one of a kind mate! Thank you for Martin Fowler, what a bloke!”
James wrote his own simple tribute to Lacey, commenting: “Couldn’t have done a day without you G! Todd and Winnie 4 eva.”
Victoria Bye, who tied the knot with James in 2012, also wrote: “Couldn’t have wished for more these past years… Our friend, our baby Godmama, our lovely Lace… You’ll be in our lives for always… Love you.”
Speaking about his departure on The One Show, James revealed the one special request he made ahead of his tragic death scene.
“I was sworn to keep it a secret. Obviously the people involved in the storyline were told not long after I was,” he said. “In fact, I told the executive producer that, well after he made the decision, that you have to let me tell Lacey.
“Anyone else you can tell. But that was the most difficult conversation; other than telling my wife – she wasn’t over the moon with it, to be fair. Telling Lacey was tough – it has been a really emotional couple of months. Joy and some tears, we have worked together a lot.
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“But to do it on an episode like that, it’s such a special night. I will never forget it, I will probably never get the chance to do something like that ever again. I will never forget that and the response from the audience has blown my mind honestly, it’s so overwhelming.”
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also
