EastEnders star Lacey Turner has revealed her character Stacey Slater has a long way to go in her grief of Martin Fowler (James Bye).

The beloved fruit and veg trader perished in the aftermath of the Queen Vic explosion in February, shortly after sharing a romantic reunion with Stacey in the rubble of the pub.

Stacey has been absent from the Square in recent weeks and she tries to process Martin’s death, but is in a bad way when she returns home this week.

And with Martin’s funeral upon the residents of Walford, things don’t look set to get even worse for grieving Stacey.

‘Stacey isn’t coping and she’s being really self-destructive,’ Lacey says of her character’s state of mind. ‘She’s grieving for Martin but feeling so much guilt too.

‘She doesn’t think she deserves to be there because Martin would still be alive if it wasn’t for her.’

Lacey continues: ‘She feels terrible but all she wants to do is escape how she’s feeling so she’s drinking to forget.’

Things are also still tense between Stacey and Martin’s partner Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton), who has no idea that Martin and Stacey made plans to remarry on his death bed.

‘It’s such an awkward situation,’ Lacey explains. ‘Stacey has tried to keep the truth from Ruby, so she doesn’t get hurt, but it’s hard not to feel resentful of her.

‘Any little thing can lead to an argument’

Lacey, who is currently on maternity leave from EastEnders after welcoming her third child back in January, also teases there is a difficult path still ahead for her beloved character.

She says: ‘I don’t think she’ll ever get over losing Martin, they were so close even when they weren’t together.

‘Stacey is going to have to learn to live with it because she’s got kids that need her, but it won’t be easy.’