Martin lies to Stacey he cheated on her - has she left EastEnders for good?
Lacey Turner is on maternity leave but the Fowler marriage is over
Stacey Fowler's brief return to EastEnders concluded in the surprise collapse of her marriage to Martin Fowler after he lied that he'd cheated on her with ex-wife Sonia Fowler, in order to protect her from Ben Mitchell.
Fans saw Lacey Turner return to the soap for a cameo on Monday 28th October, meeting Martin (James Bye) at a hotel for a kids-free night away together. Immediately she was suspicious about why he was covered in cuts and bruises, and was unconvinced by his explanation.
Martin is secretly terrified by Ben (Max Bowden), who threatened his family after getting thugs to beat him up unless he continued to do his dirty work.
Bad boy Ben also holds power over him as he could report Mrs Fowler's attack on dad Phil, hence Martin was forced to fib to his missus to stop her coming home by pretending he'd slept with Sonia.
Delivering a convincing dressing down of his other half in which he blamed his ‘dalliance’ on her, desperate Martin made out like he’d had enough – and announced they were done…
Throwing his wedding ring on the hotel bed after getting a slap in the face, Martin stormed off leaving shattered Stacey in tears. It's not clear when we'll see Stace again, but Mr Fowler's porkie-pie has done the trick and preserved her safety – destroying their future happiness in the process…
When will Stacey be back in EastEnders permanently?
Turner welcomed a daughter, Dusty Violet, in July, and her final pre-birth scenes aired in August when her alter ego was run out of town for fear of reprisals for her whacking Phil over the head to stop him making mincemeat of Martin.
Tonight's mini-comeback was filmed just a short time after the actress became a mum, and it is expected to be the last time we see her until 2020 – although EastEnders have not officially commented on when she will be back on set.
As and when Stacey does return, will she discover Martin that made up the whole 'I cheated on you' thing to save her? Or is their relationship really over? And as Stacey called mum Jean and presumably told her everything, will blameless Sonia end up branded the scarlet woman?! That doesn't seem fair…
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