Strictly Come Dancing 2026 is right around the corner with all the celebrities and their professional dance partners ready to head out onto the ballroom in the hopes of impressing the judges.
One of the first celebs announced for the revamped 2026 season was Eastenders icon Lacey Turner, best known for playing Stacey Slater in the BBC soap for over two decades.
"I'm excited to learn something new and to be a part of this whole glittery shenanigan," Turner said ahead of tonight's episode.
As we await the launch episode, here's everything you need to know about Lacey Turner as she heads out onto the dance floor for the first time.
Who is Lacey Turner?
Lacey Turner is an English actress best known for playing Stacey Slater in the long-running soap Eastenders. She joined the show in 2004 after initially auditioning for the role Demi Miller but was instead offered the chance to play the new member of the established Slater family.
She was on the show for six years before leaving in 2010 but rejoined in 2014 for a further 11 years until 2025 when it was announced she would be departing the show again, with Stacey heading off to Brazil with her children to work in brother Sean's bar.
Over her two stints on Eastenders, Turner's character Stacey was involved in some pivotal story lines, including an affair with her father-in-law, the untimely death of her young husband and a murder at her own hand.
Turner has won over forty awards for her portrayal of the character, including four NTAs, making her one of the nation's best soap actresses ever.
Outside of Eastenders, she is recognised for her role as Molly Dawes in BBC's Our Girl, a military drama about a young working-class woman who joins the British Army, a role she held for the feature-length pilot and the first series.
What has Lacey Turner said about Strictly Come Dancing?
Lacey says she has "always wanted" to do Strictly but has "never been brave enough".
"A lot of my friends are physically fit, and they have been exhausted," she explained. "So, whilst I'm not working on EastEnders this year, I thought it might be a good time to do it because I'm not sure I am physically or mentally fit enough to do both jobs at the same time as well as run a household with three feral children!"
Strictly Come Dancing begins on Saturday 19 September at 7:25pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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