EastEnders actress Lacey Turner has received an outpouring of support following her first Strictly Come Dancing performance. Famed for playing Stacey Slater on the BBC soap since 2004, Lacey has swapped Walford for the Strictly ballroom as the competition kicked off on Saturday evening (September 26).
Standing ovation for debut dance
The 38-year-old performed a cha-cha-cha to Whitney Houston's track 'How Will I Know?' and got this series' first standing ovation. Lacey looked stunning as she danced confidently alongside her pro dance partner, Vito Coppola, in a vibrant pink outfit. The live audience leaped to their feet when she finished and seemed to win over everyone in the BBC studio, including the four judges.
Shirley Ballas, who also stood to cheer the actress, told Lacey that her dancing was "magnificent" and that she had a "beautiful walk". Anton Du Beke said it was his "favourite dance of the night so far", while Craig Revel Horwood pointed out a glitch in Lacey's spin before adding, "I have to say beautiful straight legs, timing was great, and the very, very clean and strong performance."
Sister's emotional tribute
Motsi dubbed the performance the "surprise of the night," with the judges giving her a combined total of 27 points. Lacey's husband, Matt Kay, could be seen beaming and clapping his hands from the audience as Lacey nailed her routine.
Away from the dancefloor, Lacey's younger sister, Lily Harvey, shared an emotional tribute to social media. Taking to Instagram Story on Sunday (September 27), Lily shared a video of herself reacting to Lacey's performance. She is visibly moved as she watches Lacey dance, looking on with tears in her eyes and placing one hand on her chest. She captioned the post: "Watching your sister on Strictly for the first time is so surreal," before adding: "Beyond proud."
Reposting the sweet video clip to her own Instagram Story, Lacey replied: "Big sister is here to show you that you can do anything you want if you give it a go. Love you always."
Lily Harvey's EastEnders role
Lily has also starred in EastEnders as Shenice Quinn, the daughter of Kat Moon's irresponsible friend, Martine. She first appeared in 2011 and was then brought back as a full-time part of the cast later that year. Shenice soon moved in with Kat and Alfie and started to settle into her new life in Walford. However, she returned to Spain with her mum in August 2012, with Kat confirming the schoolgirl would not be returning.
Most recently, Lily starred as Freya in the movie Finding My Voice (2025) and For the Love of Murder (2026). Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday at 6:15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
