EastEnders star Lacey Turner has said her character Stacey Slater is "desperate" to stop stalker Theo Hawthorne in his tracks and to end the "nightmare" situation she has been enduring.
For months, viewers have witnessed Theo (William Ellis) becoming increasingly obsessed with Stacey, ingratiating himself into her life in insidious ways and causing untold trouble.
Pushed to her breaking point, Stacey is bravely preparing to go to court to try and secure a Stalking Protection Order against the teacher.
Speaking about how Stacey is feeling ahead of the court hearing, Turner said: "I think Stacey's desperate to get this whole Theo situation over and done with. It's been a nightmare for her to have him next door, and she’s sick of living in fear.
"Nothing she says to Theo works because he’s completely delusional, so she’s hoping the court can make him finally leave her alone."
While battling nerves about the court hearing, Martin arrives and shows her the Secret Cam posters Theo has plastered all over the Square.
"Stacey totally loses it - she's so angry," the soap star said. "It’s a deliberate attempt to humiliate her in front of the whole Square. It just goes to show how far Theo is prepared to go."
The latest misdeed, which Turner describes as "the last straw", spurs Stacey into action. She decides to attend the hearing and speak.
Stacey arrives to hear DS Garrett laying out the case against Theo, which gives her hope she will succeed.
"The way he presents all the evidence they have makes Stacey believe that there's no way Theo can get out of this," Turner explained.
"He’s done so many things, and when she hears them described in court, it makes Stacey’s skin crawl. She can’t imagine that the court could hear that and not grant her Stalking Protection Order."
Stacey gets up to detail her story, even though it goes against the advice she has been given.
"Stacey hopes that if the judge hears what she's got to say, he might understand how terrifying this has been for her and see through Theo’s nice guy façade. Stacey is a fighter, so I’m not surprised that she can’t keep quiet in the face of so many lies," Turner said.
The 35-year-old actor added that Martin Fowler (James Bye) has been her rock throughout the ordeal.
"It doesn't matter what happens between them, Martin will always have Stacey’s back, and this is no different," she said.
"He’s there to support her, to do everything he can to protect her and to defend her against Theo."
EastEnders airs on RTÉ One and BBC One Monday to Thursday.
