Lacey Turner Explains Why She Said Yes To Strictly Come Dancing This Year

EastEnders star Lacey Turner has opened up about her decision to sign up for Strictly Come Dancing.

Ahead of her dance floor debut later this month, Lacey – best known for her work as Stacey Slater in the long-running BBC soap – admitted that she’s “always wanted” to take part in Strictly, but until this year, she claimed she’d “just never been brave enough”.

“I’ve had a friend do it every year, so I know how hard it is,” she told the BBC. “A lot of my friends are physically fit, and they have been exhausted.”

On why she had a change of heart in 2026, she claimed that while she’s “not working on EastEnders this year”, she “thought it might be a good time to do it”.

“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!” she added with a laugh.

Looking ahead to her time on Strictly, Lacey enthused: “I’m actually most looking forward to the training. I think that I will enjoy that bit of it the most, and meeting everybody else.

“I’m obviously most terrified about the live Saturday nights and sitting in the makeup chair for that long, I’m not very good at that! I’m going to try my best and work on my patience.”

The award-winning actor is one of 15 stars taking part in this year’s Strictly, with the cast consisting of famous faces from across the world of TV, sport, music and beyond.

As well as the cast, Strictly is also welcoming some new faces to the ballroom in the form of its new presenters, Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe, while former pro Johannes Radebe will complete the new hosting trio.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday 19 September, with the first live show of the series following a week later.