Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner)

[Kim]

Am I the only one who thinks I'd feel more sympathetic towards Stacey had she not done exactly what she berated Roxy for doing and allowed someone to think they were the father when they weren't?

Are they saying the baby's premature, failing badly at Maths or now saying that Stacey and Kush slept together in March time I wonder?

[Dazzle]

Am I the only one who thinks I'd feel more sympathetic towards Stacey had she not done exactly what she berated Roxy for doing and allowed someone to think they were the father when they weren't?

I agree to a certain extent, but I can still feel sympathetic about her illness even though I know the lie about the baby's paternity will hurt a lot of people.

Are they saying the baby's premature, failing badly at Maths or now saying that Stacey and Kush slept together in March time I wonder?

From my earlier research (done when I started to realise the baby was Kush's), I thought the most likely conception date was during this episode dated 21st May:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wgwsl

Skimming the episodes set at the end of March, Stacy and Kush aren't even mentioned. The above spoilers don't state the baby's premature, so I'd say the pregnancy's likely been sped up for plot purposes (not an uncommon thing for soaps to do I believe).

[tammyy2j]

I think Stacey's postpartum psychosis storyline could be excellent if researched and written carefully (and not overly sensationalised). Lacey Turner has proved herself capable of a realistic and sympathetic portrayal of mental illness, and the other actors involved are all good too.

As good as her acting is, I am finding it difficult to have any sympathy for her, maybe if Arthur is really Martin's which I hope I may have

[lizann]

baby arthur is a god send, out in cold and rain not wrapped up well and no crying

[parkerman]

baby arthur is a god send, out in cold and rain not wrapped up well and no crying

Well he is the son of God.

[lizann]

Well he is the son of God.

is kush a god maybe to some

[lizann]

Well he is the son of God.

is kush a god maybe to some

[Dazzle]

EastEnders spoilers: Stacey realises she’s ill and checks into hospital – but will Arthur be taken away from her?



With Martin’s help, Stacey Slater will realise she’s seriously ill in next week’s EastEnders offering – but is it all too late?

Trying to deal with Stacey’s psychosis but mistaking it for a bad period of bipolar, Martin will realise she needs help fast when her behaviour escalates further.

Some words of advice from a concerned Sonia and a visit from Jean and Ollie when they come to Walford to meet Arthur then confirms to Martin that he now needs to take things into his own hands.

The week begins with Stacey’s irrational behaviour leaving her concerned and paranoid. Kyle turns up to see Stacey but Martin refuses to let him into their flat, not realising that Stacey is watching from the window. When he lies about who was at the door, Stacey begins feeling panicked and betrayed, worrying that Martin is out to hurt her and Arthur.

Stacey’s state of mind leads her to take drastic action and as Kat witnesses her behaviour first hand, will it finally all click into place for her that something is desperately wrong?

Jean and Ollie later arrive on the Square and Jean is horrified to see what is happening to her daughter, especially when she starts telling everyone that Kyle is the Devil and has been sent to hurt Arthur.

Stacey seeks refuge with Kush and Shabnam but when she then erupts with more concerning paranoia, including about Martin being in league with the Devil, can they cope with having her around?

Seeing her daughter is clearly suffering, Jean takes Martin aside and tells him off for not getting help sooner. But an adamant Martin says he wants Stacey to realise she’s not well for herself rather than force her to seek help.

Jean encourages him to call a doctor but Martin insists on speaking to Stacey first. Encouraging Stacey to look him in the eye, Martin finds a lucid moment when Stacey asks if she’s ill. Martin convinces Stacey the hospital is the only place she can go with Arthur that’s safe and she allows him to embrace her.

As Stacey packs, Jean fears that Arthur might not be able to stay with her and encourages Martin to be honest but Jean soon realises getting her to the hospital is more important. As she and Martin face the challenge of getting Stacey through the hospital doors, will they finally get her the help that she needs?
And will Stacey admit herself? Or will she have to be sectioned?

Whatever happens next, the nightmare is clearly far from over for everyone concerned.

http://metro.co.uk/2016/01/12/easten...m-her-5611671/

[Dazzle]

Seeing her daughter is clearly suffering, Jean takes Martin aside and tells him off for not getting help sooner. But an adamant Martin says he wants Stacey to realise she’s not well for herself rather than force her to seek help.

While part of me applauds Martin for trying to encourage Stacey to seek help for herself, it's completely inappropriate when she's caring for a baby. I'm still mystified why he'd let her run around the square with baby Arthur in what is obviously a very confused - not to say dangerous - state. Thank goodness she'll get help one way or another soon!

[Perdita]

Brace yourselves, because Dominic Treadwell-Collins has teased that Stacey's mental illness storyline is just the start of a big year for EastEnders.

In the iPlayer special 'Stacey Branning: On the Edge', the executive producer explained that Stacey's devastating postpartum psychosis plot was due to a desire to have a week of "Slater secrets".

"It's nice as we plan our year to go 'that's Slater week'. 2016 is a year of big stories and every week is going to be emotionally big," he teased.

The special, available here, gives fans an insight into how the storyline was created, the research behind it and how it was brought to screen. Given the long shooting days required, it is revealed that 16 babies were licensed to play baby Arthur.

Alongside Treadwell-Collins, stars Lacey Turner and James Bye talk about how they prepared for it.

"When they give you the storyline and they say, by the way, your son is going to be Jesus, we did wonder how we can make it real," Bye explained. "Then we talked to people who've been through it [and realised] we weren't doing a soap storyline, it was incredibly real."

Turner added: "We met with a few ladies who have suffered from it to talk about it and get as much information as we could, and just use what we could put into Stacey and Martin."

'On the Edge' also goes into the off-screen friendship between Bye and Turner, with Treadwell-Collins giving this revelation: "James Bye is the only actor who's ever got Lacey Turner to come to the bar or the Christmas party."

Bye also teases the development of the mental health storyline: "Just when you think it's wrapped up, something else happens."