Lacey Turner: 'I want interesting roles'

EastEnders star Lacey Turner has hinted that she will be searching for challenging roles when she leaves the soap later this year.

The actress announced last week that she is stepping down from her part as Walford's Stacey Branning after almost six years with the show.

Recent reports have speculated that Turner is hoping to pursue a movie career once she films her final Albert Square scenes.

However, the 22-year-old is quoted by The Mirror as saying: "It would be so exciting to work in films but only if it was an interesting part. I'm an actress first and foremost.

"Celebrity life isn't important - it's the challenge of the character and the scripts."

Turner's screen mother Gillian Wright (Jean Slater) will also bow out of EastEnders before the year is over.