For the love of BARBARA

EastEnders star LACEY TURNER on running the London Marathon for a very special cause

- ALISON SLADE

LONDON MARATHON

SUNDAY, FROM 8.30AM, 

NEW BBC1 & BBC2 SPORT

Fifty thousand brave souls will descend on the capital this Sunday to compete in the annual London Marathon, and if you look closely among the sea of runners, you might just spot a group of familiar faces, decked out in orange vests.

Babs’ Army is their team name, and they’re taking on the gruelling 26.2-mile challenge to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK in memory of EastEnders legend Barbara Windsor, who sadly passed away from the illness in 2020.

Barbara’s widower Scott Mitchell heads up the 12-strong squad, which includes former EastEnders stars Jake Wood, Tanya Franks and Adam Woodyatt, and current cast members Heather Peace, Natalie Cassidy and Lacey Turner.

We caught up with Lacey, 35, AKA Stacey Slater, to talk about the challenge ahead and her memories of a true national treasure…

You planned to run the marathon in 2019, but had to pull out as you fell pregnant with your first child, Dusty. Was it an instant ‘yes?’ for 2023?

When I said I’d do it in 2019, I was child-free and had plenty of time on my hands, but when Scott asked me this time round, I thought, ‘Can I commit to this?’ If you go for a long run, you’re out for four or five hours – well, I am, because I’m particularly slow! – and it’s hard to squeeze all the training in when you’ve got two small kids to look after.