EastEnders star Heather Peace has opened up about the real-life friendship she shares with her co-star Lacey Turner.
Speaking to Inside Soap, Peace, who plays Eve Unwin on the soap, revealed the bond she shares with the Stacey Slater actress.
"I haven't made a friend like Lacey for a long time," Peace explained. "As you get older, those friendships don't come along very often. From day one, we connected, and she's one of my best pals. Lacey is an absolute diamond – I'd trust her with anything."
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Though she has formed a close friendship with Turner, Peace also said she was "lucky" to work with the actresses who play Jean and her forbidden love interest Suki.
"I'm so lucky I get to work with her, Gillian Wright and Balvinder Sopal – phenomenal women," she said of her co-stars.
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During the interview, Unwin said that her most rewarding scene was that between Eve and Suki in the bedroom "because it felt so earned".
"These are two souls who are magnetic and can't keep away from each other. We wanted to choreograph it so taking that next step was led by Suki. It's a beautiful, peaceful love story, and Suki had to lead that moment.
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Having played Eve for nearly a year, Peace said the role was a "gift" after receiving warnings about offers for acting roles dwindling in her 40s.
"I've been in this business for over 20 years, and people always warned me: 'Beware your 40s!' There's a casting blind spot where people think you are too old to play the love interest and not old enough to be the matriarch, but it's not the case in soap. With Eve, I've been given a gift – no part has ever felt so right."
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
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