EastEnders ‘ Stacey Fowler (Lacey Turner) finally returned to the soap on Tuesday night, bringing her children Lily and Hope back to Walford.
But as Lily Slater jumped out of the car to defend Stacey against her former friend Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton), fans were shocked by her new appearance.
Not only that, baby Hope was also all grown up as she appeared as a new toddler, shocking fans with the double whammy of new child stars.
Lily has been recast, with Lillia Turner now playing her, replacing child actress Aine Garvey on the soap.
Lily made an appearance on the BBC soap last night with a new face (Image: BBC)
EastEnders didn’t confirm the change in actors until the scenes were aired.
Fans couldn’t get over how alike the new Lily was to her mum, showing off her feisty attitude before being told off by Stacey.
They rushed to social media to comment on the new Lily, as one fan said: “That’s not Lilly.”
Fans couldn’t believe how similar she was to her mum Stacey (Image: BBC)
Another tweeted: “Like the rest of us Lily seems to have aged 10years since lockdown started.”
A third said: “WTF has happened to #Lily?”
A fourth added: “LILY???? I beg your pardon.”
Child actress Aine Garvey was replaced by Lillia Turner (Image: mirror.co.uk)
It is also not clear if the little girl who originally played baby Hope has been replaced, as the toddler has been off screens for over a year and will have grown up a lot.
Fans also loved seeing the little tot playing with her dad Martin Fowler (James Bye) at the kitchen table, commenting on the cuteness of the little girl.
One posted: “Hope has grown. She’s so cute!”
(Image: BBC)
Another added: “Aww baby Hope isn’t a baby no more.”
Meanwhile, Stacey is set to make another departure from the soap next year as Lacey announced she is expecting her second child with husband Matt Kay.
They shared the news of their “miracle” pregnancy after their daughter Dusty was born last year.
Lacey had suffered two miscarriages before her daughter was born, so the actress opened up on her joy about being able to get pregnant so easily this time.
Congratulations Lacey!
EastEnders continues on Thursday at 7.35pm on BBC.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
