Lacey Turner has said that desperation ultimately drove her character Stacey to steal from her work in EastEnders.

In yesterday's episode, Stacey was revealed to have nicked a wad of cash from her office cleaning job as she continues to struggle to make the family finances add up.

Next week she will do the right thing and attempt to secretly return the stolen cash, but in the process she gets caught out and is taken in for police questioning.

"Stacey isn't a thief, she never has been, so it indicates just how desperate she's got and how far she is willing to go," explained Turner.

"I think she made the rash decision to help with her circumstances but then the guilt and everything else just became a bit too much so she had to return it the next day.

"She just wants to get it back in that tin and get out of there. It's so out of character for her to steal from someone. Taking from other people isn't something that she's ever really done before."

Stacey has previously accepted financial help from second cousin Kat (Jessie Wallace) but when she offers again, it leads to a big fallout.

"I think it's a pride thing for Stacey," Turner continued. "Kat's helped her many times - she helped her to buy the van, for instance, so she already owes Kat a lot of money.

"Martin's also giving money, as is Alfie and Freddie, so I think she feels like a bit of a charity case.

"At this point, it's one too many handouts and it makes her feel small.

"She's trying to do everything to keep the family afloat but Kat's got all of this money and can just throw it about.

"I think there's a tiny bit of jealousy there, not a bitterness but it's someone else bailing her out once again. Again, I think it's more of a pride thing."

EastEnders continues Mondays to Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One and from 6am on iPlayer.

> Picture Spoilers: Next week on EastEnders (March 13-16)