Lucy Benjamin’s alter ego Lisa Fowler is regarded as one of Walford’s most notorious women; but after last leaving Albert Square in 2023, the much-loved actress is set to star as a police officer in new crime thriller Curfew on Paramount+.
When Lucy first left EastEnders two decades ago, it wasn’t by choice. But fate intervened and she was soon thriving again in a variety of guises on stage and screen. The transition also gave her the space to focus on her new family.
'I wasn’t ready to leave initially,' she admits.
'I was 34, but everything pans out for a reason and that’s how I look back. I thought there was more they could have done with Lisa, hence I still come back and they do still do more with her. But when the decision is taken out of your hands, new chapters evolve in your life.'
Despite being one of television’s most popular faces, Lucy was far from typecast. Between a succession of high-profile jobs, she is busy raising two teenage daughters, ferrying them to sports matches and concerts across the county.
'I’ve been so, so lucky with work. The BBC ask me to dip in and out of EastEnders which gives me the best of both worlds. I know the character inside out, and then I can get to leave and do loads of other stuff.'
She first reappeared in 2010 and returned again in 2019 when Lisa’s daughter Louise became pregnant. Last year she was back for a third time, a grandma to Louise’s daughter Peggy. To the audience’s delight the door remains firmly open.
'With the fabulous, Who Shot Phil? storyline, the audience numbers were huge,' reminisces Lucy.
'We’re looking at 21 million people, at the height of EastEnders. You were almost a victim of your own success back in those days, but I do think attitudes have changed.
'That snobbery has died away over people being in soaps. Back in the day it was really bad. People could never take you out of that box.
Casting directors are willing to see people more that have been in soaps. It used to be a lot harder.'
From drama queen to detective chief inspector, Lucy will appear alongside a stellar cast in Curfew, including household name Sarah Parish.
'Our paths have never crossed, considering we’ve got a mutual friend in Tamzin Outhwaite, (Mel from EastEnders). I knew Sarah from bits and pieces on the TV, and always thought she was good, but working with her on this, she is a delight. She’s so good and such a gorgeous person. Very funny, she’s just a cool dude, we got on really well.'
Curfew is certainly timely; a product of the MeToo era, where emotions surrounding female safety run high.
'It's loosely based on a book called After Dark, and men being locked up between the hours of 7pm and 7am,' explains Lucy.
'It’s a bit of a conversation starter about violence against women, not advocating the locking up of men, but a sci-fi take on a parallel universe. It’s saying; ‘what if that was the case?’
'It was bizarre at the readthrough, I was sitting opposite Anita Dobson. She’d gone by the time I left EastEnders. And Larry Lamb I’d met through working on New Tricks.'
Lucy is incredibly close to her two daughters, Bessie and Rosie, now 17 and 13, and in the summer they attended their first premiere together of her latest project Look into the Light, an independent film exploring the highs and lows of reality television.
'My kids are so funny,' laughs Lucy, who doesn’t allow them to watch Love Island.
'They say, "do we have to watch this Mum?" They’re not interested, but with the subject matter of my latest film they are quite interested. It’s relevant to kids of today. So they said, "okay we’ll come and see that."'
'I play Elaine, a mother who is partly at fault for her son making the wrong decisions. They really think that fame and fortune is the right way to live your life. Just getting it wrong on every level.
'I revelled in her being an absolute tyrant and not being particularly likeable. Often actors like to play characters that are likeable. I enjoy the fact she wasn’t, but I like to think at the end of the film that she redeems herself.'
Lucy reflects on how our media habits have impacted family life and the balance of connecting with young people, who see much of their lives dictated by the online world.
'A lot of their viewing is on YouTube. As kids we had to wait for our programmes to come on at 7.30. The thing I feel sad about is we don’t tend to sit down and watch television as a family anymore. We are fragmented in our viewing habits, a sign of the times, but then we have more choice.
'And it’s so weird the way they put YouTube on the television. Or they say, “I know this, I’ve seen it on TikTok,” but I’m like, “you’ve haven’t seen the whole thing, just a clip.” And they think, I’ve seen enough!'
It’s no wonder Simon Cowell was smitten when Lucy won The X Factor: Battle of the Stars… back in 2006, but her girls take their mother’s fame in their stride.
'When The Last Dance comes on the radio on the way to school I say, "oh I sang this on The X Factor" and they say, "yeah, yeah we know that Mum." I don’t know if they’re a bit embarrassed. My 13-year-old is starting to understand when people come up and ask me for photographs. She laughs and thinks it’s a bit silly. I’m hoping secretly they might be proud.'
When Lucy celebrated her 54th in June, her youngest daughter was extremely proud, posting to Instagram; “I love you endlessly, thank you for being the best Mum anyone could ever ask for.”
Lucy has always easily been able to go about her everyday life in Essex, and flattered when people give her feedback.
'Some days you get it all day and then nothing for a week. I do still get people recognising me from EastEnders, they think they know me and went to school with me.
'I’m such a familiar face in Romford. I’m always at the big Tesco. I drink in my local; The Ship and love getting takeaways from Ped’s Pizza and eating in Zaafran, an Indian restaurant in Gidea Park.
'I’m just the girl off the tele that lives round there. I like it if people want to be nice about things. It means you’ve done your job well. I’ve always got time for people if they want to say hello, that’s for sure.'
'Bessie is a pianist and a singer so the plan is that she’ll study music at university and hopefully do conservatoires. She’ll be in the business of sorts. Rosie is all about sport.
'My job has always been very underplayed. Bessie knows that I was pregnant with her when Sharon Osbourne announced it on live TV. A lot of my family didn’t even know, it was quite early stages. She knows all the stories.'
Over the last year Lucy has also been adapting to co-parenting, having split with her husband Richard Taggart, but she is adamant the couple will always be a team for their girls. While she embraces motherhood, and happily held the fort many a time when Richard worked long hours as an oil businessman, constraints on her time are lifting slightly.
'I can definitely see the wood for the trees now and that things are easing off. My 17-year-old is totally independent and catches trains wherever she has to be. But she’s learning to drive so I’ve got that angst.
'There are certain jobs I can’t do as it’s just not feasible, but that’s not going to be forever. I’m a homebody, but the girls will probably go away with their Dad in August for a couple of weeks, which is great. Clubs don’t stop over summer. Rosie is here there and everywhere and I just like being there for them.
'I did a stint with the RSC, (Royal Shakespeare Company), two years ago in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I never went to drama school, only theatre school as a kid. So, I’d never studied the classics, never even touched on Shakespeare. I was thrilled to even be considered and was there for six months, which was tough for the kids, but it’s the sort of job you can’t turn down. You make anything work for that.'
Lucy agrees it’s a privilege to do small budget shows in between more lucrative productions.
'I’m branching out and it is nice to flex those muscles that aren’t money spinners. You can earn peanuts for some of these things. But it’s good for your craft.
'Covid really impacted our profession. I was doing panto and two weeks in it was pulled. Everyone started dropping like flies and none of us got paid. Panto can be your bread and butter for the year.'
This festive season Lucy is starring as the Sheriff in Robin Hood.
'I absolutely adore panto. I’m back commuting to Guildford this Christmas. I love playing a baddie, but it’s hard graft. When the girls were younger I could take them on the road with me, but now I haven’t got a chance in hell of them coming. They want to be in their own beds.'
There’s no doubt Lucy is bucking the trend that used to see actresses speak out about a lack of roles for older females. And there really isn’t a more warm and sincere personality to fly the flag for women.
'Curfew is so far removed from what I’ve ever played before and I want to do more,' confirms Lucy.
'I really love the public seeing me in a different light. So, bring that on for me really. I’d love it.'
Look Into the Light is now streaming on all digital platforms
