EastEnders: Stacey Fowler: Postpartum psychosis
In 2016, EastEnders fans followed the story of Stacey Fowler (previously Stacey Slater, played by Lacey Turner) as she struggled with her mental health. Already diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Stacey began to experience postpartum psychosis after giving birth to her son, Arthur. Viewers watched as Stacey experienced mood swings, hallucinations and paranoia – eventually leading to her hospitalisation.
When soaps get mental health storylines right, the response from the public can be overwhelming. EastEnders worked closely with our Media Advisory Service and our lived experience volunteers, who gave extensive advice to the researchers, writers and actors on the show about portraying the diagnosis accurately and sensitively. The episodes received national coverage and sparked a much-needed conversation online about a diagnosis that many people hadn’t heard of, as well as highlighting the support that can be offered to new mothers.
Lacey shares her thoughts
Lacey, who plays Stacey Fowler on EastEnders, reflects on what it was like to get into character when Stacey began to experience postpartum psychosis.
“The fact that we could show EastEnders viewers that this was an illness, it was treatable, it wasn’t Stacey’s fault and it was something that she could recover from, that made a huge difference”
Kathryn shares her thoughts
Kathryn is a lived experience media volunteer for Mind. We asked her to tell us what it was like to contribute to Stacey’s story by sharing her experience of postpartum psychosis.
