EastEnders has confirmed that four characters will leave Walford for a while, as emotional Stacey Slater scenes led to big decisions.

Stacey has been struggling to cope after Martin’s death, but this week she was shocked to hear that Lily was scared Charli will be taken away from her.

This encouraged Stacey to take a big step forward, and in today’s episode she left the house for the first time in weeks.

She spotted Lauren arriving home from the hospital, still coming to terms with baby Jimmy’s severe visual impairment, and the pair had a candid chat.

Inspired by Lauren, Stacey was determined to be a good mum, so she vowed to make changes and invited Kat, Alfie and the kids round for a family dinner.

But Stacey’s erratic behaviour quickly became clear, and she exploded when she found out that Freddie had taken her coat, with her phone in the pocket, to the laundrette.

Stacey rushed over but she was too late, as her phone – with photos and voice notes of Martin – was in the wash.

While Kat and Lily went to check on Stacey, Arthur told Alfie a secret – his dad was coming home soon.

Alfie found out that Arthur had Martin’s phone and had been listening to a string of voice notes that Stacey had sent, acting as if he was still alive.

He took the phone over to the laundrette and filled in Kat and Lily, and the teen confronted her mum about the distressing messages.

Lily reached breaking point and smashed Martin’s phone, so Stacey turned violent as she tried to protect the device.

Stacey made it clear to Kat that she didn’t need professional help, but that sending the messages to Martin had helped with her loneliness – and it gave her hope when she saw they had been listened to.

After a chat with Lauren, Lily realised that she needed to put Charli first, so she made plans to stay with her biological dad Ryan.

She told Stacey that things won’t go back to normal until she lets go of Martin but assured her struggling mum that she has nothing to feel guilty for about his death.

Lily left Walford, insisting that she will only come back once Stacey has sorted herself out. After saying goodbye to her daughter, Stacey decided to get away from Albert Square herself, planning to take Arthur and Hope to stay with Lynne.

She and the kids put the photos of Martin in a box, as they tearfully said goodbye to him. Will they finally be able to move on?