EastEnders star Lorraine Stanley has revealed her real-life fears about knife crime in London.
Talking about the BBC soap’s current stabbing storyline, the 41-year-old actress admitted the threat in the capital city is very real.
So much so, that she plans to leave London in the not too distant future.
Lorraine portrays Karen Taylor, whose son Keegan Baker was stabbed in the street by a gang of thugs earlier this week (Monday 21 May).
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In devastating scenes that have been praised for tackling such a hard-hitting subject, Keegan and his best friend Shakil were both victims of knife crime.
While Shakil tragically died in scenes that aired last night (Friday 25 May), Keegan survives – but the attack leaves him a changed man.
Now, in a new interview, Lorraine admits that she’s planning to leave London so her young daughter doesn’t grow up in a city plagued by knife crimes and gang violence.
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The concerned mum told The Sun Online: “I do live in London and you know what, I’ve got a young daughter.
“She’s only two and a half and I’m already worrying about what things will be like when she’s a teenager. I definitely won’t be in London.”
The actress goes on to praise the soap for tackling such an important issue.
She said: “I was impressed that EastEnders are doing such an important storyline. It’s so relevant at the moment, it’s everywhere. Everyday it’s on the news what’s happening. It’s every mother’s worst nightmare.
“I think it’s time we’ve done a storyline like this.”
Our children are our future. The violence must stop. #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/H0U5ohcJuH
— BBC EastEnders (@bbceastenders) May 24, 2018
She added: “I think what EastEnders is great at doing is it’s a big platform for a lot of people and a lot of youngsters watch, so if it changes one person, if one person thinks, ‘I’m not going to take that knife’, it’s got to be a good thing.”
BBC viewers will have to wait and see how Keegan is affected by the stabbing and the death of his friend.
Will he seek justice and will the gang ever be punished in a court of law?
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