{"id":34684,"date":"2023-07-11T01:01:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T23:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1854487"},"modified":"2023-07-11T05:47:40","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T03:47:40","slug":"eastenders-lucy-benjamin-on-lisas-unravelling-amid-keanu-custody-plans","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/eastenders-lucy-benjamin-on-lisas-unravelling-amid-keanu-custody-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders\u2019 Lucy Benjamin on Lisa\u2019s \u2018unravelling\u2019 amid Keanu custody plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

She’s back with a big problem. <\/p>

By Laura Denby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 11 July 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

EastEnders star Lucy Benjamin says that her character Lisa Fowler\u2019s life has \u2018unravelled\u2019 while away from Walford, leaving her with an addiction.<\/p>\n

With Lisa having returned with young granddaughter Peggy<\/a>, she claimed that daughter Louise (Tilly Keeper), has gone off the rails. Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other media, Benjamin explains how this ultimately led Lisa in the same direction, as she started gambling.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s saying that basically, [Louise] turned to drink and to drugs and she would just go missing for weeks on end. So Lisa basically had the responsibility of looking after Peggy when they moved away, through what had gone on with Sharon and Keanu. Louise went to pot, really, and everything came crumbling down around her. So Lisa had to step up and take responsibility of Peggy.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, says the actress, Lisa\u2019s issues spiralled after Louise got back on track. \u201cBut I think the storyline I was given as a backstory, is that Lisa then turns to what she does turn to with the gambling, is the result of the fact that Louise does then start to pull herself together, and Lisa isn\u2019t then needed as much as she has been needed before.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo as a consequence, she then turns to gambling because she feels surplus to requirements, almost. So Louise starts off at the beginning in as much as that she\u2019s unravelling, but then she does actually pull herself together and then, unfortunately, Lisa starts to unravel with the gambling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delving further into Lisa\u2019s mindset, she adds: \u201cIt\u2019s that vicious circle, she knows she\u2019s doing it but just can\u2019t stop. She just can\u2019t help herself, and it\u2019s not just online, we see her in The Vic and it\u2019s fruit machines, she just can\u2019t stop putting the money into the fruit machines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just this vicious cycle, she doesn\u2019t want to do it; I think she felt that she was trying to help Louise by bringing some money in as well, and creating a family unit. And then it just takes over and spirals out of control. But she knows she\u2019s [in] a lot of trouble, I think, with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

To fund her habit, Lisa has been rinsing Peggy\u2019s father, Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters), for money. This is partly out of revenge for his betrayal of Louise, who Keanu got pregnant at the same time as his current fianc\u00e9e (and Lou\u2019s former stepmother) Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).<\/p>

\u201cI think she\u2019s justified asking [Keanu], blackmailing him for the money, because she feels he\u2019s made her daughter\u2019s life turn to absolute crap,\u201d says Benjamin.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut also it just so happens that does suit her narrative that she needs the money equally to enable her gambling addiction. But I think she can square it off in her own mind because she despises him so much because of the damage he\u2019s caused.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Keanu is set to try and keep his daughter in the country, we\u2019ll have to wait and see what Lisa does next. Meanwhile, with EastEnders<\/a> currently building to its big Christmas 2023 whodunnit<\/a>, fan reactions online are now a part of everyday life.<\/p>\n

Back in 2001, Lisa was unmasked as the surprise culprit in the Who Shot Phil? storyline, with the character driven to her actions after months of his psychological abuse and coercive control.<\/p>\n

Asked about the reaction to this plot during a time before social media was so constant, Benjamin says: \u201cI think the whole success of that storyline was the fact that we managed to keep it so secret. And journalists did play along with it, but I also think the press department specifically kept\u2026whereby nobody actually knew about it being Lisa that shot Phil.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the reaction was huge at the time, when it was revealed that it was Lisa. It was huge because I think people kind of wanted it to be her, it was huge because people didn\u2019t expect it to be her, and it was huge because of the secret that we all managed to keep. But it was totally brilliant, it was a gift of a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can visit\u00a0Refuge<\/a>\u00a0for more information and contact 0808 2000 247 for support. Help can also be found at\u00a0The Hideout<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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