My husband and I split up after 17 years but we are still pals and go out together
THE breakdown of a long relationship can often lead to domestic drama to rival any soap opera. But not for eastenders legend Lucy Benjamin. her 17-year marriage to Richard Taggart ended last year – but the 53-year-old says the split was completely amicable.
While her character, Lisa Fowler, famously gunned down lover Phil Mitchell in one of the BBC soap’s most-watched storylines, Lucy and Richard are still close pals.
The star, who has two daughters – Bessie, 17, and Rosie, 13 – with Richard, said: “I’m still great friends with Rich and we go out together. It’s brilliant.
“We’ll be a team for ever. We’ve got kids together, so that will always be. But it’s on to the next chapter, really, and we’ll see what that brings.”
And Lucy says she is still learning about life and acting.
She added: “I can be a pain in the ass but I’m comfortable with being that sometimes! I don’t have a problem being told I’ve done something wrong – something my kids often do!”
Lucy plays pushy mum elaine Reynolds in a new film, Look To The Light, opposite screen husband Martin, played by former holby City and Corrie star Mark Moraghan.
The storyline centres on their son eddie (Charlie Goddard) and his relationship with his girlfriend Lauren (Lily Blunsom-Washbrook).
eddie’s obsession with becoming a reality TV star ends in tragedy when he finds overnight fame on a fictitious reality show called Love on the Rocks.
BUT Lucy says her own experience of being a mum couldn’t be more different to that of wealthy elaine, who showers her son with gifts but never asks him about his well-being.
She has always been careful not to spoil her daughters, saying: “I make them appreciate the value of money because I think it’s important that things aren’t handed to kids on a plate.”
Lucy won The X Factor: Battle of the Stars in 2006 and, three years later, was the first to be eliminated from I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of here!
But unlike eddie, she had already earned her stripes as an actor and never saw reality TV as a way of finding fame.
She said: “‘I was treated very well [on reality shows]. I had to have psych interviews, so there was a duty of care, but I feel this is an important story to tell, as a mother with two teenage daughters.
“It does seem to be a bit of a thing, where kids want to be famous for the sake of it, without any sort of back-up.
“As an actor, I think it’s important not to put all your eggs in one basket like that.
“Fortunately, my kids have seen me work over the years but they’ve also seen me unemployed.
“They’ve seen the struggles with it but they’ve also seen me work damn hard. The film is saying, ‘Just be mindful of this route’.” Lucy went to school in Sandhurst, Berkshire, where her drama teacher first spotted her potential.
Following her advice, her parents enrolled her in Redroofs Theatre School, in nearby Maidenhead.
They split up at about the time Lucy, aged 12, landed her first acting gig playing a younger version of the character Nyssa in Doctor Who in 1983.
Determined to follow her acting dream, Lucy made the tough decision to live near her acting school with a family friend, while her mum and dad moved to separate cities.
She said: “You get personal knocks that make you strong but my career was always a real safety net for me. There
It does seem to be a bit of a thing, where kids want to be famous for the sake of it
LUCY BENJAMIN ON THE THEME OF HER NEW FILM, LOOK TO THE LIGHT
was a determination within me to make that work. My mum was heartbroken, as she wanted me to come with her, but I wanted to stay at the school.
“Money was tight. I got a scholarship but I had to keep working to pay for my uniform and books.”
Lucy admits she felt like jacking it all in at 17. She left drama school, moved to Birmingham to finally be with her mum, enrolled in a local comprehensive and got a job as a McDonald’s party host. But her agent kept calling and it wasn’t long before she was acting again.
“I never made my first day at that other school,” she said.
In 1998, she joined EastEnders, winning legions of fans thanks to Lisa’s toxic relationship with Phil, played by Steve McFadden, whom she dated for four years in real life.
The “who shot Phil” storyline in 2001 was one of the biggest in the soap’s 39-year history.
More than 22 million tuned in, and a UEFA Cup semi-final between Barcelona and Liverpool was delayed to allow viewers to see Lisa unmasked as the shooter.
Lisa then went on to marry Mark Fowler but ended up walking out and briefly returning to Phil.
Since leaving the show in 2003, Lucy has returned to Albert Square several times.
Last year, Lisa embarked on a blackmail plot in order to fund a gambling addiction. She also took part in a Christmas storyline dubbed The Six, in which she and five EastEnders women were under suspicion for the murder of a man.
Lucy said: “If you get stuff written like that, you take it.”
On the ups and downs of soap fame, she added: “There were times when I thought, ‘I wish I hadn’t worn that outfit’.
“But I’d never let it diminish the love I had for what I did.”
■ Look To The Light is released digitally on streaming services on Monday, May 27.