Tonight (July 31), when the dramatic Love Island finale is slated to air, one family will undoubtedly not be watching: that of EastEnders legend Lucy Benjamin.
Lucy, who has intermittently portrayed the legendary Lisa Fowler since 1998, has acknowledged that she forbids her daughters from watching the ITV dating programme because it fosters a destructive “beautiful body image persona.”
Recently, Lisa Fowler made a brief appearance on our screens as she attempted to demand money from Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).
However, things didn’t exactly work out as planned because Lisa had to leave Portugal before Keanu could get his hands on daughter Peggy after Louise Mitchell exposed her lies.
Outside of her job, the actress concerns that programmes like Love Island “put out the wrong message” to young girls. She is the mother of two kids, Rosie and Bessie.
She told The Mirror that because she has two daughters, ages 12 and 16, Love Island is not aired in their home.
It doesn’t set well with me, you know. On TV, there are kids having relations, and the subject seems to have a positive body image. Everyone appears to be a movie star. It doesn’t, in my opinion, convey the correct message.
Lucy, who made her television debut as a child star in Doctor Who, wants her own kids to avoid the spotlight, saying that the thought of them appearing on reality TV or even performing would give her “a knot in her stomach.”
“I think we need to be cautious with reality TV to protect those participating,” you say. It involves pulling people out of the background and placing them in the spotlight.
I’m not even all that interested in my daughters being actors. It’s a very difficult profession. If they decide to pursue acting or reality TV, I’d advise caution. There might be a knot left in my stomach.
Being at the middle of one of EastEnders’ biggest whodunnits after Lisa was discovered to have shot Phil Mitchell, Lucy is no stranger to the spotlight.
Lucy recently disclosed that the response to that plot line was “huge” in a conversation.
“I believe the key to that storyline’s success was our ability to keep it so under wraps, and the journalists were willing participants,” the author said.
However, I also believe that the press department made it a point to keep Lisa’s identity a secret, so when Lisa was finally identified, there was a great uproar.
“I think people wanted it to be her, so it was huge.” It was significant because nobody anticipated that it would be her. And the fact that we all managed to preserve the secret made it so big. Still, it was really wonderful. It was a story given to us.
- Coronation Street’s Paul Foreman star’s life with rarely seen glam girlfriend
- Coronation Street spoilers tonight: Emotions high as Paul has one last day of freedom in special episode
- Emmerdale spoilers tonight: Concerns for Belle mount up after marriage split from Tom
- Daytime Alum Janis Paige Dead at 101
- EastEnders: Eve should support Suki with her plan to take down Nish, fans beg
