EastEnders’ Laila Morse secretly battled cancer a second time – 20 years after beating breast cancer, says Lacey Turner
EastEnders’ Laila Morse’s secret cancer battle revealed by Lacey Turner
EASTENDERS’ Laila Morse secretly battled cancer a second time – 20 years after beating breast cancer, her co-star Lacey Turner has revealed.
Laila, 81, has played Big Mo Harris in EastEnders periodically since 2000 and battled breast cancer in 2005.
Now Lacey – who plays her great-niece Stacey Slater – has shared details of Laila’s second battle with cancer.
In her autobiography Gold Dust: My Life (So Far) with the Women Who Shaped Me, Lacey wrote: “As a person, she is such a positive presence with an unstoppable energy.
“Nothing phases her. She carries absolute faith that everything will work itself out and be alright.”
“Mo is undoubtedly an Albert Square matriarch. Away from the cameras, she’s had to overcome some brutal setbacks.
“Laila is hardcore, one of life’s survivors, something that was never more evident than when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2025. More than 20 years after beating it for the first time.”
Lacey, 38, said she got an inkling that something wasn’t quite right when they were all at EastEnders producer Ben’s house for dinner ahead of bringing Michelle Ryan’s character of Zoe Slater back to the soap.
She recalled: “Shane, Jess, Jill and I were there but Laila was missing. ‘Where’s Laila,’ I asked. ‘Oh, Laila’s not well, but don’t panic, it won’t be anything serious’.”
Lacey then went on holiday so didn’t get to see her for a few weeks, but when she got back, Laila told her: “Hey, you won’t f***ing believe this, they ain’t polyps, it’s f***ing cancer.”
Lacey said she was shocked, but Laila said: “Nah don’t worry about it, I’ll just get it cut off and I’ll be alright.”
The star continued in her book: “She shrugged it off as if it was nothing more serious than a common cold, and went in for surgery as calmly as you like.
“She was in agony after the operation though, raging that ‘she’d never felt f***ing pain like that in her life, and said they ‘should’ve just left it there I’m nearly done anyway’.”
