DOUBLE TAKE EastEnders legend pays tribute to her lookalike daughter as she turns 19 – can you guess her famous mum?
AN EASTENDERS fan-favourite has paid tribute to her look-a-like daughter as she celebrated her 19th birthday.
The BBC One screen star, 55, took to her Instagram grid to upload a series of snaps to mark the teen’s special day.
Actress Lucy Benjamin‘s followers were quick to gush over her tribute to daughter Bessie, with one claiming the young lady gets her “beautiful looks from your mum.”
Lucy, who plays EastEnders‘ Lisa Fowler, started her gallery with a snap showing her eldest daughter enjoying an al fresco meal while on holiday.
She followed with selfies of the brunette before an image showing the pair together with Bessie’s sister, Rosie.
In her caption Lucy put: “Happy 19th Birthday Darlin.”
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Bessie, seemingly embarrassed by the picture post, then quipped: “Why do you hate me?”
A fan then posted: “Oh Bess she loves you so much darlin.”
One follower then wrote: “She’s beautiful Lucy! Happy Birthday Bessie!”
Another mused: “Get your beautiful looks from your mum. Happy birthday.”
Back in 2023, Lucy and her children’s father, Richard Taggart, called time on their relationship, saying it had run its course.
A source at the time said: “Lucy and Richard tried to make it work but ultimately decided it was best they split up.
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“It’s been rough for them both in recent months but hopefully they can now start looking forward to the future.
“Their children will always be their number one priority.”
The pair met during a flight to Dubai with Richard making the first move having recognised Lucy from TV.
She once said: “He was sat next to me and while I was reading a book, he tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘This must be strange for you because I know a lot about you and you don’t know anything about me, but my name’s Richard and I’m going to Dubai’.
MICHELLE Collins has seen her second EastEnders stint boost her bank balance. Yet what stars have quit this year?
The Sun exclusively reported how Michelle, 62, was down to £20,000 in her company accounts when she agreed to a shock back-from-the-dead return to Albert Square last year.
Her character, Cindy Beale, was presumed dead off-camera in 1998.
Yet what about the 2024 exits?
Earlier this summer, loyal soap fans appeared to note how Stevie Mitchell had “quit” the long-running series.
It came after Alan Ford enjoyed just six-months on-screen.
Bobby Beale actor Clay Milner Russell also left this year after five years in Walford.
Fans also feared Martin Fowler actor James Bye would “quit out of boredom” over recent storylines.
Additionally, a host of stars have quit the BBC soap for Hollywood fame.
One of the most successful stars to come from the BBC One soap is Rob Kazinsky.
He played Stacey Slater’s brother Sean Slater from 2006 to 2009, he has starred in Hollywood blockbusters Pacific Rim and Captain Marvel.
Ben Hardy, who quit EastEnders as Bobby Beale almost a decade ago, went on to break Hollywood the following year, when he starred as Archangel in X-Men: Apocalypse.
Since then, he has played Roger Taylor in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and he starred in Michael Bay’s Netflix movie 6 Underground.
Michelle Ryan played Zoe Slater until 2005.
She starred as the lead in short-lived American series Bionic Woman from 2007 to 2008.
“Fortunately, I found it very funny and we didn’t stop chatting. We were engaged within six weeks — and married within nine months.”
Lucy admitted they rushed into tying the knot because “I was a bit pushy but you’ve got to get on with it,” revealing she was seven weeks pregnant at the nuptials.
Speaking about moving the family from London to Romford, she previously told Essex Life Magazine: “I’d been in London for some time and was over it really.
“I loved how green it is in Gidea Park, with lots of parks and outdoor space. We were talking about having kids anyway, so it was a natural progression. I’ve never looked back.”
Lucy then broke her silence on the pair’s dynamic following their split.
The TV star told OK!: “It was weird the way it just came out as it was quite a long time after we’d actually separated.
“But people didn’t really pressure us and there was no big shebang about it. We were kind of left alone, which was lovely.”
SOAP QUEEN
Lisa appeared full time on the soap from 1998 to 2003 and was part of the show’s most famous Who Shot Phil? Storyline.
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During one of her breaks from Albert Square, she appeared in the 2009 series of I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! where she was first to be voted out.
She returned briefly in 2010 and then 2017, before her latest stint in 2023.
