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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Will Twigger

EastEnders favourites were real-life power couple as well as on-screen lovers

If you cast your mind back to 1998, you may recall Lucy Benjamin's debut on EastEnders as the troublesome Lisa Shaw.

Lisa was tipped as a "homewrecking blonde", with show bosses hinting that she'd be diving headfirst into the Walford drama.

And soon enough, Lisa caught the eye of Steve McFadden's bad boy Phil Mitchell with the pair becoming one of the most famous soap couples of all time.

The characters' relationship was a stormy one to say the least, and ended up with Lisa shooting Phil in the famous "Who shot Phil?" storlyine that gripped audiences until the explosive reveal.

Actors Steve and Lucy found a romantic spark behind the scenes as well.

Steve and Lucy dated in real life as well as on EastEnders (Press Association)

Striking up a real life romance, the soap stars dated for four years between 1999 and 2003.

They went on to work together again several times as Lucy's Lisa made several re-appearances on the Square, including in 2010, 2017 and 2019-2020.

In 2017 Lucy told the Loose Women panel: "It was more about the history between Lisa and Phil and there is so much water under the bridge with those two people.

Their characters have come face to face again in recent years (BBC / Jack Barnes)

"You just resort back to their storylines and the things they have gone through as characters. We didn't have to think about me and Steve and the old days. There is so much stuff between Lisa and Phil. It was easy to play that.

"It was strange really, but lovely to be working with Steve, Tish and Natalie Cassidy again. It was just like being with mates.

"They have been doing fabulous work and I knew that they would look after me and have my back upon my return."

Phil's shooter was a mystery - until it was revealed as Lisa (BBC)
Lucy's returned to the role of Lisa several times since leaving in 2003 (BBC)

And Lucy looks back with fondness on her initial stint - proud of the fact that she was the one to pull the trigger on Phil.

She told The Mirror in 2019 : "She always causes trouble. People ask me all the time to go back and sort Phil out.

"I'm proud to have been the person to have pulled the ­trigger in that iconic storyline – I know several have shot him since but I was first. It's incredible how people still remember it."

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