Lucy Speed.
Lucy Speed adopted a whole new look for her stint on the soap (Picture: WireImage)

EastEnders actress Lucy Speed was far from her usual Albert Square home as she posed backstage at one of the show’s rival soaps on Wednesday.

The 46-year-old star found fame on the BBC fixture after she thrilled fans with her portrayal of  Natalie Evans between 1994 and 2004.

Despite her success on the much-loved soap opera, Lucy decided to say goodbye to Walford life and joined the cast of yet another soap – rival radio show The Archers.

Last year, she began making appearances in the radio production and played the role of Stella Pryor. 

The star continued to make cameos in the production and regularly features in episodes since she started with the cast. 

She recently caused a stir on social media after she posted a selfie from the backstage of the Birmingham-based soap. 

Lucy Speed.
She starred on the soap for ten years (Picture: Getty Images)

Captioning her post: ‘Always lovely to be with the Ambridge Family [sic],’ the actress snapped a shot in front of a door that branded The Archers logo and beamed at the camera. 

Fans rushed to send her well wishes and congratulate her on her success and new look following her exit from EastEnders. 

One joked: ‘That fantastic hair cut is wasted on radio!! [sic],’ while another noted: ‘My Sunday sesh listening to the Omnibus is sacrosanct. You look so healthy BTW! [sic].’ 

‘Fabulous! looking gorgeous [sic],’ was a social media user’s response to the picture that showed off Lucy’s new cropped hair-do. 

Aside from her 10 years on the popular soap opera, Lucy has enjoyed many other roles across the years that saw her become a household name.

While starring as Natalie, she also took on the part of DS Stevie Moss on the ITV police drama The Bill between 2008 and 2010.

The star kept audiences on the edges of their seats when she acted in critically acclaimed dramas Cradle to Grave on the BBC in 2015 – as well as ITV’s Marcella and Unforgotten.

Her selfie post came after she updated fans during her live performance of The Archers at the Hay Festival earlier this month. 

She shared a collection of images from her time on stage with the cast and captioned the upload: ‘Performing The Archers live at The Hay Festival! What fun! [sic].’ 

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