Charli XCX has shared her thoughts on a viral EastEnders clip in which a character named their child after her.
During Monday (4 September) night’s episode of the long-running BBC soap, Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) gives birth to her first child with Ricky Mitchell (Frankie Day).
In hospital, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) asks the baby’s name, only for Ricky to tell her they have named their daughter Charli after the hyper-pop singer.
The clip was widely circulated on social media after the episode aired.
It was shared by the popular Instagram account @loveofhuns, who capture the best of modern British pop culture, with the caption: “Not Stacey Slater’s granddaughter being named after Charli XCX [skull emoji].
On Tuesday (5 September), the real-life Charli – who has a large following among the LGBT+ community – offered her own response to the scene.
Resharing the clip on Twitter/X, the “Speed Drive” singer wrote: “Shout out my gays in the writers room!”
In the episode of EastEnders, Lily goes into labour and gives birth in the hospital without Ricky by her side.
Following the birth, Ricky arrives in the hospital along with his dad Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and his partner Denise Fox (Diane Parish), who ask if Lily has come up with a name yet.
“She has, but she ain’t said,” her mum Stacey Slater explains. “She was waiting for Ricky to get here.”
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Stacey hands the baby to Ricky, before asking again what the baby’s name is.
“Her name’s Charli,” Ricky says, with Stacey responding: “Oh, after Uncle Charlie?”
Ricky then clarifies: “No, after Charli XCX.”
“Oh,” Stacey says, with Ricky’s father Jack Branning asking: “Who?”
Ricky with baby Charli on ‘EastEnders'— (BBC)
“Oh, get with it Jack,” Jack’s partner Denise says. “It’s a singer, innit?”
Fans were overjoyed by the “iconic” scene, with one writing: “This is the most British crossover ever.”
“This is so so iconic!!!!!!” another tweeted, while one fan joked: “We got the statement I have been waiting for all day!”
The pregnancy storyline has been controversial among EastEnders fans, as both Lily and the father of her child were 12 years old when the baby was conceived.
On the show, Ricky’s parents convinced Lily to get an abortion, while Stacey said she should keep the baby.
While Lily intended to terminate the pregnancy, saying that she didn’t feel ready to be a mother, she later decided to go through with the pregnancy.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
