EastEnders star Danielle Harold opened up about Lola Pearce-Brown's devastating death as she revealed that the final script was "the most beautiful episode of EastEnders I've ever read."
Since being diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour last year, Lola had been receiving treatment to try and prolong her life. However, her world collapsed when a recent scan revealed that the chemotherapy had stopped working and she now only has months to live.
Sadly, Lola is hit with another devastating blow about her future as she finds out that her palliative chemotherapy hasn't had any beneficial effect.
As the young mum's heartbreaking final moments edge closer, soap star Danielle confessed that she found it difficult to muster up the courage to read her final script.
Talking to The Sun on Sunday she said: "I didn’t want to read my final script. We pick them up from the script desk if we are in work and my final ones were sat there for ages!
"They kept asking me if I’d taken them yet, and I was like, ‘No, I don’t want to’. I left them there until I was ready. Then I had them at home for a few days — it took me a good two weeks before I was able to read them.
“I made myself a cup of tea, sat down in my living room and thought, ‘Right, just do it.’ I got to the second page and was in absolute bits."
She added: "It was the hardest thing to read but it's also the most beautiful episode of EastEnders I've ever read."
Despite the final scenes taking an emotional toll on Danielle, she shared that it has been a "huge privilege" to portray such an important storyline.
Danielle said: “It was hard to prepare for those final scenes. The medical advisors are there, step by step they’re helping me. I’ve been wearing bigger clothes to give the illusion of losing weight.
"It’s been really hard, the way Lola has physically been broken down. It’s hard looking at yourself, seeing yourself looking so ill. But it has to be real. As difficult as it is to watch, we had to make it as realistic as possible.
"It’s so important we get it right and that we tell the story as sensitively and accurately as possible. That’s the beauty of soaps, as they allow us to tell stories to that granular level of detail.
"This has been the biggest storyline of my life and, as an actress, it’s been such a huge privilege to have been trusted with something so important."
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
