EastEnders' star Max Bowden, known for his role as Ben Mitchell in the BBC soap, has opened up on Lola's brain tumour storyline and admitted it has been the "hardest thing he's ever dealt with" following the devastating death of his best friend in real life.
The 28-year-old acting star, who rose to fame for playing Justin Fitzgerald in Waterloo Road, is currently starring alongside Danielle Harold as Lola, who is nearing the end of her life. Fans of the show are preparing to be left in floods of tears over her departure.
Max's character Ben has been desperate to do anything in his power to prolong Lola's life by exploring different options with doctors in a bid to get her through the summer until Lexi moves across to her new school.
Posting a clip of Ben desperately asking doctors for any more help they can give, Max opened up about his own experiences with the illness, the Mirror reports.
He emotionally wrote: "This clip is from tonight’s episode. This storyline has been the hardest I have ever had to deal with. 21 months ago I lost my best friend in the world to an undiagnosed brain tumour.
"Friday afternoon we were on the phone for an hour discussing Ronaldo to united return, 24 hours later he went into a coma and never woke up.
"Coming to terms with this grief has been the most turbulent, overwhelming, impossible thing I have ever had to overcome, and telling this story with Lola has been a tough old ride but an incredibly rewarding one.
"When we lose someone, we never know how we’re going to feel, how we’re going to change. Ben is no exception."
He added: "He is a complicated man. Riddled with trauma, insecurities and complexities. Fear can turn us into monsters. Many have picked up on this and I’m glad, this is exactly what we wanted to portray.
"Every one of the Mitchell’s are dealing with it very differently, and that’s credit to the writing team and the story team."
"Playing a character doesn’t mean I agree with his choices, however we can all appreciate that grief goes different things to different people," Max admitted.
"I appreciate all of the lovely messages. Oh, and gentle reminder to be kind, really proud of our EastEnders team for their constant good work and ambition to tell tough stories."
Meanwhile, Lola will pass away in heartbreaking scenes which are to air on the BBC soap next week as fans gear themselves up for the emotional episode.
Speaking of her final scenes, Danielle said: "It’s been really difficult filming these last few scenes over because it does get really tough, especially towards the end. It’s such a heartbreaking diagnosis and it’s not nice to watch or to play.
"Working with the charities has been so important for us because we want to portray Lola’s diagnosis both accurately and sensitively while also raising awareness to hopefully make a change."
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