Emotional scenes surrounding the wedding of Lola Pearce and Jay Brown resulted in tears for EastEnders fans tonight.

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Thursday night's episode (26th January 2023) saw Lola (Danielle Harold) given a confidence boost by her maid of honour Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) after experiencing doubts about marrying Jay knowing she will soon die due to her terminal brain tumour diagnosis.

Despite both being late, eventually, Jay (Jamie Borthwick) was delighted when Lola turned up and became Mrs Pearce-Brown!

Later at the reception, Lola felt betrayed to learn that Jay was aware her grandfather Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) had tracked down her mother Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit) and she rejected an invite to the wedding.

After fleeing the Vic, Lola was found by her daughter Lexi's grandmother Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), who opened up to Lola about her own experience of giving her own daughter Donna away.

Following wise words from Kathy, Lola returned to the wedding reception and even went on to give an emotional speech thanking Billy for being the only true parent in her life and making clear her great love for Jay.

As Lola began to feel the symptoms of her sickness, she and Jay returned home and lay in bed.

However, Jay was overcome with emotion holding his new wife - knowing their time together will be limited - tragically symbolised by the lost balloon of Lola's initial and Jay's floating alone in their bedroom.

Danielle Harold as Lola Pearce-Brown holding a microphone in EastEnders
Danielle Harold as Lola Pearce-Brown holding a microphone in EastEnders BBC

The touching scenes in tonight's episode left many fans of the BBC One soap emotional about the night's events and they took to social media to share their thoughts.

Executive producer Chris Clenshaw has explained the decision to kill off the beloved character, but the scenes will still be gutting for viewers at home.

One emotional EastEnders fan wrote on Twitter: "The scenes between Lola and Jay are so hard to watch, they are both such good actors, Lola is bringing so much emotion with her storyline it’s definitely heartbreaking to watch and it’ll only get more sad".

Another viewer of the soap tweeted: "Crying at Jay and Lola’s wedding oh my god and Jay singing to Lola".

Meanwhile, a different Enders follower commented: "Not me bawling at Jay and Lola’s first dance. #Eastenders you had no business doing this to me. Why’d he have to start singing?!"

Elsewhere, one fan of Lola and Jay fan wrote: "Watched tonight's episode of #Eastenders and I cried oh my god i love Jay and Lola so much x".

Finally, one EastEnders viewer concluded: "I love Jay and Lola so much #Eastenders".

Next week, Lola will find herself forced to tell her daughter Lexi (Isabella Brown) the heartbreaking truth that she is dying, while also having a meeting with a stranger - her mother, Emma.

Will Lola finally get the reunion with her mum that she has always wanted?

EastEnders is working closely with Brain Tumour Research and Macmillan Cancer Support on Lola's storyline, and you can find help and support by visiting the above websites.

Read more:

Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Soaps hub.

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Lewis Knight is the Trends Editor for Radio Times, covering trending titles from TV, Film and more. He previously worked at The Mirror in TV, Film, and Showbiz coverage alongside work on SEO. Alongside his past work in advertising, he possesses a BSc in Psychology and an MA in Film Studies.

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