EastEnders air Lola's heart-wrenching final episode early on BBC iPlayer

This follows on from the recent special two-hander episode which was released on iPlayer at 6am, Thursday 18th May and saw Lola and Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) as they ventured to the seaside town of Lola's childhood, Margate.

Despite trying to fight the diagnosis of her brain tumour in recent weeks, Lola was told by doctors that she doesn't have long left and will lose her ongoing battle with cancer in Wednesday's episode.

Speaking about filming those final scenes, Harold admitted to RadioTimes.com and other outlets: "It was definitely the most difficult thing I've ever filmed in my life because, obviously, we haven't experienced it and so, just to put yourself in that mindset, it was really difficult, and slow your body down and everything. I thought that would be the easy part."

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She continued: "That is when I struggled the most, when I got to them episodes. The vibe on set was very respectful. I can't tell you how respectful it was on that set, it was a completely different vibe that I've never felt before.

"I think because in some way everyone has been affected by cancer, so it just meant so much to everybody that we got it correct.

Harold added: "And also listening to [Lola's family] saying their goodbyes and not cry. I had to ask the medical advisor if I could cry at that stage. She said yes, that your emotions are still there. So that helped me play those lines."

When Harold first spoke about the hard-hitting storyline, she said: "It means so much to be trusted with a storyline like this – one that’s close to many people’s hearts. Sadly many of our viewers will be able to relate to Lola’s story and it’s been heartbreaking to speak to the families affected by brain tumours and hear their stories.

"They’ve been so amazing in sharing their experiences with me, and I’m so lucky to have them. I wouldn’t be able to do this storyline without their support."

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer. Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.

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