EastEnders star Perry Fenwick says Lola's exit is most "devastating" yet

Speaking at a press event for Lola's final episode, actor Perry Fenwick spoke about the difficulty of portraying Lola's final goodbye to her loved ones, including his character - her grandfather Billy Mitchell.

"I mean, I've been on the show, 25 years," said Fenwick. "I've seen a lot of people come and go, but my last scenes with this one [Danielle Harold] - just devastating."

He added, that in the show, Lola's family lose her but that it was a loss on set too as they have lost their co-star Danielle Harold.

Fenwick added that the actors approached this sensitive story piece by piece as their "little Sistine Chapel", with them "painting" it every time they shot.

The EastEnders veteran also noted that there was no need for "tear sticks" to produce tears from the performances, also noted the trouble was " not crying before you're meant to".

He added: "Yeah, it's been hard, but it's kind of I think, the message that it's put out and for the show.

"Chris [Clenshaw, executive producer], for the actors for you know, there's a few of us in this storyline, we’ve kind of been on the back bench for a while in terms of EastEnders, so it really is a fantastic opportunity."

Speaking about the impact of losing Lola on her beloved "Pops", Fenwick made clear his character would be forever altered.

Fenwick added: "You know that, clearly, he's never gonna be the same man again."

It's clear the aftermath of Lola's death will be felt for a while to come as her family each deal with her passing in their own ways.

Executive producer Clenshaw noted: "Billy, Ben, Jay, Lexi, Honey, it will obviously have devastating consequences for the family."

He continued: "I think Lola has been in this position where she has been aware of what kind of has been coming down the line. So she's actually, you know, she's given some certain requests to the family. You know, she's asked Jay to make sure that he always is speaking to Lexi, she should put certain things in place.

"So, in a kind of immediate future, they really pull together as a family, I think and they're there for each other. But that may not last forever. Yeah, it's gonna be a difficult, difficult process.

"Obviously, It's a sad ending for Lola, but it doesn't stop there for the rest of the family. Unfortunately."

Lola's final scenes will be broadcast on Wednesday 31st May 2023.

For information, help and support on matters associated with this storyline, head to Macmillan Cancer Support or Brain Tumour Research.

Read More

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• EastEnders’ Danielle Harold: Lola’s death “the most difficult thing” she’s ever filmed
• EastEnders spoilers: Ben and Jay to clash after Lola’s tragic death
• EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw says Lola’s death was decision “not taken lightly”
• Danielle Harold praises EastEnders boss for Lola’s emotional exit
• EastEnders spoilers: Jay Brown for "unlikely friendship" after Lola dies
• EastEnders’ Max Bowden posts moving personal message amid Lola story
• EastEnders boss wants to keep Linda Carter as "heart of the Square"
• EastEnders' Colin Salmon on personal reason he took George Knight role
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• EastEnders star Kellie Bright: "The show needed a Harriet Thorpe"
• EastEnders spoilers: Gina Knight to be "spiky" and clash with Elaine
• Sam Mitchell to return to EastEnders ‘before the autumn’ after surprise exit
• EastEnders' Danielle Harold pays tribute to Lola's story

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