Danielle Harold has opened up about filming Lola Pearce's final moments on EastEnders, revealing that she originally thought the bed-bound scenes would be "the easy part".
Lola's devastating cancer diagnosis has been a big storyline on EastEnders in the past few months and while the long-time Walford resident has explored various health treatments, she received news that her illness is terminal earlier in May.
With Danielle's time on Albert Square coming to an end next week as fans prepare for her tragic death, the actress revealed to OK! at an EastEnders screening that the scenes were "definitely the most difficult thing" she's filmed in her life.
"You haven't experienced dying and so just to put yourself in that mindset, it was really difficult to slow the body down and just breathe in everything. I thought that would be my easy part to be honest, I thought once I got to them episodes, just laying in bed," she said.
Danielle added however that the scenes in which Lola was bed-bound proved to be much difficult than she expected, adding: "That is when I struggled definitely the most because the vibe on set was just so respectful. I can't tell you how respectful it was on that set.
"It really was a completely different vibe that I've never felt on set before, I think because everyone in some way has been affected by cancer. So it just meant so much because we've got it so correct."
The 30-year-old joined EastEnders as Lola in 2011, being introduced as the granddaughter of Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) and Julie Perkins (Cathy Murphy).
Since arriving in the Square, Lola has given birth to her daughter Lexi Pearce, who she conceived at the age of 15 after a one-night stand with Ben Mitchell.
Danielle left EastEnders in 2015, before returning in 2018 and striking up a relationship with Jay Brown, who she married in January this year.
In October last year, Lola was diagnosed with a brain tumour after suffering a seizure, with the show announcing Danielle's second departure from the show a few months prior.
Danielle has previously described her final episode on the soap as "beautiful", adding that when she got to the second page of the script, she was "in absolute bits".
She's described her time on the show as a "privilege", saying: "I was sad for Lola, and I’ve played her for such a long time. I’m glad that I finally got to play so many bits of Lola’s life story that I’ve always wanted to do – we’ve rounded Lola up in a really lovely way this year."
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