EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick discusses Lola’s tragic final scenes

EastEnders spoilers follow.

EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick has discussed Lola Pearce-Brown’s final scenes for the first time.

The actor’s character Jay Brown is left devastated next week as his terminally-ill wife Lola passes away.

Lola, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year, recently decided to return home from the hospital to spend her final days with her family.

In next Wednesday’s episode (May 31), Lola’s loved ones gather to individually say their goodbyes to her before she passes away.

Related: EastEnders star Danielle Harold discusses show’s decision to kill off Lola

Speaking at an EastEnders press event this week, Jamie reflected on how he dealt with filming the heartbreaking scenes.

Jamie explained: “It was very tough. It was important to keep it as light as possible. I’m a child and a joker anyway, so it was important for me to have a little laugh and a joke. We are very fortunate that we’re not in that position, and it’s important that we recognise that for obvious reasons.

“It was just important to do that so we could go home at the end of the night, know that we had done a good day’s work and know that we have been trying to tell the story as honestly as we can and in the best way that we can.

“For our mental state, it was important that we remember it’s just our work and really important to know that we can close the door on it at the end of the day.

Related: EastEnders boss reveals devastating aftermath of Lola Pearce-Brown’s death

“It was really respectful on set. We had a lovely crew as well. As you can imagine, there was a lot of tears on set as well but happy tears. We got it done.”

On working with Danielle Harold, who plays Lola, Jamie continued: “Thankfully we’ve always had a great bond. When you go through something like this with somebody, you can’t help but get closer to them.

“We went away for the week in Margate – that was great and we were all in it together.

“Now that Danielle has left, I’m going to miss the camaraderie of it all. When I come in, I always stop off at the café and ask Danielle if she wants anything. I’m just going to miss the chats – it’s that that makes it.

Related: EastEnders star Max Bowden opens up over “hardest ever” storyline

“The work has been great, but it’s the on-set work life that I’ll miss the most. We go to the awards together, we have the routines, we come in every day, and we have a shorthand with our way of life.

“We have our debriefs and I’m just really going to miss that. Obviously we’re forever, but it’s just our work period together that’s over. We can look back and sign it off in the best way possible.”

Jamie predicted that future storylines for Jay could include tensions with Ben Mitchell and Callum Highway, as all three will be focusing on Lexi’s upbringing once Lola has passed away.

Related: EastEnders star Kellie Bright teases Linda Carter’s big new shock

He said: “Danielle is so great with Isabella [Brown], who plays Lexi. Isabella is great and she’s a right character, but Danielle is absolutely fantastic for her. All of the things that we’ve done, we had to bear in mind as well that we had a 10-year-old on set, but she was absolutely fantastic.

“Moving forward, with the three dads, I’m sure the boys are going to clash! In terms of moving on a bit further, me and [executive producer] Chris Clenshaw are due a chat to find out what’s going on! It’s going to be very exciting.”

EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.

Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage

Organisations including Brain Tumour Research, Macmillan Cancer Support and Stand Up to Cancer can provide help and support to those living with brain cancer and their loved ones.

Daniel has been writing about soaps on Digital Spy since 2004 and took over as Soaps Editor in 2010.  
He has interviewed hundreds of soap stars over the years, from Bill Roache to Lacey Turner, and regularly visits the sets of Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks for behind-the-scenes trips and press events.  
He has served as an awards judge on numerous occasions for the likes of the BAFTA TV Awards, RTS Programme Awards and British Soap Awards. In 2020, he was Highly Commended for Best Section Editor at the BSME Awards.