Lola Pearce’s death is saddest storyline in 25 years of EastEnders, reveals co-star

EASTENDERS star Perry Fenwick says the death of Lola Pearce-Brown is the saddest storyline in his 25 years on the soap.

The actor, 60, said he went to “a dark place” to prepare for the final scenes with his screen granddaughter Lola, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year.

Her condition has worsened in recent episodes and the story is set to culminate on Wednesday.

Asked if it was the saddest storyline he had been part of Perry, who plays Billy Mitchell, said: “Without a shadow of a doubt. I’ve been on the show for 25 years this year.

"We’ve seen a lot of people come and go … it’s just devastating.

“It’s been hard but it’s kind of, I think, the message that it’s put out for the show.”

Danielle Harold, 30, who has played Lola since 2011, said she also struggled with the emotion.

She said: “It was really difficult and, obviously, having to listen to these guys’ goodbyes to me and not cry was really hard.

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