EastEnders star Danielle Harold has said that her character Lola will embrace her "last chance" to hunt down her estranged mother in the coming weeks.
In tonight's episode, terminally-ill Lola and fiancé Jay (Jamie Borthwick) revealed to friends and family that they will be tying the knot sooner than expected, and next week, a comment from Kim (Tameka Empson) gets Lola thinking about her mum.
Lola hasn't seen her mother, Emma Harding, since she left when Lola was just three years old, but with Lola's days now limited, she becomes determined to reconnect.
"As Kim is organising the hen do, she asks Lola if she'd like to invite her mum," explained Harold. "At that point, Lola has never spoken to anybody in The Square about her mum, or her previous family life other than how she was bought up in care.
"Lola has managed to start a whole new life for herself since she arrived in Walford, and so Kim is unaware that she's touched a nerve by bringing her up in that moment."
She continued: "I think this is probably the first time that Lola has thought about the prospect of reconciling with her mum. It's almost like Lola has a brainwave that her mum is out there alive somewhere when she is mentioned by Kim.
"I don't think Lola would normally want to look for her but because she is dying, Lola starts to reflect and thinks that it's her last chance to look for her. It also brings up a lot of questions for Lola and she starts to think Do I want her at the wedding? Do I want to meet her?"
Veteran actress Patsy Kensit was recently cast in the role of Emma for a brief story arc, but whether or not the character will get to meet her daughter in time remains unknown.
EastEnders continues Monday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
Neil Wilkes
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