With her portrayal of Lola Pearce’s brain tumour storyline in EastEnders, Danielle Harold moved the entire country to tears, but some viewers were more affected than others by the drama.
Since Kylie Weartherby was diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM), the same highly aggressive cancer that Lola has in the programme, she can perfectly relate to what Lola has been going through.
The 34-year-old fan met Danielle on the EastEnders set, and the two hit it off right away, quickly becoming strong friends.
In order to portray the plot as truthfully as possible, EastEnders collaborated with the nonprofit Brain Tumour Research, which is how Kylie became involved.
She was given a pass to the EastEnders set so she could speak with Danielle and the show’s writers about her struggle with a brain tumour.
She was given a tour of the EastEnders set while she was at the BBC studios, and she posed in the renowned Queen Vic pub with her mother Barbara, Danielle, and Max Bowden, who plays Ben Mitchell.
Kylie discussed how upsetting the plot of Lola’s narrative was while pregnant with twins in 2021 and how she later learned she had a brain tumour.
She admitted, “I was biting my lip when the doctor told Lola and Jay they’d found a brain tumour and that it could be cancerous.” They soon began sobbing, and I just let it out. Watching someone else go through it is really emotional when you’ve been there yourself.
“You can’t watch this any more,” my mother told me when she caught me sobbing, but I feel that it’s better to let my feelings out.
‘I actually sent an Instagram message to Danielle Harold, the actress who plays Lola, to thank her for the role and for contributing to the cause. I believe she is doing fantastic.
The audience has praised Lola’s plot for being intense and compelling.
In October 2022, Lola had a seizure and was taken to the hospital, where scans indicated that she had a brain tumour.
Despite having surgery, she eventually learned that the condition was incurable.
After receiving several rounds of treatment to extend her life, Lola learned heartbreakingly that it had failed and that she only had a few months to live.
Her condition continued to worsen a few weeks later, and it was determined that she only had a few weeks to live.
Showrunner Chris Clenshaw talked about how much thinking went into the plot before deciding to move forward with it.
‘We didn’t make this decision lightly; we thought about it for a long time to make sure it was the right one.
They have been overwhelmed by the awareness that has been raised via the research, and Danielle, you have been speaking to them personally, haven’t you?’
Danielle continued by detailing the number of contacts she has received since the news started.
“It’s getting harder and harder for me to unplug.” I can’t thank these people enough for sharing their stories with me; it just makes you want to tell it with even more truth than you first imagined. I’ve not really wanted to switch off, to be honest, because I’ve had to meet so many people who live with brain tumours, people who have lost loved ones to brain tumours, and children who have also died from brain tumours.
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