Lola Pearce (also Pearce-Brown) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Danielle Harold. She was introduced as the granddaughter of Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) and Julie Perkins (Cathy Murphy), and an extension to the already established Mitchell family. Lola made her first appearance on 12 July 2011. Her storylines have mainly focused on her relationship with her family, a teenage pregnancy after a one-night stand with her third cousin once removed Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe), fighting to keep newborn daughter Lexi Pearce (Dotti-Beau Cotterill) out of care, her friendships with Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald), Dexter Hartman (Khali Best) and later Frankie Lewis (Rose Ayling-Ellis), relationships with Peter Beale (Ben Hardy/Dayle Hudson) and Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), improving her situation by becoming a hairdresser, having an abortion after becoming pregnant by Jay, and being diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumour which resulted in her death.
Some critics gave a positive response to Lola's introduction. Kate Woodward of Inside Soap said Lola's introduction had been a "revelation" and Tony Stewart from the Daily Mirror stated "in little less than a month on the Square, the spirited Lola has already created havoc." On 23 July 2012, Lola gave birth to her daughter, Lexi Pearce, during a seven-minute live segment, making her the first character to ever give birth live on EastEnders and the second character ever in soap opera. On 13 June 2015, it was announced that Harold was exiting her role as Lola after being written out of the show. Harold left the show on 28 July 2015. Bosses left the door open for her to return, and a return for the character was announced on 20 December 2018. Lola returned on 1 April 2019. On 15 June 2022, it was announced that Harold had been axed from EastEnders once again, and Lola's death was broadcast on 31 May 2023, after a storyline of her battling a terminal brain tumour. Following on from her death, Lola continued to make appearances via video recordings up to 4 March 2026.
Creation and development Casting
The character of Lola was announced on 7 June 2011 and she was created as an extension of the established Mitchell family. As she meets her grandparents for the first time, Lola quickly forms a bond with them as she has been deserted by everyone else in her life. Eighteen-year-old Harold was cast in the role and she said "I am so excited to be joining EastEnders. I have watched the show all my life and I never thought that one day I could be in Albert Square. It feels strange to be walking round Walford with people I have grown up watching—I still have to pinch myself.". EastEnders is Harold's first acting job and she was given the role following her first audition, which shocked her. Harold told Daybreak, "It was my first audition that I'd ever had, so I was really nervous and I was thinking, 'I'm never going to get it - I'm just going to have fun while I'm there'. I was just shocked to even get the casting for it, so I was over the moon when I actually got the part." Harold previously starred in Jamie Oliver's Channel 4 reality show Jamie's Dream School and got into an acting school because of the show. Harold said she had always wanted to be an actress and was grateful to be given a great character in Lola. Lola made her first appearance on 12 July 2011.
Characterisation and style In an interview with Inside Soap, Harold said she was grateful for the complex nature of her character, saying, "Lola's not out-and-out evil but she's not very nice. She's got so many sides and I am having a great time exploring them." Lola is described as "a stroppy little 15-year-old, prone to fighting, tea-leafing and gobbing off." She is also "sharp, cocky but likeable." Of Lola's personality, the official EastEnders website said "Bright as a button but with a mouth that runs away with her, Lola is wild and definitely Walford bound. A self-reliant person who does what she has to do in order to get what she wants, she's not to be messed with."
Harold described her character as "feisty" and said she has got a lot of attitude. Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy, labelled Lola "rebellious", while the BBC said she is "a troublesome teen" and a "petite bombshell." BT described the character as "EastEnders new tearaway and Billy's wayward granddaughter" and said "It seems Lola isn't exactly the butter-wouldn't-melt type. Surprise, surprise. Billy and Julie leave when Lola tells Billy she's not interested in the fact that he's her granddad, or that her dad's dead. What a lovely young lady." Virgin Media also branded Lola a troublemaking, teen tearaway and said she was "a chip off the Mitchell block." They added that she is a "blonde babe." Chris Hooton from the Metro branded Lola as "mischievous." Lola usually wears a tracksuit and trainers.
Storyline development When Lola arrives she becomes embroiled in a love triangle with Jay Mitchell and Abi Branning. The storyline was summed up in Inside Soap by Kate Woodward who commented "Although I love Abi and Jay together, it's great to see them face serious obstacles thanks to her meddling. Lola is big trouble and has Jay is firmly in her sights. But he's in love with Abi. It was a brilliant idea to team moody Jay with good girl Abi. They work well as a couple, but with the interference of Lola their story has got even more interesting." When Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) begins to be stalked, the BBC named Lola one of the many suspects. However, the stalker is later revealed to be Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe).
Pregnancy, live birth and motherhood
On 15 July 2012, it was revealed that Harold would become only the second actress to act out a birth during a live episode of a soap opera, following Coronation Street's Jennie McAlpine (Fiz Brown) in the live 50th anniversary episode broadcast in December 2010. An insider from the Daily Mirror stated "No-one has tried anything like this on EastEnders live before so it is a real challenge to get the emotion of the situation right. It will be the toughest thing Danielle has done in her acting career." The episode broadcast on 23 July 2012 and centred around Lola's grandfather Billy carrying the Olympic Torch across Walford. A seven-minute live segment at the end of episode showed Lola giving birth to her daughter, while Billy rushed to witness the birth.
Harold said of the rehearsals for the live section: "I have known about this live episode for such a long time but all of a sudden it has crept up on us. I am really nervous but now we have started rehearsing, I am feeling equally excited. It will definitely be an experience and I hope Perry runs smoothly!" She also said she was "terrified" of acting out the birth, saying she would prefer to give birth in real life. She said that filming the pre-recorded labour scenes meant she "was knackered after screaming and crying and pretending to push all day." In an interview with Digital Spy, she said that she was "really, really nervous" and that the prospect of acting the birth was "very scary", but added, "I really appreciate that they've given me the opportunity, especially considering that I haven't been here at EastEnders for that long. It's really nice that they've trusted me with it, so hopefully I'll do it justice! It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll go well." To help prepare, she asked several women for advice, including her mother, and was told "It's the worst pain you can ever imagine!" She found it "quite difficult" to imagine what it would be live to act out as she has no children, but had watched Channel 4 show One Born Every Minute to help, as she did not want to "overdo the scene or make it look really fake."
Departure and reintroduction On 13 June 2015, entertainment website Digital Spy revealed that EastEnders had chosen to write the character out of the show. They announced that Harold would be filming her final scenes within the following months and that show bosses are not killing Lola off, leaving potential for a return in the future. Harold praised her time on the show and the storylines she has been given: "I've had the most amazing time at EastEnders having been involved in some exciting storylines, including giving birth in a live scene." She also said how she would miss the cast and crew at EastEnders and how she looks forward to her acting future. Executive producer, Dominic Treadwell-Collins spoke of Danielle and her time on the square: "We all love Danielle and she and Lola have been a big part of EastEnders over the past four years. Danielle is a fantastic actress and I genuinely look forward to seeing her shine in future roles away from the Square." Lola's exit scenes aired on 28 July 2015.
In May 2018, Harold expressed an interest in reprising her role as Lola, opining that Billy needed her character's support. She added that she would return if she was asked. Seven months later, on 20 December 2018, it was announced that Lola would return to EastEnders over three years since her exit. Upon her reintroduction, the character is billed as matured and "a fiercely protective mum" to Lexi. Harold expressed her delight at reprising her role, commenting, "I can't wait to get back and find out what Lola has been up to." Kate Oates, the senior executive producer of EastEnders, said that she "admired Lola's feisty, fiery spirit" and looked forward to her return. She added that it would create storylines for the characters related to Lola, including Jay and Billy.
Brain tumour and death In June 2022, it was reported that Harold had been axed by new executive producer Chris Clenshaw as part of his plan to reinvent the show. Other characters to be axed alongside Lola included Peter Beale (Dayle Hudson), Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ), Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith) and Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith); however, Lola's departure attracted the most media attention. It was speculated that Lola would be killed-off as part of an illness storyline to raise awareness; however, nothing was initially confirmed by EastEnders. The decision to axe Lola was met with high volumes of criticism from fans and critics alike, who believed that Lola's character had "a mass of potential storylines to be explored in the future", and felt passionately that Harold had created a fan favourite and that it would be a grave mistake to lose her. A spokesperson for EastEnders told Radio Times that Harold was reportedly "teary" at the decision to write Lola out of the show; however, she accepted the news like a professional and was looking forward to her exit storyline.