EastEnders are to air an experimental episode next week as a timeline of five weeks play out over two special instalments.
The upcoming episodes will kickstart Shona McGarty’s exit storyline after sixteen years of playing Whitney Dean.
In next Monday’s (4th March episode), Whitney and her boyfriend Zack Hudson (James Farrar) will head to Milton Keynes to visit her adoptive mum Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) following their unexpected pregnancy.
Over the course of her time in the city, Whitney will become entwined in the wellbeing of a child on Bianca’s estate.
Britney, played by child actress Lola Campbell, has not attended school for the last four years which sparks concern with Whit.
As the five weeks roll on, she attempts to intervene with the girl’s worrying home life, but after an altercation with her mother, things go from bad to worse and Britney flees.
Speaking of Campbell’s casting, executive producer Chris Clenshaw said: ‘We’re thrilled to welcome the immensely talented Lola Campbell to the cast of EastEnders as she takes on the role of Britney.’
He continued: ‘The special episodes, which coincide with Patsy Palmer’s return, will showcase five weeks’ worth of storyline as we follow Whitney and Zack during their time in Milton Keynes, but it’s not long before the pair are thrust into the heart of the drama after Whitney grows concerned for Britney’s wellbeing.’
Britney is Lola’s first soap opera role, having made her breakout appearance in BAFTA-nominated film Scrapper last year.
What will Whitney do, and how will the episode play out with the regular timeline of events as the weeks follow?
