Final Lola Pearce goodbye in poignant EastEnders scenes as grieving Jay Brown pays tribute

EastEnders has bid a final farewell to Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) in poignant scenes which saw Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) and Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) run the London Marathon in her memory.

After Jay and Honey had crossed the finish line, they and the rest of Lola’s family headed back to Albert Square, where Jay decided that it was finally time to spread Lola’s ashes.

In an emotional speech, Jay revealed that his grief was still as bad as it was the day Lola had died, despite his belief that he would get over it eventually.

Viewers will remember that Lola sadly died from a brain tumour almost a year ago, leaving the community torn apart.

On Christmas Day 2023, she surprised Jay with a pre-recorded video message revealing that she had entered him into the London Marathon.

Addressing the rest of the family, Jay revealed that while running the marathon, he had realised that Lola was still with them all, and that she had known signing them up for the marathon would bring the family together.

Things have been difficult for all of them since Lola’s death, but particularly Jay, who turned to ketamine for comfort.

More recently, sex worker Nadine Keller (Jazzy Phoenix) returned to his life, revealing that she had fallen pregnant with his baby when they slept together while he was grieving.

This discovery caused immense pain for Lexi, who revealed to Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) that she was scared of being abandoned – though she eventually managed to forgive Jay at the finish line of the marathon, proving Lola right.

With the family gathered, Jay explained that it was time for them to forget all of the hurt and ‘remember all the love’.

With Lexi’s help, he then spread Lola’s ashes, as Lexi said a final goodbye.

Though it has almost been a full year since Lola’s death, the storyline still has a huge impact, as actor Jamie Borthwick revealed.

‘I’m still getting asked about it. People still talk about it a lot, which is a great thing. It shows the impact that story had.

‘I had to watch a little synopsis of it from beginning to end the other day – and forget that I’m in it, because I can look at it from a punter point of view, because first and foremost I am and always have been an EastEnders fan – I just think it’s so real.

‘It’s easy now, a year on, to forget. But we went to a screening and when we were all sat watching it for the first time, we were like, “Wow, this really does touch.”

‘It’s so real that you don’t feel like you’re watching a soap at all. You feel like you’re watching a short film.’