EastEnders: BBC soap airs Lola Pierce’s heartbreaking final episode early on BBC iPlayer

Lola Pierce’s emotional exit from EastEnders has come sooner than fans anticipated, with the upcoming episode on Wednesday (May 31), being released on BBC iPlayer over 12 hours early.

Pierce, who is played by Danielle Harold, has been bravely fighting a brain tumour and her exit date was confirmed weeks ago - but fans can view the emotional scenes early as they were released on to the iPlayer at 6am.

This is the second time this has happened this month, with a special episode, showing Lola alongside her long-time partner Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) taking a trip to Margate, the town where Lola grew up.

Speaking about filming those final scenes, Harold admitted to RadioTimes.com and other outlets: "It was definitely the most difficult thing I’ve ever filmed in my life because, obviously, we haven’t experienced it and so, just to put yourself in that mindset, it was really difficult, and slow your body down and everything. I thought that would be the easy part.

"That is when I struggled the most, when I got to them episodes. The vibe on set was very respectful. I can’t tell you how respectful it was on that set, it was a completely different vibe that I’ve never felt before.”

She added: "I think because in some way everyone has been affected by cancer, so it just meant so much to everybody that we got it correct.

"And also listening to [Lola’s family] saying their goodbyes and not cry. I had to ask the medical advisor if I could cry at that stage. She said yes, that your emotions are still there. So that helped me play those lines."