EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Holby City star Patsy Kensit, who is making her Albert Square debut this month.
As reported in November, the veteran soap star will be arriving in Walford as Lola Pearce's long-lost mum Emma after learning her daughter has terminal cancer.
Over Christmas, Lola became engaged to Jay and with their wedding on the horizon it's time to get planning her hen do.
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Next week, Lola will ask Kim to be her Maid of Honour. An excited Kim says yes and immediately starts planning the hen party, though Jay worries it’ll all be too much for Lola.
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But while Kim is organising the guest list for the event, she inadvertently touches a nerve when asking about Lola’s mum. Later, Lexi also asks about Lola’s mum and why she left but Lola doesn’t have the answers.
Later Lola talks to Jay about finding her mum, who left when she was just three-years-old, but he remains sceptical that it’s a good idea. Sharon's advice to Lola is to take it slowly.
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Meanwhile, Billy is wondering what to get Lola as a wedding present and hits on the perfect idea.
Producer Chris Clenshaw previously teased of Kensit's role: "We're delighted to welcome the wonderfully talented Patsy to the EastEnders family. She's the perfect fit to take on the role of such a long-awaited character that we know very little about.
"Softly spoken and measured, on one hand Emma is the very opposite of her long lost daughter, Lola.
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"But on the other, there's a striking resemblance; successful, the capacity to hold her own – if she says she'll do something, she'll do it – and she's a fighter, just like Lola. Having spent a lifetime apart, Emma becomes desperate to make up for lost time, but her secret sadness and guilt are never far from the surface.
"The burden of losing her daughter has never left her, but can she find the courage to tell her shocking truth and reconnect with Lola, or will it come too little, too late? Patsy's portrayal is bound to set off fireworks in Walford and cause havoc for the Mitchell household."
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
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One of Them: From Albert Square to Parliament Square by Michael Cashman
