Former EastEnders star Danielle Harold has shared a surprising career decision, three years after leaving the soap. The actor first appeared in 2011 as Lola Pearce, the estranged granddaughter of Billy Mitchell.
Lola had a number of key storylines while on the Square, including a teen pregnancy, which saw her giving birth during a live episode in 2012.
The character tragically passed away in May 2023, after battling a terminal brain tumour – though she still makes on-screen cameos via the videos she filmed for her daughter Lexi.
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Since leaving EastEnders, Harold has appeared in various reality shows, including I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here and Celebrity Hunted. However, when it comes to acting, the star has admitted she's done with soaps.
"It's not that [I'm too loyal to EastEnders]. It's just more, it's so hard work," she told The Sun. "Soap is… actors in soap, oh my gosh, take my hat off."
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"Like, it's such a hard job. And, yeah, I like the freedom a little bit of being able to move from job to job," she added.
Harold explained that she took a pause from acting after the emotional toll of Lola's final storyline, but now she's ready to return to our screens.
"I took a little minute after I left EastEnders. I did the jungle, which was so much fun as well. I just took a little break because the storyline was so heavy and, obviously, I've played that character for such a long time."
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She continued: "So, I'm just kind of getting back to auditions, which is really exciting. I feel like everything's changed, the whole industry's changed, so it's crazy."
The star shared her hopes for doing a TV series "where you get the whole story in one" as "you never know where the story's going" in soap.
"And I'd also love to do a documentary, actually, something a bit different I'd love to do."
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
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