EastEnders’ Jamie Borthwick had admitted he’s desperate for BBC bosses to kill him off.
The actor, 28, has revealed his dream exit for his character, Jay Brown, after 31-year-old Danielle Harold‘s tragic final scenes for her character, Lola Pearce, last month.
Jamie has confessed how he would love for EastEnders producers to allow him one final dramatic scene, when his time to leave the soap comes later down the line
The actor told Daily Star of his dream exit: ‘Well, I can’t do any better than hers (Danielle Harold), can I? So fine, kill me off.
‘In the monologue which I say to her [before she dies], I say I’ll be a rat and you can be a fox, and then there’s going to be a clip.
Plans for the future: EastEnders’ Jamie Borthwick, 28, had admitted he’s desperate for BBC bosses to kill him off
Heartbreaking: The actor has revealed his dream exit for his character, Jay Brown, after 31-year-old Danielle Harold’s tragic final scenes for her character, Lola Pearce, last month
‘I will sacrifice never coming back to EastEnders again just so we can have a fox and a rat rummaging through the bins as my final clip.
‘I would sacrifice that for this soap, that’s how giving I am. Kill me off just for that, I don’t need to work ever again just for that, for that one scene.’
Last month, viewers said goodbye to Jay Brown’s wife Lola Pearce as the much-loved character tragically passed away after a battle with terminal brain cancer.
In June 2022, it was revealed that Danielle would be leaving EastEnders with her character being written out in the tragic storyline.
At the time, a source claimed that Danielle had been left ‘in pieces’ at the news, which has left her no option to return due to the tragic ending.
An insider at the TV show told The Sun at the time: ‘She was not expecting the chop because her character has been a firm favourite with viewers. She’ll be written out with no option to return.’
Since then, Danielle has openly shared her upset about leaving her character behind after nearly 14 years, with Lola set to lose her fight with cancer.
On leaving the role, Danielle said: ‘[It has been] 14 years nearly, she becomes a little part of you. I’ll be so sad saying goodbye to her.’
On-screen lovers: Jamie and Danielle played husband-and-wife in EastEnders
Exit: Danielle Harold left EastEnders after nearly 14 years playing Lola Pearce-Brown (pictured) on the BBC soap opera
She added: ‘It was really important to just keep yourself – this is what I heard from the girls [while doing research], it can be portrayed in a very grim way but it’s not always that.’
EastEnders’ executive producer Chris Clenshaw also recently revealed what made them choose Lola for the soap’s tragic terminal cancer storyline.
According to Chris, to achieve show bosses’ goal of raising awareness for the disease, the character had to be ‘loved’.
Speaking at a press screening for Lola’s final episode, he discussed the immense thought that went into their decision.
He revealed: ‘The ending of one of our biggest storylines of the past year, and almost everyone on the show is extremely proud of the story, it’s also an extremely sad time for us as we say farewell to the incredible Danielle Harold.’
He continued: ‘When we first came up with the idea of telling the story, we debated at great length, and it certainly wasn’t a decision that we took lightly.
‘The story was so powerful and we know from previous stories such as these that when EastEnders tackles or raises awareness of an issue, the impact can be huge and we all felt that this was one of those stories that needed to be told.
Loss: EastEnders’ executive producer Chris Clenshaw also recently revealed what made them choose Lola (pictured with Jay Mitchell) for the soap’s tragic terminal cancer storyline
‘With the support of Brain Tumour Research and Macmillan Cancer Support, whose help and support has been invaluable, we as well as all the families and most importantly those actually going through what Lola is, our understanding of the issue grew and we knew just how important it was that we tell this story.
‘And let me tell you, right from the start Danielle has thrown her heart and soul, not only into the performance but also the detailed research.’
He added: ‘I think it’s incredibly difficult. None of us want to say goodbye to the character, and none of us want to say goodbye to Danielle, but I think that’s the character Danielle has created.
‘She is so well loved, and you can only really tell a story like this with a character that is so well loved. We all know how talented Danielle is. But from the outset of this storyline, she has blown everyone away.’
