EastEnders star Max Bowden on Lola's 'heartbreaking' death as he opens up on personal loss

Max Bowden and Tony Clay spoke to Metro. co. uk about what’s coming up for their respective characters.

Anna Shay's community of friends and family are mourning her death.On Monday, Shay's family confirmed that the star of Netflix's  died at the age of 62. «It saddens our hearts to announce that Anna Shay, a loving mother, grandmother, charismatic star, and our brightest ray of sunshine, has passed away at the early age of 62 from a stroke,» her family said in a statement shared with ET. «Anna taught us many life lessons on how not to take life too seriously and to enjoy the finer things.

EastEnders star Shona McGarty has teased the prospect of a new romance at this year’s British Soap Awards as she and her cast mates prepare to face off against some stiff competition from their fellow soap rivals. The popular star, who is best known for playing Whitney Dean on the BBC soap hinted that she was ready to look for love again, just eight months on since splitting from fellow EastEnders star Max Bowden. Speaking on the red carpet at this year’s awards, Shona told The Mirror that she is currently “talking” to a potential new flame, but admitted that it was still “early days.” While at the ceremony, Shona also admitted how nice it had been to catch up with her former flame Max and his mum after so much time apart.

EastEnders star Max Bowden, who plays Ben Mitchell on the long-running soap, has shared some sweet behind-the-scene photos from Saturday night's British Soap Awards The photos saw Max, 28, celebrating EastEnders' numerous wins at the awards ceremony with a number of his co-stars. In his caption, he sweetly gushed over co-star Danielle Harold, who picked up the gong for Best Leading Performer, following her departure from the soap after her character Lola Pearce passed away after suffering from a brain tumour. Max wrote: "Finally the emotions of last night settling in.

EastEnders star James Alexandrou became a well-known face of the BBC soap after making his debut as Martin Fowler when he was just a child. James, 38, took over the role of Martin Fowler from actor Joe Peyton Price back in 1996, when he was around 11 years old and quickly made his mark on the show. During his stint on EastEnders, he had his fair share of on-screen drama from an underage pregnancy storyline to time in prison - it wasn't always easy for the character, especially with feisty Pauline Fowler as his mum (played by Wendy Richard).

Joe Swash, has announced she’s pregnant with her first baby. The actress played the role of Demi Miller in the BBC One soap, who gave birth when she was 13 years old in a controversial storyline in the early 2000s.

When Nalini Chetty graduated from drama school, her sister wondered what characters she’d play as she had “a Scottish accent but you don’t look Scottish".

BBC soap star, who is also Joe Swash's sister, shared the happy news on social media. Shana, who played Demi Miller for two years from 2004, posted a sweet photo of her fiance Nick Jones kissing her behind a baby scan.  Shana declared: "PENDING.

EastEnders has had a dramatic year, so it's not surprising that the soap has picked up a number of nominations at this year's British Soap Awards. But one person is missing, according to fans and actor Max Bowden. Young Lexi Mitchell has had a tough few months as her mum Lola was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour, before she passed away on Wednesday's episode.

Bartise Bowden never wants fans to think he was hiding his son, Hayden, from the world. The  season 3 star who went on to appear on, took to Instagram in April to post a pic of his baby boy, shocking fans with the reveal.But in a new episode of his podcast, Bartise explained the timing of his announcement and why he chose to keep his son and his «baby mama» out of the limelight initially.«I wish the public had a little bit more of an appreciation for people's private life,» Bartise admitted.

EastEnders actress Emma Barton has paid tribute to co-star Perry Fenwick in a heartfelt Instagram post to commemorate his birthday. The former Strictly Come Dancing star, who plays Perry's on-screen partner in the soap, shared a photo of the two smiling together in front of a Christmas tree. "Happiest of Birthdays to this wonderful Human.

EastEnders star Max Bowden revealed Lola’s brain tumour storyline has been “tough” for him following the death of his best friend. The 28 year old told how the plot surrounding Lola’s final days has been ‘the hardest he has ever had to deal with’ because his pal died from the same illness almost two years ago. Lola Pearce - played by Danielle Harold - is tragically nearing the end of her life but Max’s character Ben Mitchell is desperate to try to prolong her time.

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Tragic Lola Pearce got a special reunion with an EastEnders legend who returned for a final chat ahead of her heartbreaking death. In Thursday's episode, viewers saw Patrick Trueman (played by Rudolph Walker) make an unexpected appearance on a video call as Lola enjoyed a mocked-up Ladies' Day at home.

EastEnders actress Kacey Ainsworth split from her husband of 18 years and has moved on with a fellow actor.

Paddy Considine has played cops, ex-cons, priests, architects, struggling actors, union organizers and rock band managers. But when his agent told him that Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik wanted him to play King Viserys I Targaryen in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel series, “House of the Dragon,” he couldn’t quite believe it was real. “I said, ‘Who’s turned this down?’ Because I’m cynical that way,” he says. “My agent was like, ‘I assure you, they’re just coming to you for it.’” Part of Considine’s disbelief was due to his feeling that the industry at large had only ever seen him as the working-class striver he made his name playing in the 2000s, in films such as “In America,” “My Summer of Love” and “Cinderella Man.”

EastEnders have aired yet more heartbreaking scenes on Wednesday night as young mum Lola was baptised by Reverend Mills. Lola decided she wanted to be baptised following a visit from the Reverend and a chat with her young daughter, Lexi. She wants to be able to find Lexi in heaven in years to come when Lexi eventually dies, despite never believing in God.

It's been an exciting time for EastEnders fans with the coming and going of many beloved characters, from Lola Pearce-Brown's (Danielle Harold) upcoming death to the arrival of the mysterious Knight family, featuring the likes of Bond actor Colin Salmon and Strictly's Molly Rainford. However, as well as brand new characters being introduced to the show by showrunner Chris Clenshaw, 2023 is set to have a few surprises in store with a number of Albert Square icons heading back to their East London roots over the next few months.

EastEnders star Danielle Harold has got a brand new TV gig after filming her final scenes as cancer-stricken Lola Pearce on the BBC soap, according to reports. In October 2022, Danielle's hairdresser character received a devastating terminal cancer diagnosis, with doctors telling her she has just months to live. The character has now moved home to spend her final moments with loved ones, with BBC set to air her heartbreaking death scene next week.

EastEnders star Debbie Arnold has claimed that Phillip Schofield should not host the British Soap Awards as it will ‘all be about him’. The 67 year old actress, who has also appeared in Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, claimed that Philip’s presence at the ceremony could take the spotlight away from actors nominated for gongs.