Patsy Kensit joins EastEnders as Lola Pearce’s mother, Emma Harding
The casting of Patsy Kensit in EastEnders has been confirmed with a first-look picture of the actress on set
EastEnders bosses have released a new picture of Patsy Kensit in her short-term role as Emma Harding, mother of Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold).
Emma left Lola’s father when Lola was only three years old, and has not seen her daughter since. In the midst of uncertainty about her future, how will Lola respond when she is confronted by a face from her past in Albert Square?
Speaking of joining the show, Patsy said:
“I’m so excited to be visiting Walford for this storyline. It has always been a dream of mine to appear in EastEnders. The cast, producers, writers and crew have been wonderful, and I’ve had a ball. Thank you so much for having me.”
Patsy has had a varied career as an actress, which includes longstanding roles, such as playing Faye Morton in Holby City for three years, and movies, including Lethal Weapon 2, in which she played Rika Van Den Haas. To many she is best known for her role as Sadie King in Emmerdale between 2004 and 2006. She was nominated for two awards during this time, a British Soap Award and a National Television Award.
During the 1980s, she was the lead singer of the band Eighth Wonder who had success in Japan and Italy between 1985-1987, before breaking through in the UK and across Europe in 1988 with the hit single I’m Not Scared.
Former soap role: Patsy Kensit as Sadie in Emmerdale
Chris Clenshaw, Executive Producer, said of the casting:
“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. 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.”
