When Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit) first appeared on EastEnders, Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) has been wary of her, and alarm bells are about to go off because he worries that she may not be able to handle her daughter’s condition.
After receiving a life-extending diagnosis of an incurable brain tumour last year, Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) has been undergoing therapy.
Her health, however, has lately deteriorated as seen by episodes of drowsiness and memory loss, which have worried specialists who suspect her chemotherapy may not be working.
After concentrating on her fundraising event for days, Lola asks Emma to spend the evening with her and Lexi (Isabella Brown) at home.
Jay is worried that Emma may not be handling things as well as they previously believed as she clumsily refuses the offer.
Emma abandoned Lola when she was a youngster and didn’t re-enter her life until Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), who had finally found her, asked her to Lola and Jay’s wedding.
She subsequently made an appointment with Lola at the salon under a false name, hoping to get to know her, but she never showed up.
But the truth eventually came to light when Lola realised that Emma had handed her some cash after learning about her condition through internet videos.
Before Emma disclosed the true reason for her departure, Lola was cautious to trust her.
She acknowledged that Lola’s father had burned her with boiling water, forcing her to spend months in the hospital. She had already been ejected from the family by the time she managed to leave.
Lola resolved to start again and get to know her mother properly after finally forgiving her mother.
Jay confronts Emma because he doesn’t want Lola to be played with, and Emma ends up crying herself to sleep at the Queen Vic.
Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) joins her, and she discusses her motherly guilt towards Lola.
Will Emma be able to make up for lost time and accept her daughter’s illness before it’s too late?