Former 'EastEnders' star Danielle Harold says her character's brain tumour death inspired her to get her headaches checked out.
Danielle Harold got her headaches checked after her EastEnders character Lola died of a brain tumour
The 31-year-old actress - who recently departed Albert Square when her character met her maker - admitted the fate of the 26-year-old hairdresser reminded her not to ignore her pains.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “The show reminded me to get checked. It’s raising awareness.
“If you’ve got headaches or sharp pains, they’re the first signs of a brain tumour so go and get it checked.
“It’s worth it. It’s not worth ignoring. That’s a story I’ve heard a lot ... the headaches keep coming and people don’t get checked until it was too late.”
Danielle - who recently took home a TRIC Award in the Best Soap Category for the storyline - labelled the reaction to her performance “amazing”.
She said: “The response afterwards has just been amazing. I get a lot of messages – normally it’s lovely to get so many messages, but in this case it’s really not because it shows how many people are affected by cancer.
“They tell me their stories, really close personal stories. I read everything but I can’t reply to everything.
“You are that character, so you do take a lot on your shoulders, but you want to help everyone involved.
“On the street, people feel like it’s a comfortable place for them to share because I know so much about cancer now after all the research.”
The star shared how BBC bosses gave her "so much help” during the plot, and she plans to keep in touch with her ex-castmates, like Jamie Borthwick and Patsy Kensit, who returned for Lola’s funeral.
Danielle said: “There is so much help at work. I’m so lucky that it’s not me. That gets me through.
“But the show has been an amazing support.
“Me and Patsy are going for dinner soon. I will keep in touch with all the cast.”
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