Danielle Harold says she is keen to step out from behind her EastEnders character so people see the real person in the jungle.
The 31-year-old won prizes including a National TV Award for her incredible portrayal of Lola Pearce-Brown in two stints lasting over a decade. She left the show earlier this year after Lola died from a brain tumour. But now actor Danielle is ready to be herself on screen and ahead of going into camp she said: “It will definitely be good to step out. I mean I’ve been playing Lola for 15 years now, a long time.
“So it’s nice to do something that is me for a change. It will be nice to meet new people and hear new stories. I’m really excited. I think maybe people don’t know what to expect, or who I am really. I’m very bubbly and chatty. I love chats and listening to people’s stories and asking questions, I love a question. So I’m looking forward to getting in there and getting to know people.”
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ITV)
One thing Danielle is not looking forward to quite as much though is the famous jungle shower. Over the years stars like Myleene Klass have posed for famous footage cooling off in a white bikini. But Danielle said: ‘I know I will not be doing the classic Myleene Klass shower picture – that won’t be me. I’ll probably be crouching on the floor of the shower because the water will be cold.
“That whole sexy shower image, that’s not me. I’m just goofy, not shy, definitely not shy like that. I’m just a bit goofy and I hate cold water. I don’t know how these girls do it and they look lovely in there.
“I’ve looked at the pictures and thought, ‘how are they doing that?’. My pictures would not be like that. I’m literally not going in thinking about glam looks or anything. I’m just thinking, survive – get through, breathe through it.”
Once her jungle adventure is over, Danielle also hopes to start 2024 with a bang and some new acting roles. And after the seriousness of her last months in Albert Square with Lola’s illness, it is perhaps unsurprising she fancies a change.
She added: “I’d love to continue to act. Obviously, we’ve had the strikes in America at the moment so that’s had a massive effect over here and so everything’s been dialled down. So I was just so lucky when this came up and I’m so grateful that I have the time to do it and that they’ll have me.
“I would love to do a comedy, I really would, it would be so lovely to do something funny. As you say, the storyline was so hard and it was a really sad story to do. So it would be lovely to do something a lot lighter.”
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