Fiction is looking to meet reality at the London marathon this year, where Jay Brown and Honey Mitchell of EastEnders will be running alongside some 40,000 participants. The Christmas day episode broke the news that Jay’s late wife, Lola, signed the pair up to run the marathon before she died, with Jamie Borthwick (Jay Brown) saying that while his character “didn’t expect it”, “he takes it on with an open mind and has a ‘go for it’ attitude”.
Borthwick and Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell) will actually be running in this year’s London marathon, during which they will be in character and followed by a BBC film crew. Executive producer Chris Clenshaw said that they were “thrilled to celebrate our city” in what is “a landmark occasion in the capital”, before going on to promise “a never-before-seen glimpse of the momentous day”.
Borthwick reiterated the importance of the marathon to the capital, saying that “EastEnders is a London show” and enthusing that he was “really excited to be a part of it”. Though participating in character, both Borthwick and Barton will be running for charities of their own choice.
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The soap stars will be filmed as they run through the streets of London, meaning that anyone amidst the crowds of supporters cheering the runners on has the potential to be caught in the background of the shot, and make it onto the BBC1 show.
Borthwick spoke of the importance of the run to his character Jay, saying that “it’s something to focus on and hopefully to stop him spiralling again”, while Chris Clenshaw emphasised the “profound effect” of Lola’s death on the residents of Walford, revealing that the storyline would “continue to follow her loved ones as they attempt to come to terms with her death and honour her legacy”.
This is not the first EastEnders crossover with reality, with Perry Fenwick (who plays Billy Mitchell in the soap) carrying the Olympic Torch in 2012. Borthwick and Barton have taken part in the London marathon before, as have other EastEnders stars such as Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater) and Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale).
