I'm a Celeb's Danielle Harold - 'tough' upbringing to Jamie Oliver reality stint
Former EastEnders actress Danielle Harold had a difficult start in life.
Despite the odds stacked against her, she managed to turn her life around and shot to fame in the BBC soap, and is now part of this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! line-up of celeb contestants.
The 30-year-old star, who played Lola Pearce on the iconic soap show for 12 years, has been a fan favourite since her debut in 2011. Sadly, her character passed away from a brain tumour in May this year. But during her time on the BBC soap, the talented actress had taken on various hard-hitting storylines including being a young mum to Lexi Pearce, played by Isabella Brown.
But now Danielle is preparing to swap the cobbles of Walford for the jungle Down Under on the ITV show hosted by the beloved duo Ant and Dec. While Danielle is best known for her gritty and complex plots on Eastenders, her off-screen life is just as fascinating.
Danielle played Lola Pearce on Eastenders for 12 years (BBC)
Danielle took on various hard-hitting storylines including being a young mum to Lexi Pearce (BBC)'Tough' childhood
Danielle, from Lewisham, London, has spoken openly about her childhood and growing up in a 'tough' neighbourhood. In a Sunday People interview, Danielle revealed that a traumatic experience involving a neighbour changed the way she saw the world.
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She said: "I didn’t grow up in a great area — it was a tough place to live at times. A local boy who lived a few streets away from me was out one night and ran into the wrong crowd. He was stabbed and died. That was a massive eye-opener for me. I was only 16 but it made me realise that there are dangers out there.
According to Danielle, the experience also helped her portray Lola and appreciate life more. She added: “It made me grow up a lot and I learnt how to be streetwise which helped me so much with Lola. It was terrible when he died but it made me appreciate what I’ve got."
Danielle has spoken openly about her tough childhood (Getty Images Europe)
She said the traumatic experience changed the way she saw the world. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)Reality TV
Danielle, who left school with only one GCSE to her name, was one of the lucky 20 teenagers featured on Jamie Oliver's seven-part Channel 4 series, Jamie’s Dream School. The show aimed to inspire young people who had failed in their education, and it certainly did just that for Danielle. After winning a scholarship on the show, Danielle was able to hire a drama teacher, which eventually led to her getting an agent. Her first audition just so happened to be for the role of Lola in EastEnders, and she got the part.
Danielle has been vocal about how much Jamie's show helped her, saying: “Jamie Oliver was a complete life changer for me. I was so lucky to have got on that programme. It was so much fun and a completely new experience. It made me believe in myself and made me realise I could achieve whatever I wanted in life. You just need a little bit of encouragement sometimes and someone that believes in you.”
Danielle was one of the lucky 20 teenagers featured on Jamie’s Dream School. (Getty Images)
Danielle, left school with only one GCSE to her name (Getty Images)During her appearance on Jamie's Dream School, Danielle’s history teacher, David Starkey, was impressed with her essays and advised her to apply to Cambridge University. Danielle said she was surprised by this as she had never written an essay until that point.
She said: “After going to Jamie’s Dream School I was told to apply to Cambridge University. One of the teachers was really keen on an essay I had written. I had never written an essay before so it was a bit of a shock.” However, thankfully for TV fans, Danielle realised that university wasn't for her and that her true calling was acting. She added: “He introduced me to someone who would help me to apply. They really thought I could do it. But it wasn’t for me – acting was my calling. That’s when I landed the part of Lola. It was like a dream come true.”
Danielle said she applied to Cambridge university before getting the role of Lola Pearce (BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)Former health problems
Danielle had suffered from a long-term bladder problem that prevented her from taking exams during her school days, something she has also been open about. Her schoolwork suffered heavily due to the severe illness and she ended up leaving school with only one GCSE.
She said: “When I was in year 10 I fell ill and I was in and out of hospital. At that point, I just gave up. I didn’t try with my GCSEs and I only got one. After that, I worked as a waitress but I didn’t really enjoy it. I lost all my confidence and I didn’t believe in myself.” But thankfully just after this, Danielle applied to Jamie's Dream School.
School life
The actress has also been quite open about her personality as a student. She said that although she was not a troublemaker, she was quite "feisty." She also admitted that her attitude was similar to Lola's. When she began secondary school, Danielle said she had to defend herself because she was small and vulnerable.
Danielle said she was feisty as a student during school (Getty Images)She told Sunday People: “I didn’t do well at school. I used to bunk off lessons a lot. I always felt frustrated because I couldn’t understand maths and English. I knew I’d never get good grades. I was more into drama and sports. I wouldn’t cause trouble but I had a lot of Lola’s attitude.
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“I’d be feisty and answer back. I was so small when I started secondary school that I’d have to stick up for myself. A lot of girls in my school were very loud so I had to speak up to have my voice heard. But I never got in fights, it was more chat, to be honest. A lot of the girls had babies at my school and that was one route I could have gone down but that wasn’t for me.”
Bond with co-stars
Danielle has also spoken about her bond with Jamie Borthwick, who played her on-screen husband on the show, which is said to go beyond the screen. In an interview with Digital Spy, Jamie revealed that the two are like "brother and sister" in real life. The pair played on-screen couple Jay Brown and Lola Pearce on the popular soap opera, but their friendship off-screen is just as strong.
Jamie (pictured second) revealed that the two are like "brother and sister" in real life (danielle_harold/Instagram)Jamie gushed about their close relationship, saying: "We have a laugh on set, we know each other inside out, and we know what makes each other laugh. We know when it's time to be serious, we know when it's time to be silly." It's clear that Danielle and Jamie have each other's backs, with Jamie adding, "I've got Danielle's back, and she's got my back; we're extremely close — we're like brother and sister, and I'm with her every step of the way."
I'm A Celebrity airs on November 19 on ITV at 9pm
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