EastEnders cancelled as BBC soap taken off air in schedule shake-up

08 February 2023 , 15:51

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EastEnders cancelled as BBC soap taken off air in schedule shake-up

EastEnders has been removed from its 7.30pm slot on BBC One tonight to make way for an FA Cup fourth round match.

The BBC soap will air on Friday night instead to accommodate the clash between Sunderland and Fulham.

Coverage of the fourth-round replay at the Stadium of Light begins at 7.30pm with a 7.45pm kick-off with the winning coming up against Leeds in the next round.

The Repair Shop, originally scheduled for 8pm and Sort Your Life Out with Stacey Solomon which airs on Wednesdays at 9pm have also both been cancelled to make way for the FA Cup fixture.

Lola Pearce discovered a devastating revelation about her childhood in Tuesday's episode (BBC)

EastEnders takes the place of A Question of Sport on Friday and will air at the soap's usual time of 7.30pm.

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EastEnders fans will have to wait a day longer to find out how Lola Pearce's (Danielle Harold) will react to her long-lost mum Emma (Patsy Kensit) sticking around in Walford.

In Tuesday's instalment, the terminally ill hairdresser was reunited with her mum after discovering her new client's true identity.

Patsy Kensit has joined EastEnders as Lola Pearce's mum (BBC)

Lola had been brought up to believe her mum had abandoned her when she was a toddler but the truth was far more heartbreaking.

“Your dad used to drink and when he did we’d fight and he’d hurt me,” Emma told Lola. "He’d say he was sorry and then he’d cry and promise to change if I helped him but then one time on your third birthday he threw a boiling kettle over me.

“I was in hospital for months. I was in such pain. When I finally came out and I came to find you, you were gone.”

Emma told Lola Pearce she wouldn't "let go" after reuniting (BBC)

She added: “He had this jealous streak. He’d get nasty and violent.”

Lola refused to accept Emma's version of events and insisted her dad would never hurt anyone.

“I left because I was terrified,” she revealed as she lifted up her top to show her scars. “This is what he did to me. That was your lovely father.”

Ryan Molloy will make an explosive return to EastEnders in upcoming scenes (BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

Lola realised her mother was telling the truth when Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) opened up to his granddaughter about beating his nephew Jamie Mitchell (Jack Ryder).

The hairdresser chased after her mum and invited her to stay. Emma eagerly agreed telling her daughter: "I'm here now and I'm not going to let you go."

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EastEnders continues on BBC One on Thursday at 7.30pm.

Charlotte McIntyre