Emma Barton and Jamie Borthwick are preparing to run the London Marathon, while also filming Monday’s episode of EastEnders.
The two soap stars play Honey Mitchell and Jay Brown in the BBC soap, who run the marathon in memory of Lola Mitchell (Danielle Harold).
The tragic character, who was married to Jay, died in 2023 after a battle with brain cancer.
In a present-day story, Jay and Honey, who is married to Lola’s grandfather and Jay’s former adoptive father, Billy Mitchell, train to run the race while continuing to navigate their grief.
But in real life, Jamie, 29, and Emma, 46, will take part in the race on behalf of separate charities close to their hearts, while filming the soap.
Emma Barton and Jamie Borthwick are preparing to run the London Marathon, while also filming Monday’s episode of EastEnders.
The two soap stars play Honey Mitchell and Jay Brown in the BBC soap, who run the Lola Mitchell Memorial Marathon (pictured in the soap).
The tragic character, played by Danielle Harold, who was married to Jay, died in 2023 after a battle with brain cancer (pictured).
Emma will be running on behalf of BBC Children in Need and Jamie will be running on behalf of Prostate Cancer UK.
The pair will direct character portions of the event to film scenes live from the road on the day that will be featured on the show tomorrow night.
Jamie and Emma spoke to host Gabby Logan about the complicated filming process while also taking on the challenging race.
Speaking about how the plan came about, Jamie explained: “We’re doing this on screen in memory of Lola, my wife who sadly passed away from a brain tumor in the story. She and Honey, before she passed away, put Jay on the run. marathon.
“So our executive Chris Clenshaw said we would do it for real. We came up with the idea: “How would you feel doing the marathon?” We stupidly agreed and here we are!
‘But we’re working today, so we have our camera equipment set up at four points. Here, Cutty Sark, London Bridge and the finish line, where we need to be at the markings and shoot some footage.”
Detailing the difficulty of filming, Emma added: “Yeah, yesterday we had a sort of meeting, like ‘can you be on the left side of this area, on the right side of this?’ and we were like, ‘Oh my God!’
“It’s crazy because we’re going from enjoying this to running for our charities, but it’s a day’s work.”
In a present-day story, Jay and Honey, who is married to Lola’s grandfather and Jay’s former adoptive father, Billy Mitchell, train to run the race while continuing to navigate their grief.
But in real life, Jamie, 29, and Emma, 46, will take part in the race on behalf of charities close to their hearts, while filming the soap.
Jamie and Emma spoke to host Gabby Logan about the complicated filming process while also taking on the challenging race.
They pointed out where the cameras and their co-stars would be along the route, with locations mapped to tell them where to go.
Gabby asked if the couple had to make sure they ran side by side for the cameras.
Jamie admitted: ‘They would like us to do it. If we part ways, we hope it won’t be too far. But we don’t know, we’ll have to see the day!’
Emma added that the pair hadn’t managed to train much together in Albert Square, saying: “Not really, we’ve done our own training separately.” We’ve done some things when we can do them at work.
She went on to say that she would listen to ’90s dance music throughout the marathon to cheer her up.
To give the show authenticity, both actors run under their character names, and Emma turns to show Honey written on the back of her shirt.
But even when the marathon is over, the hard work won’t be over yet, as the footage will need to be edited in time to be broadcast on Monday night.
Emma explained that quick turnaround is very rare for the soap, saying: “We’re usually about eight weeks ahead.” So they will film this today, then return to Elstree and edit it for inclusion in tomorrow’s show.
To give the show authenticity, both actors run under their character names, and Emma turns to show Honey written on the back of her shirt.
Jamie recalled previously running the London Marathon with her co-stars in 2019, for Barbara Windsor, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Jamie recalled previously running the London Marathon with her co-stars in 2019, for Barbara Windsor, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
The EastEnders legend died in December 2020 at the age of 83 in a London nursing home.
He said: ‘[I ran] in 2019 for the lovely Dame Barbara Windsor with Scott Mitchell, who we all know.
“That was all great, we loved the day and it feels like five months ago and it was five years ago and here we are.” It’s crazy how this has all happened again.
Speaking about the plot, executive producer Chris Clenshaw said: “The London Marathon is a landmark event in the capital and we are therefore delighted to celebrate our city and offer our viewers a never-before-seen insight into this momentous day. through the characters of Jay and Honey as they participate in the event.
“Lola’s death had a profound effect on the residents of Walford and this story will follow her loved ones as they continue to come to terms with her death and honor her legacy.”