For the first time in its history, the London Marathon will welcome cameras from a British television institution as scenes for the London-based soap EastEnders are filmed on Marathon Day (Sunday 21 April).
EastEnders cast members Emma Barton and Jamie Borthwick will run the 2024 TCS London Marathon as part of a storyline in which their characters Honey and Jay run in memory of Jay’s late wife, Lola, who died of a brain tumour in 2023. In the show Honey and Jay will take part for a fictional brain tumour charity, while Emma and Jamie are fundraising for BBC Children in Need and Prostate Cancer UK, respectively.Preparing to run in memory of a loved one will be a familiar emotion for many of those joining the actors on the Start Line this Sunday, when more than 50,000 people are set to take part in the 2024 TCS London Marathon.
Both Emma and Jamie have run the marathon previously, in 2019, for Dementia Revolution when they joined Dame Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell, to run in support of ‘Babs’ Army’. Dame Barbara passed away in 2020 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. This year they have been supported throughout their training by Martin Yelling, the Official TCS London Marathon coach. The hardest challenge has been fitting in training around a busy filming schedule.
Film crews will be located at several locations along the TCS London Marathon route, including Tower Bridge and The Mall, to capture footage of Emma and Jamie as they complete the iconic 26.2-mile course.
The emotional storyline will play out on screens next week, with the TCS London Marathon set to feature in Monday night’s episode of EastEnders on BBC One. Watch Honey and Jay complete the London Marathon in memory of Lola on Monday 22 April at 19:30.