EE: Danielle's Dilemma

[Twirley]

Now....did I miss an episode? Or are we still in limbo wondering what's happening with Danielle? The last thing I remember is Danielle telling Stacey that she was Ronnie's daughter and then...nothing!

Can anyone enlighten me? PLEASE!!!!!

[Skylace]

We are still kind of in limbo. Nothing more since Stacey found out. Which is a bit insane.

[11antoniacourt]

I'll second that Limbo. No Daniell, no Ronnie, but Ian Beale everywhere you turn.

[SpursFan1902]

The last thing I remember was Stacey and Danielle in the abortion clinic, but she hadn't taken the 2nd pill yet.

[Skylace]

That's what I remember as well Spurs. Which I find odd that we are just left with that.

[Skylace]

Alright Dan! It was nice to see someone grab Stacey and give her a talking too. Why on earth she seems to think she can run everyone's life is beyond me. She can barely handle her own. Go Danielle!

[SpursFan1902]

Yeah, nice to see the girl with some backbone. She can't really be Ronnie's daughter unless she has some of that Mitchell spunk to her, which was sorely lacking before.

[faceless]

The secret's finally out for EastEnder Lauren Crace
Mar 15 2009
by Roz Laws,
Sunday Mercury

SHE’S suffered months of complaints from viewers, but EastEnders star Lauren Crace is delighted her big secret is FINALLY about to be revealed. Brummie actress Lauren plays Danielle Jones, who arrived in Albert Square from her home town of Telford last August. It soon became apparent she was the long-lost daughter of Ronnie Mitchell, who she’d given up for adoption and now believes is dead, thanks to lies told by her father Archie.

While viewers have known the secret for more than six months, most Walford residents have remained oblivious. That was particularly poignant when Ronnie advised Danielle to have an abortion, unaware she was getting rid of her own grandchild. But this week Archie finds out – and Lauren promises that the big reveal, when Ronnie learns the truth, isn’t far behind.

She says: “The thing most people ask me in the street is ‘When does Ronnie find out?’. “I’ve just had to tell people to be patient, but they won’t have long to go now, and it will be worth the wait! It has been such a slow-burner and people are getting frustrated and bored of it. A lot of fans weren’t sure about Danielle at first. She’s not an archetypal EastEnder, she’s not ballsy and loud. That’s what people want and they’re thrown by her, but Little Mo and Honey were the same. I try not to read the internet forums, because some people do slag you off. It’s upsetting if they are mean, but you have to become thick skinned. It’s impossible for all the eight million viewers to like you.”

One viewer wrote on a forum: “The character really irritates me, she looks so awkward and totally unconvincing. Just send her back to Telford or even better acting school!” While such comments hurt, Lauren – who’s articulate and much more outspoken than timid Danielle – admits she had her own issues with the character.

She says: “In the script I kept reading ‘Danielle says shyly’ or ‘Danielle acts naively’. It got really boring for me. She doesn’t do much, people do stuff to her – she’s very passive, and it can be quite depressing to play that five days a week. She is a Mitchell, after all! I told the producer she should stand up for herself more, and that’s just starting to happen. I’ve got some great scenes coming up when she has really good arguments with Archie. She’s not a little mouse any more.”

Lauren grew up in Moseley, Birmingham, the daughter of bestselling novelist Jim Crace. She went to Swanshurst School in Billesley and Cadbury Sixth Form College, where she took a GCSE and A level in drama. She joined the Stage2 youth theatre at 11. “The founder, Liz Light, is amazing. She’s produced a lot of young talent – Adrian Lester went there.”

Lauren’s rise to fame has been remarkably rapid. She found an agent in her third year at RADA, then EastEnders came along before she’d even graduated. “I couldn’t believe it when I got the audition. It’s not what I expected, especially as I don’t come from London. It all happened so quickly. I had a couple of auditions and then the next week I started work, back in June. For the first week of filming I was still appearing in my final show for RADA.”

It’s taken her longer to get used to the attention from viewers. “I was recognised as soon as my photo was published, before I’d even appeared on screen. It was very strange. Now I can’t go out at all without people saying something. It can be quite daunting, especially if I’m on my own and a group of school kids all want to take my photo. For some reason, buses are the worst! You are in people’s living rooms four or five days a week and audiences know your character inside out. When people see you in the street, they don’t always realise you are an actor and not that character.”

Lauren, who’s been dating her actor boyfriend Tom for three years, lives in London but often returns to see her friends and family in Birmingham. “I’m very proud of being a Brummie, though I don’t sound as much like one as I used to. I didn’t think I had an accent but when I got to RADA everyone thought I was a complete ‘yam yam’! I’ve never tried to lose it, but I spent so much time doing Shakespeare and practising the Queen’s English that I’ve lost it a bit. Still, viewers may notice it coming through more with Danielle when she starts rowing!”

[Skylace]

Thank goodness! I am ready for it to come out!

[eefanincan]

[SpursFan1902]

Hopefully this will make Ronnie happy and she will be able to forgive Roxie. I like them together not at each other. If they are united and Roxie sees her father for what he really is, that whole thing could explode and that would be huge!

[pirtybirdy]

Roxie and Ronnie's father Archie is really really creepy, and his face is very similar to Janice Dickinsons. That's a face I've always felt compelled to slap...lol!

[Twirley]

I am so glad this secret is about to erupt. It should be a very complex relationship between Ronnie & Danielle when it's revealed. Can't imagine how Ronnie will react once she knows the truth. I guess it depends how it comes out. I'm glad Archie's involved. Some more fireworks for sure there!

[SpursFan1902]

Hopefully it will spell the end for Archie. I don't like him...I don't like bullies and that is all he is.

[HandoGod]

I heard that someone dies or gets killed as a result of the news. Any truth? And anyone know a date when the truth comes out?

Cheers