EastEnders' current cancer storyline is set to take a dramatic turn after it was revealed that Carol Jackson will test positive for the faulty BRCA2 gene.
Viewers have already seen the plot begin to unfold after Carol (Lindsey Coulson) - who has been diagnosed with breast cancer - reveal to Sonia and Bianca on Friday's show that she will be tested for the gene.
However the discovery that she is a carrier is set to have dramatic repercussions for her family, in a storyline which is set to run for some months - and will result in one of her daughters also learning that she has the gene.
"She reacts very differently to her mother," EastEnders' executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins explained.
"We don't want to scaremonger, we want to show every little moment of a woman going through this and the way it affects her children, brothers, sisters and parents."
Meanwhile Lindsey told the Telegraph that she had researched the storyline so deeply that it had had a profound effect on her.
"For a while I was so immersed in it, I almost believed I had cancer myself," she admitted.
"It is a big fear for all of us."
The actress added: "The viewers will see it warts and all. Chemo is a toxic poison and you are not going to look great. People need to see that Carol is losing her hair. I'm for as much authenticity as possible."
