Billy Mitchell disappears before granddaughter Lola’s funeral in EastEnders

DEVASTATED after his granddaughter Lola’s death, Billy Mitchell is one of many who will bid her a final farewell next week.

But when the day of her funeral finally comes in EastEnders, the market trader played by Perry Fenwick is nowhere to be found.

BBC One viewers were left in tears in early June when Lola’s final scenes were aired.

The hairstylist played by Danielle Harold drew her last breath surrounded by her young daughter Lexi (portrayed by Isabella Brown) and her husband Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick).

Many Walford residents were considerably shaken by the loss and will join Lola’s loved ones for her funeral next week.

It all begins with Lola’s grandfather Billy Mitchell who is reeling as he attempts to busy himself with final preparations for the funeral.

After a tense meeting with the Reverend, Billy lashes out at Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) and Jay as he shares his disgust for how the Mitchell family treated Lola over the years before storming out.

Jay struggles to deal with his grief and heads to The Vic but he’s soon sent home by a concerned Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) and Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) to sober up.

Later, Honey finds a dejected Billy alone outside the funeral parlour and encourages him to say a final goodbye to Lola.

The day of Lola’s funeral finally arrives and Billy is nowhere to be seen – will he be found in time?

Billy heavily struggled to cope during Lola’s last days and spiralled out of control during a tense confrontation with Nish Panesar at the Minute Mart.

The doting grandfather was taken away by the police and locked in a cell, leaving him mortified that he may run out of time before saying goodbye to a dying Lola.

A heartless Nish refused to help him and empathise with Billy, which left Honey no other option but to take action herself.

Honey turned to Nish’s wife Suki Panesar and blackmailed her into making sure Billy was released before it was too late.

Suki, mortified that her husband may find out about her attempted kiss with Honey, resolved the issue herself behind closed doors.

In later scenes, she helped Billy with his grocery shopping, letting the past go and supporting him in his grief – much to Nish’s annoyance.

But how can Billy be supported ahead of Lola’s funeral?

Will he be able to cope with her loss down the line?

EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.