Frances Lorraine "Lollipop Lol" Jenkins is a supporting character in This Is England and one of the central characters of This Is England '86 and This Is England '88. She is portrayed by Vicky McClure.
Characterization
Lol was a factory worker and later a single mother who lived near Nottingham, and part of the skinhead gang during the early 80's. Loud and friendly, yet a little reserved, Lol was a prominent member of the gang, who was quiet secretive when it came to her past.
- "I'm an observer, so don't try and lie to me..." — Lol
She was Woody's girlfriend, and she was the leader of the girls in the gang. In 1988, she became a single mother to a girl named Lisa. She suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder in which she often experienced visions of her abusive father.
Character History
Before 1983
Lol was the first-born daughter of Mick and Chrissy. However, her home life was not the ideal one, since Mick was a physically, verbally and sexually abusive man and Chrissy was a passive woman who took Mick's abuse and even grew to love him more despite his behaviour. Mick sexually molested Lol, who told her mother, but she thought up an alibi for Mick by saying she had kicked him out of the bedroom and he accidentally stumbled into Lol's room, and Lol got hysterical (although this story was far from plausible, since Chrissy would not have the authority to send Mick out of the bedroom in the first place, and Mick would not be able to molest Lol without being able to see where he was going). Lol eventually confided this story to her friend, Combo, who tried to beat Mick up in revenge, but Lol later found Combo beaten and bloodied in the street, Mick having left him to die. Lol rushed Combo to the hospital, but continued to live her life of abuse. At one point, Lol and Combo had an affair while drunk, but Lol insisted that it was a one-night stand, and eventually met Woody, beginning a long-term relationship with him. The three of them eventually became skinheads and formed a group, including Milky, Pukey, Kes, Gadget, Meggy, Kelly (Lol's younger sister), Smell and Trev. Before Lol began a true relationship with Woody, he and Milky took turns in dating Lol, and Lol would harbour romantic feelings towards Milky as much as Woody. Eventually, Mick abandoned the household, leaving Chrissy, Lol and Kelly alone.
1983
In 1983, Lol is introduced to Shaun, the newest member of the group. On Shaun's insistence, Lol shaves his head to make him a true skinhead, but is reprimanded by Shaun's mother, Cynthia, though she nevertheless thanks the skinheads for cheering Shaun up. Later, Combo returns to the group after a prison sentence, and shares an uneasy reunion with him. Later on, Combo asserts his racist views on the skinheads and causes them to split into two groups. Lol remains in Woody's apolitical group.
Later on, Combo approaches Lol on her way to work and expresses her anger at him for hurting Woody's feelings. In private, Combo admits that he has loved Lol since their affair years ago, but Lol tells him that it was the worst night of her life, and leaves him.
1986
Lol looks humiliated after Woody struggles with his vows
In 1986, Woody proposes to Lol, and she accepts. However, for some reason, Chrissy does not turn up as promised, and even disconnects her phone. Furthermore, Woody finds himself unable to say "I do", infuriating Lol, and things are only made worse when Meggy has a heart attack and the wedding is abandoned to get him to the hospital. Lol expresses her hurt feelings to Woody, and even speaks alone with Milky, remembering their time as teenagers, and Lol even hints that she still loves him. Chrissy eventually does turn up at the hospital, but only because she got Shaun there after finding him wounded. In her rage, Lol tries to attack her mother but is restrained by Woody. For some reason, Chrissy subtly mocks Lol for her failed wedding and urges her to move in with Woody.
Lol forgives Woody and decides to move in with him, but only gets angry at him again when his choice of residence is a run-down apartment where someone died. Lol is comforted by Smell, and to cheer her up, the gang takes her for a house party at Carrotbum's home. At the party, she tries to speak with Woody, but he fails to answer due to being drunk, infuriating her even further. Lol eventually decides to go back home, but when she arrives, she sees that Mick has returned, welcomed back by Chrissy. Lol confronts Chrissy about her decision and accuses Mick of his past actions, but Chrissy lashes out at Lol and reveals that she deliberately missed Lol's wedding in order to be with Mick, and then tells her outright to "fuck off out of [my] house". Horrified at her mother's betrayal, Lol leaves and tries to tell Woody at work that her father has returned, but he is unable to see to her. Distraught, Lol turns to Milky and begins an affair with him. She confesses to Milky that her abusive father has returned and that Combo once tried to fight him. Lol continues her affair with Milky until her father shows up at her home to warn her to stop telling people about him.
1988
Lol then fell pregnant due to an affair with Milky, Woody's best friend, and when her child Lisa was born Woody broke up with her. She raised Lisa on her own, with Milky visiting only occasionally. An agitated Lol attacks Lisa's paediatrician after she suggests that Lol may still be suffering from
Woody cradling Lol
post-natal depression. This sparks anger within Lol who blurts out the struggles of raising Lisa alone. The next day Lol arranges to meet the nurse she shouted at explaining her emotional turmoil and the sexual abuse she suffered from her deceased father. Lol, now in tears confesses that she is still haunted by visions of her dead father and can never be at peace. Lol cries for help; whislt the nurse and Lol embrace in a moment of solidarity.
Still haunted by visions of her father, Lol attempts to take her life by overdoasing on Paracetamal. A distraught Woody pays a visit to Lol and the two cradle each other.
- Romantic Relationships
- Woody and Lol - refers to the romantic pairing between Richard Woodford and Lorraine Jenkins, which spanned throughout 1983 and 1986.
- Combo and Lol - refers to the romantic pairing between Andrew Gascoigne and Lorraine Jenkins, which happened when the couple were younger.
- Milky and Lol - refers to the romantic pairing between Milky and Lol, which spanned throughout 1988.