Actress Jacqueline Jossa has said her return as Lauren Branning to EastEnders shows that it is “not over yet” for the Brannings.
The popular character is returning as part of a special set of episodes that pay tribute to the beloved character of Dot Branning (previously Cotton) who died off-screen earlier this month.
The funeral episodes for Dot Branning come following the death of iconic actress June Brown at the age of 95 earlier this year.
Jossa herself was axed from the soap in 2017 and Lauren was last seen on-screen leaving Walford in early 2018 for a life away from Albert Square with her baby son Louie Beale.
Since then, it was revealed that Lauren was now residing in New Zealand, while Jossa herself went on to win I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! 2019.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press at an event for Dot’s funeral episodes, actress Jacqueline Jossa reflected on her return to the soap for the funeral of Dot Branning.
Jossa revealed: “I was quite scared and it’s only been four and a half years, not 33. But it felt like 33 years. I was like ‘I can’t remember what I’m doing’. And then you walk in and you see people like Natalie [Cassidy] and Scott Maslen and then you’re just like, ‘Oh, it’s Uncle Jack.’ straightaway, you’re like, at home. And I remember the people behind the cameras. The people holding the boom, on the show are still here. You notice that the same people it’s friendly faces, you just feel like a family again, quite quickly, Richard [Lynn] as well. Wonderful. Like we worked together years and years ago, and he was one of my favourite directors. So it was like, genuinely being back at home, you know?”
On her first scenes back: “Again, was really nervous. And I just felt rusty. I don’t know whether people I didn’t know it was good for people gonna see me as Lauren again.”
“Okay, so, but then as soon as we, you know, in amongst it, and we’re in the Vic and stuff and you. You see, you’re talking about people that you know, and it’s it’s dark and you catching up with old friends. And literally, they feel like family, it just feels like you get straight back into it.”
On being asked to return: “I mean, it was just a WhatsApp message from my agent. ‘You’re not really free these two weeks, but you’ve been asked’ and I was like, ‘We need to move everything I’m going back was like yes, yes, yes. Yes.’ Like, that was literally a no-brainer.”
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When asked where Lauren is at this time in her life, Jossa said: “I’m not really sure. We can just make it up. She’s just popping in. I feel like she’s kind of there to let people know that there’s still hope and a future for the Brannings and that it’s not over yet.”
Lauren also has a tense confrontation with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) in the Queen Vic about her affair with Lauren’s absent dad Max Branning (Jake Wood).
“And I love how she defended Max, and I don’t get it but she always does,” laughed Jossa.
Reminiscing about her own history with actress June Brown, Jossa revealed that she used to be scared of the iconic actress when she was younger.
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Jossa admitted: “I used to be terrified of June, only because it really was like what June says goes. And I was young, and she’d just come in and she’d have changed the whole script, but it would be for the better, genuinely. So I never really learned my lines properly when we were doing scenes because I knew she was going to come in and change them and then the director would have to be like, ‘Are you cool with that?’ I’m like, “Yes, June said it. So we’re doing it.’
“You know, I was really like, I was a fan of EastEnders before and then to come in and be part of her family. She already feels like your nan. You know, like, everyone watching at home when they watch this episode. It’s like you literally are watching Grandma Dot. Like she’s part of the furniture. She’s your family. The whole of Britain will feel that. When you watch it, it feels like you’re at her funeral. Yeah, I felt that all over again.”
Jossa also described the involvement of June Brown’s family to be a “dream come true” as some of her children appear briefly in the background of the funeral scenes after requesting to join the cast for the episode.
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