Thursday night\u2019s episode (22nd June 2023) saw viewers not only find that Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) was alive<\/a> and living once again with her first husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) in France, but also was living with her eldest son Peter Beale (once again played by Thomas Law) and his own son Louie Beale (Freddie Harrington).<\/p>\n Then, fans got another surprise when Louie\u2019s mother and Peter\u2019s ex-girlfriend Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) stepped out of a taxi to collect her son.<\/p>\n It was clear that a romantic spark remained between Lauren and Peter and he was pushing for a reunion, but Lauren\u2019s doubts were multiplied further when she discovered that Cindy Beale was alive and well and Peter had hidden this from her.<\/p>\n Departing to France with her son, and despite Peter\u2019s pleas, Lauren was resolute it was over between them.<\/p>\n However, was that really the last we will see of Jacqueline Jossa as Lauren Branning in EastEnders?<\/p> Jacqueline Jossa has returned as Lauren Branning for only this one episode<\/strong> of EastEnders.<\/p>\n It has yet to be confirmed if we will be seeing Lauren again, but RadioTimes.com<\/a> understands that at least for now she is only back for this special episode.<\/p>\n However, given that Thomas Law will be reprising his role as Peter Beale full-time<\/a> and there remains unfinished business between him and the mother of his son Louie, the door is wide open for Lauren to return down the line.<\/p>\n Read More<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking following her return as Lauren Branning for Dot\u2019s funeral episodes in December, Jossa spoke of her love for the show.<\/p>\n Jossa revealed: \u201cI was quite scared and it\u2019s only been four and a half years, not 33. But it felt like 33 years. I was like, \u2018I can\u2019t remember what I\u2019m doing.\u2019 And then you walk in and you see people like Natalie [Cassidy] and Scott Maslen and then you\u2019re just like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s Uncle Jack.\u2019 Straight away, you\u2019re like, at home.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd 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\u2019s friendly faces, you just feel like a family again, quite quickly, Richard [Lynn] as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWonderful. 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?\u201d<\/p>\n On her first scenes back: \u201cAgain, was really nervous. And I just felt rusty. I didn\u2019t know whether it was good for people to see me as Lauren again.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then as soon as we, you know, are in amongst it, and we\u2019re in the Vic and stuff, you\u2019re talking about people that, you know, you\u2019re catching up with old friends. And literally, they feel like family, it just feels like you get straight back into it.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer. <\/strong>Visit our dedicated EastEnders<\/a><\/strong> page <\/strong>for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for more to watch, check out our <\/strong>TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Take part in the Screen Test<\/a>, a project from Radio Times and the Universities of Sussex and Brighton, to explore the role of television and audio in our lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only \u00a31 with delivery to your home \u2013 <\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to <\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Actress Jacqueline Jossa made an unannounced guest appearance on EastEnders as Lauren Branning on Thursday 22nd June 2023. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":34156,"template":"","categories":[1,2,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/will-jacqueline-jossa-return-full-time-to-eastenders-as-lauren-branning.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/will-jacqueline-jossa-return-full-time-to-eastenders-as-lauren-branning-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/will-jacqueline-jossa-return-full-time-to-eastenders-as-lauren-branning-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/will-jacqueline-jossa-return-full-time-to-eastenders-as-lauren-branning.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/will-jacqueline-jossa-return-full-time-to-eastenders-as-lauren-branning.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/will-jacqueline-jossa-return-full-time-to-eastenders-as-lauren-branning.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/will-jacqueline-jossa-return-full-time-to-eastenders-as-lauren-branning.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Actress Jacqueline Jossa made an unannounced guest appearance on EastEnders as Lauren Branning on Thursday 22nd June 2023.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/34155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Will Jacqueline Jossa return full-time to EastEnders as Lauren Branning?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""Jacqueline\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/407075-a1ba93c.jpg?quality=90&crop=43px%2C0px%2C4244px%2C2827px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"407075,EastEnders\"\\"\/")
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