Jacqueline Jossa returns to EastEnders: actress reveals she’s reprising her role as Lauren Branning after five years – and she’s about to clash with Cindy Beale
Jacqueline Jossa returns to EastEnders after a five-year break.
The actress, 30, who briefly reprized her role as Lauren Branning for a single episode in June and again last December, has revealed she is moving back to Walford for a more permanent stint and will start filming in a few weeks.
Speak with The sun on Sunday, Jacqueline said: ‘I’m really excited. It’s such a great time to be back as there’s so much buzz around EastEnders at the moment. I watched it and enjoyed it like a fan.
‘Walford has a special place in my heart, so it really feels like coming home.’
Sources have hinted that Jacqueline will be embroiled in an explosive storyline, while Lauren clashes with Cindy Beale, who returned to Walford earlier this month.
She is back! Jacqueline Jossa has revealed she is returning to EastEnders to reprise her role as Lauren Branning after a five-year break
An insider added: ‘Bosses are keeping tight-lipped about when fans will see her back on screen.
‘But it will take place around the end of the year and will probably coincide with the soap’s legendary festive storylines.
“Her old castmates can’t wait to film with her too because she’s such a professional and has a great sense of humor.”
EastEnders executive producer Chris Clenshaw also hinted that Lauren’s return will help bring back some of the family drama the soap is known for.
He added that Lauren’s brief appearance over the summer left “a lot of unfinished business” between herself and the Beale family.
Jacqueline was just 17 when she joined EastEnders in 2010 and was at the center of shocking storylines including Lauren’s battle with alcoholism and brush with death in 2017.
Since her departure in 2018, Jacqueline has appeared on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! where she was crowned Queen of the Jungle and signed a £1million deal with In The Style.
Jacqueline had quashed rumors that she would return as Lauren, after briefly reprising her role to attend Dot Cotton’s funeral in December.
Touching: The actress briefly reprized her role as Lauren Branning for a single episode in June and again last December (pictured)
Departure: Jacqueline was just 17 when she joined EastEnders in 2010 (pictured), and was at the center of shocking storylines including Lauren’s battle with alcoholism
Redeem/l Since her departure in 2018, Jacqueline has appeared on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! and signed a £1 million deal with In The Style
There she is! She briefly reprized her role as Lauren for a single episode in June, and executive producer Chris Clenshaw has hinted that she has “unfinished business” with the Beale family.
In January she had insisted: “I’ve just been inundated with people who are lovely but as I think I’m coming back to Eastenders full time I don’t know if something has been lifted from an interview or completely made up but either way I’m closing just dismiss any rumors or stories.
‘I’m not on my way back to the square full-time, there are no talks, I haven’t confirmed a return yet.
‘That doesn’t mean I would never go back. When the time is right, I would love to.
Jacqueline – who has daughters Ella, eight, and Mia, four, with her TOWIE star husband Dan Osborne – previously posted on Instagram to reminisce about her brief comeback and share hopes of a more permanent return.
When asked if she would return full-time, she said: “I loved being back and was so happy to have you in my DMs, maybe one day.”
She told The Sun: ‘I was quite scared and it was only four and a half years ago. But it felt like 33 years.
“I thought, I don’t know how to act anymore, and then you walk in and you see people like Natalie and Scott Maslen and you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s Uncle Jack!’ It felt like I was at home.’