EastEnders fans hope for shock Branning comeback as stars reunite on set

EastEnders fans have expressed hope for a Branning comeback on the show after one former actor shared a sweet reunion with her co-stars. Jo Joyner famously played Tanya Branning on the BBC soap, last appearing back in 2018.

While she has been busy since, starring in the likes of Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators and Stay Close, she took time to pop by EastEnders' set, sharing a few snaps with her on-screen family.

In one, she is seen alongside former on-screen husband Jake Wood (Max Branning) alongside soap son Pierre Counihan-Moullier (Oscar) and daughter Jacqueline Jossa (Lauren), as well as on-screen partner Robert Kazinsky (Sean Slater).

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"When you’re filming round the corner so you pop in to see the faaaaaaamily. And finally meet your son!" she wrote in the caption, referencing Pierre, while in another pic captioned "happy days" she is spotted with Jake, Jacqueline and Robert again.

While this appears to be just a nice catch-up, fans have expressed hope for a Tanya return, one writing on X: "Is it too much to hope that this is a cute little cover story for a brief Tanya return around New Year?"

"Think she’ll make a brief return to take Oscar back in," another speculated, while a third added: "Really hope they’ll bring back Tanya and Cora."

"JO JOYNER WENT TO THE EASTENDERS SET AND FINALLY MET PIERRE. OH WE NEED TANYA BACK ASAP PLS," another beamed.

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Back in June, it emerged that Jo had secret talks with show bosses about returning recently, the star saying in a resurfaced Cameo video: "I always say about going back, never say never because you just never know. I’m grateful Tanya isn’t dead.

"There’s still a possibility of going back and it has been discussed recently, but I am very busy at the moment with other projects. So I couldn’t go back in at the moment anyway."

EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.

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