In EastEnders, the Brannings are currently experiencing a resurgence, which is great news for one of the long-running BBC soap opera’s notorious families.
In EastEnders, teenager Oscar (Pierre Moullier), full of drama and charisma, stirs things up in Walford, causing havoc in his older sister Lauren’s (Jacqueline Jossa) life. Meanwhile, their father Max (Jake Wood) is gearing up for a return to the show this fall.
There’s just one character missing from the line-up – matriarch Tanya (played by Jo Joyner).
Since the day of Abi’s (Lorna Fitzgerald) funeral in 2018, Tanya has often been brought up in conversations, and her portrayal hasn’t been particularly positive.
Or
Ever since Tanya was last spotted at Abi’s (Lorna Fitzgerald) funeral in 2018, she’s become a frequent topic of conversation, and she hasn’t exactly had a good reputation built around her.
A teenager said that Tanya forced him out of their home after he joined a gang, which resulted in Oscar persuading Lauren to provide him shelter upon his release from a juvenile detention center.
It’s interesting to observe that, just like the character David Platt from Coronation Street (played by Jack P Shepherd), regularly addresses his mum as Gail, Oscar seems to have a similar habit, often referring to his own mother as ‘Tanya’.
In a more conversational style, the sentence could be rephrased as: Just like David, Oscar seems to have a playful, mischievous side. We’re crossing our fingers that this trait isn’t indicative of deeper issues in his relationship with Tanya, but rather just a peculiarity.
A heartfelt reunion between a mother and son serves as a powerful motivation for Tanya to return to the place where she once lived.
In Moullier’s remarkable debut, I can’t help but imagine Tanya, in her unwavering support, would soften her stance and offer solace to Oscar should she witness his struggle.
That’s the Tanya we remember: a lioness.
It’s perfectly normal to comprehend that, away from the public eye, she has been deeply affected by the loss of Abi. This grief is reportedly so profound that it may not be possible for her to fully recover.
However, while Joyner delivered a poignant last act as the character, it leaves us wondering about the impact of her loss on her personally, as yet unexplored.
Among the unforgettable characters in EastEnders, Tanya plays a pivotal role. The shocking revelation of Max’s affair with Stacey Slater (played by Lacey Turner) might not have created such an impact without Tanya’s subtle, understated emotional turmoil and her later plot for revenge.
It’s unsettling not to hear Tanya’s perspective currently, as her return could potentially depend on the show. Regrettably, we’re also longing for Joyner’s comeback, who hinted last year that she might never rule out a return.
Despite everything, there’s a lingering hope that the actress and her long-time co-star Wood will continue to share more compelling scenes together. Their on-screen chemistry as Max and Tanya remained undiminished, even after their off-screen relationship concluded.
In my view, although Tanya may appear to be unfairly criticized for her parenting approach, Max also seems to fall short in his role as a father, being largely absent from Oscar’s life.
There’s eagerness to see if Max can recover from his errors, so why not give Tanya a shot at redemption as well?
Or, in a more colloquial style:
People are curious to see what Max will do about the mess-ups he made, so why leave Tanya out of the chance to make things right too?
Additionally, there is Lauren, who has faced a challenging year, as Jossa skillfully handled difficult topics gracefully.
In their late grandmother Dot’s old house, lived by Lauren, were her sons Louis and infant Jimmy. Amidst this, she has been struggling with an addiction to painkillers, simultaneously dealing with Jimmy’s vision impairment.
Currently, she finds herself not only caring for but also taking responsibility for Oscar as well. In these challenging times, she yearns for her mother’s care and encouragement more than anything else.
In her family, Lauren seems to be the only woman surrounded by men. It would be beneficial for her to have more women around, perhaps a female companion or friend.
Other than cousins Penny (Kitty Castledine) and Amy (Ellie Dadd), the main females in Lauren’s life are Peter’s manipulative mother Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and kind-hearted grandmother, Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth).
Excluding cousins Penny (Kitty Castledine) and Amy (Ellie Dadd), the primary women in Lauren’s life are Peter’s cunning mother Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and nurturing grandmother, Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth).
Or:
Lauren has only a few women close to her other than her cousins Penny (Kitty Castledine) and Amy (Ellie Dadd). Among them are Peter’s manipulative mother Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and caring grandmother, Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth).
Team Branning requires an additional player. Even though Tanya has evolved significantly over time, we would wager that she could still make for a formidable opponent against Cindy. This is particularly true given that Cindy seems to frequently target Lauren with insults.
It’s likely that our old friend Jane Beale (Laurie Brett) would have shared details of her confrontation with Cindy on her own show. So, we can envision Tanya taking a good look at Ms. Beale, perhaps commenting on the rumors she’s heard about her.
Since Tanya has a past with Jack, who happens to be Max’s brother (played by Scott Maslen), it would be intriguing to witness her response to his recent shenanigans involving Stacey. It’s likely that Lauren has shared this juicy tidbit of gossip with Tanya!
For Tanya, the possibilities are numerous. As EastEnders works on reviving the Branning family, we eagerly hope that she could become the next prominent figure to return to Albert Square.
“Include EastEnders in your list of shows to watch on the ‘TopMob – TV Guide’ app. It’s available for download, providing daily TV suggestions, special features, and much more.
Read More
- Minecraft lets you get the Lava Chicken song in-game — but it’s absurdly rare
- Gold Rate Forecast
- PS5’s ChinaJoy Booth Needs to Be Seen to Be Believed
- Lewis Capaldi Details “Mental Episode” That Led to Him “Convulsing”
- Wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell Undergoes Leg Amputation
- Cyberpunk 2077’s Patch 2.3 is Here and It’s Another Excellent Overhaul
- Yungblud Vows to Perform Ozzy Osbourne Song “Every Night”
- Microsoft is on track to become the second $4 trillion company by market cap, following NVIDIA — and mass layoffs
- Elden Ring Nightreign’s Patch 1.02 update next week is adding a feature we’ve all been waiting for since launch — and another I’ve been begging for, too
- AI-powered malware eludes Microsoft Defender’s security checks 8% of the time — with just 3 months of training and “reinforcement learning” for around $1,600
2025-08-20 18:59