EastEnders' Jacqueline Jossa reveals real reason behind Jake Wood's explosive return

Albert Square is about to be shaken to its very core – because Max Branning is back. After five years away, Jake Wood returns to EastEnders in a storyline that promises secrets, shocks, and a reunion that fans have been crying out for. And his on-screen daughter Jacqueline Jossa could not be happier.

“I kept texting him over the years to come back – so I’m glad the persistence worked!” Jacqueline laughs, as she prepares to share the screen with Jake for the first time in seven years. “It’s going to be electric when all the Brannings are reunited.”

Jake Wood first arrived in Walford in June 2006, quickly establishing Max as one of the Square’s most infamous bad boys. He spent 15 years in the role before bowing out in February 2021.

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With dodgy deals, affairs and betrayals under his belt, Max cemented his place in soap history – not least with that unforgettable Christmas Day reveal of his affair with daughter-in-law Stacey Slater.

Jacqueline Jossa joined the soap in 2010 as Lauren Branning, Max’s troubled daughter. After eight years of teenage angst, alcoholism and heartbreak, she departed in 2018. Since then she’s returned for brief stints, including Dot Cotton’s funeral in 2022, before confirming a permanent comeback in 2023.

Now, father and daughter are back together on screen – and fans are braced for fireworks.

The latest episode will finally unravel the mystery that has been bubbling all week: Zoe Slater’s new romance. Viewers saw Kat’s daughter Zoe shot and rushed to hospital in a dramatic twist, with her life hanging in the balance. But when Kat answered her daughter’s phone mid-surgery, the caller left jaws dropping – it was Max Branning.

The shock link is explained in the flashback episode, as we discover how Max and Zoe met in a bar. When Max learned she was a Slater, the connection was instant. Both were missing relationships with their children, and as Zoe searched for the son she gave up for adoption, Max stepped in to help her pay for a private investigator, without highlighting to her “you remind me of Stacey”. That common ground sparked a genuine romance – one that looks set to turn Walford upside down.

“They met out at the bar after Max heard she was a slater,” he says. “It was like a bat signal and they quickly established that there was a family connection.”

“The relationship between them is genuine and there are genuine feelings there but when Max comes back it has become complicated in terms of where Max is at. A lot of their relationship is down to Zoe looking for her son who she gave up for adoption and Max helps her pay for a Private investigator to help her find him.”

“It’s interesting to have Max in the mix and making everything more complicated,” Jake admits. “There are genuine feelings between them, but when Max comes back it’s complicated by where he’s at in his own life.”

Of course, Max returning to the Square means revisiting his chequered past. Stacey Slater, played by Lacey Turner, will always be tied to Max after their notorious affair. And while Stacey is set to take an extended break from the soap, Jake teases that their paths may well cross before she goes.Tonight’s episode saw them speak to each other, unaware the other was on the other end of the phone till Max heard Stacey’s voice.

Unfinished business? “Undoubtedly yes,” he says with a knowing smile. “They will always be connected regardless of what they do.”

For Jake,coming back to the show was a no-brainer. After spending time with his family – his eldest is now at university and another child is taking A-levels – the timing finally felt right. “Working with the team again is great,” he says. “Even when I was away I was still checking in to see what everyone was doing. It feels like coming home.”

He credits executive producer Ben Wadey, along with a few nudges from co-stars, for tempting him back. “Scott was calling me. Jacqueline was calling me. It felt like the right time.”

Jacqueline agrees, saying the reunion with Jake is more than just nostalgia – it’s soap gold. “Lauren might not be as welcoming as I am,” she laughs, hinting at family drama to come. “But deep down she still wants to be her dad’s little girl.”

With Zoe recovering from her shooting, Max re-establishing himself in Walford, and the Brannings gearing up for a fiery reunion, the episode sets up months of drama. Add in Stacey’s looming exit, Zoe’s search for her son, and the unresolved tension between father and daughter, and it’s clear the Square is heading for chaos.

Jake puts it best: “Max is an iconic character. And it’s been a joy to come back.”

For fans of EastEnders, Max’s return is more than a storyline – it’s a homecoming. And when Max Branning steps back onto Albert Square, one thing is certain: life in Walford will never be the same again.

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