EastEnders is set to deliver a dramatic New Year’s Day special, featuring a flashforward episode that sees long-running character Max Branning walk down the aisle for the fifth time.
Actor Jake Wood, who plays Branning, described the one-off instalment as "brave, big and bold".
The 30-minute BBC1 broadcast will transport viewers exactly one year into the future, placing Branning at the heart of multiple unfolding situations on his wedding day.
Wood, 53, describbed the format-breaking special episode as “brave, big [and] bold”.
“It’s a real privi…
EastEnders is set to deliver a dramatic New Year’s Day special, featuring a flashforward episode that sees long-running character Max Branning walk down the aisle for the fifth time.
Actor Jake Wood, who plays Branning, described the one-off instalment as "brave, big and bold".
The 30-minute BBC1 broadcast will transport viewers exactly one year into the future, placing Branning at the heart of multiple unfolding situations on his wedding day.
Wood, 53, describbed the format-breaking special episode as “brave, big [and] bold”.
“It’s a real privilege to be a part of it,” he said.
“I think the build up to New Year is a busy time for the Brannings. Max is trying to sort of reconnect with his kids, and not doing a very good job of it.
“I think he’s probably at an all time low on New Year’s Eve. Then we go to the flash forward.”
Max Branning and his son Oscar (BBC)
He called the two episodes a “stark contrast” and said: “We see a man who’s maybe at the lowest we’ve ever seen him, and then we flash forward and things are maybe not quite as bad.”
EastEnders executive producer Ben Wadey said: “For Max, life is like one big game of Kiss, Marry, Kill.
“This idea set something running for us that we got really excited about.”
“There is a whole heap of chaos.”
Jacqueline Jossa, who plays Lauren Branning, said that the new year will be “very interesting” for her on-screen family.
Referencing her character Lauren’s infant son, the 33-year-old said: “We have a christening, which is for little Jimmy.
“You can imagine how it goes, but it’s very, very interesting. We see people meet for maybe the first time.
“It’s very dramatic, but such good television.”
EastEnders previously showcased a flashforward scene in February 2023, depicting one aspect of the 2023 Christmas Day storyline.
Wood’s character Max first arrived in Walford in June 2006, bringing his then-wife Tanya and their daughters Lauren and Abi with him.
He left the BBC soap in 2021 when his character’s affair with Linda Carter ended, before returning earlier this year.