Jacqueline Jossa opens up about returning to EastEnders
Jacqueline Jossa has been speaking about her upcoming return to EastEnders.
The actress, who appeared in the soap from 2010 to 2018 as Lauren Branning, is set to make a special reappearance later this month ahead of the funeral episode for Dot Branning.
In last night’s edition of the BBC soap, viewers were moved when they witnessed the moment the residents of Albert Square were notified of Dot’s passing. The loss reflects the death of Dot’s actress, June Brown, who died in April of this year at the age of 95.
Jacqueline, who portrayed Dot’s step-granddaughter on the show, has admitted that it felt important to her to return to the show for Dot’s goodbye.
"I’d hoped it would happen, the 30-year-old actress said. “June deserves the send-off she’s going to get at EastEnders, and I wanted to be a part of that and be involved.”
"It was nice to be there to represent that side of the Branning family because there are family members always off gallivanting and doing different things,” she added.
Jacqueline went on to praise June’s memory, and how much of a joy she was on-set. "No one can say a bad word about her, and we really felt that when we were filming,” she reminisced.
However, the mother-of-two revealed that her favourite memories of June could never be re-told in public. "None that I can share because she was so cheeky!”, Jacqueline exclaimed.
"Those who know her know what she was really like. June was always so kind,” she explained. “Everyone always listened to June – the choices she made were always right, and she was brilliant."
Jacqueline went on to admit that she was a bit nervous to return to the BBC soap. "I was really nervous because, no matter what, it’s always such a big thing to be at EastEnders," she noted. "But when I got there, it didn’t feel like anything had changed. It just felt like being back at home.”
Lastly, Jacqueline described the atmosphere on-set as the cast filmed Dot’s final goodbye. "It was a send-off for June as much as it was for Dot. It was bittersweet as we all shared stories, and there was so much laughter,” she gushed.
Viewers can look out for Dot’s funeral episode of EastEnders, which will later this month on BBC One.
