EastEnders star breaks silence on return that everyone is calling for
EastEnders star Jo Joyner has broken her silence on the prospect of reprising her role as Tanya Branning.
Joyner originally played the character for seven years before departing in 2013, with the actor returning to the BBC soap two years later for its 30th anniversary. Her last appearance came in 2018, bringing an end to a brief guest stint.
This year in Walford, the Branning family has been revamped after Pierre Moullier was cast as Oscar, while Jake Wood made his long-awaited comeback as Max earlier this month after an absence of four years.
The developments has led fans to wonder if Tanya could return to East London, though Joyner confirmed during an appearance on Amy Hart’s Mum’s Club podcast that a comeback wouldn’t be happening any time soon.
“As a superfan, I have to ask, are you going to complete my happy families card game for the Brannings? You’re the last one!” asked Hart, with Joyner replying: “Erm no, not this year. Never say never but I have got a lot on this year, so no.”
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While it doesn’t sound like Joyner will be making a return this year at least, the cast and crew at EastEnders expressed hope that it could happen in the future, with executive producer Ben Wadey calling the actor “amazing”.
“We’ve just given you Max and Zoe [Slater],” he quipped. “Jo is amazing, isn’t she? We’ve also got an amazing cast. We’ve got a huge cast and brilliant performers, [who] all deserve and need stories.”
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“We need a bit of naughty Max first, don’t we? We need him back for a while for her to come and sort him out,” added Scott Maslen, who plays Joyner’s former on-screen brother-in-law Jack.
Jacqueline Jossa, who portrays Tanya’s daughter Lauren, revealed that she had been “texting” Joyner to sound out a possible comeback – could it be on the cards for 2026 and beyond?