AN EastEnders legend is set for a return to Albert Square – much to their family’s shock.
Drama and tension soon follows this bombshell reappearance in the BBC soap.
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Lauren Branning and Peter Beale’s engagement party is disrupted in upcoming scenes.
It sees Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) make a comeback to Albert Square after a two month absence.
Aside from their connection to Peter, Cindy and Lauren have had a contentious relationship.
As partygoers at Harry’s Barn are left reeling, Peter tries to defuse the situation.
But Lauren soon leaves and gives him a firm ultimatum – it’s her or Cindy.
Both the Beales and Knights shun Cindy – but she turns the tables by exposing the truth about Kathy.
Cindy later heads to No.29A to face Lauren and is stunned to find her in labour.
When the ambulance is delayed, Cindy takes matters into her own hands to get Lauren to hospital.
Will everything go according to plan?
Soap icon Cindy previously fled in February after surviving the Queen Vic explosion.
She had tried to blackmail ex-husband Ian Beale into handing over half their money.
EastEnders ‘reveals’ who attacked Cindy Beale – as she confronts them in dramatic showdown
Otherwise, she would report his mum Kathy for trying to kill her at Christmas.
Ian soon countered this by threatening to expose her shooting him and pushing him in front of a car.
This had caused Reiss Colwell to crash into the Vic, leading to the explosion.
After taking the money under agreement that she leaves – she said a cool goodbye to her family.
Recent lover Junior Knight chased her to the tube station and asked her: “I don’t understand why you’re letting Ian get away with it.”
“Oh no-one’s getting away with anything,” Cindy told him.
Lauren Branning’s biggest EastEnders storylines
By Conor O’Brien
Since debuting in 2006, Lauren Branning’s had her fair share of drama in Albert Square.
She’s been played by two actresses – originally Madeline Duggan and then Jacqueline Jossa from 2010 onwards.
Let’s take a look back at some of Lauren’s biggest EastEnders storylines.
- Who ran over Max?: Early on in Lauren’s tenure, the soap had a whodunnit which saw Max (Jake Wood) run over by an unknown driver. It was later revealed that Lauren, his daughter, was the culprit.
- Friendships with Lucy Beale and Whitney Dean: Throughout her teenage years, Lauren developed close friendships with both Lucy and Whitney. Both bonds would have ramifications for her later life. She had a son with Lucy’s twin brother Peter and also had an affair with Zack (James Farrar) – Whitney’s fiancee – prompting her to leave the Square for good.
- Alcoholism: Lauren began binge drinking to cope with stress from her mum Tanya (Jo Joyner) battling cancer. This later expanded into a long-term addiction storyline.
- Relationship with Joey Branning: In 2012, Lauren embarked on one of her more controversial storylines – a sexual relationship with Joey Branning (David Witts), her first cousin.
“I’m just happy for them to think they have, for now,” she added.
With that, she swanned into the tube station to leave Walford for a spell while she plots her revenge.
Now that she’s back, what will Cindy have in store?
EastEnders continues on BBC One and iPlayer.
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