Max impact

Jake Wood reprises his role as Walford's Max Branning and he's set to shake up Albert Square

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After almost five years away, Jake Wood is returning to Albert Square with a storyline that promises secrets, shocks and the reunion that fans have been crying out for. Jacqueline Jossa, who plays his onscreen daughter, could not be happier. "I kept texting him over the years to come back - so I'm glad the persistence worked!" Jacqueline, 32, laughs, thrilled to be reuniting onscreen with Jake for the first time in seven years. "It's going to be electric when all the Brannings are reunited."

Scott Maslen, who plays Jack Branning, is pleased to have his onscreen brother back. “Listen, he’s a dirty dog,” laughs Scott, 54. “We've got great history, and I’m very excited about putting it on screen.”

Earlier this month, viewers saw Kat's daughter Zoe shot and rushed to hospital. While her life was hanging in the balance Kat (Jessie Wallace) answered her daughter's phone and the caller left jaws dropping - it was Max.

It makes sense to Jake that Walford wanderers Max and Zoe would be together, having met outside of E20. “They met at a bar after Max heard that she was a Slater,” he says. “It was like a bat signal and they quickly established that there was a family connection.”