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Soap newcomer Jacqueline Jossa has taken over the role of Lauren Branning in EastEnders, Digital Spy can reveal.
Lauren - who was last seen making plans to attend a summer camp in the US - will return to Albert Square later this year and waste no time in letting everyone know that she's now all grown-up.
While the tough teenager looks set to stir up some trouble in Walford after making her comeback, viewers will also see her softer side as she searches for love in her life.
Lauren's keen to find a guy with the right personality rather than judging on looks - but will Max and Tanya's daughter manage to find someone who can sweep her off her feet?
Jacqueline Jossa as Lauren Branning
Speaking of her casting, Jossa commented: "I was so excited when I got the call to say I'd got the part in EastEnders. I've always been a massive fan of the show and it's a dream come true. The character of Lauren Branning will be really fun to play and there are some exciting things coming up."
EastEnders' executive producer Bryan Kirkwood added: "Maddie Duggan did a great job of playing the young Lauren Branning, and we wish her the very best of luck for the future. I'm delighted to welcome Jacqueline Jossa to Albert Square. Jacqueline's portrayal of Lauren has all the classic Branning qualities of toughness, cynicism and sensitivity. Jacqueline is set to be at the heart of Walford drama for some time to come."
As announced in June, new faces will also take over in the roles of Ben Mitchell and Lucy Beale later this year.
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I didn't realize they were re-casting Lauren Branning. Quite a few of the young roles have been re-cast, which can only be a good thing. I hope EE bosses have taken care to cast people who are decent actors.
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A bit confusing though with 3 ( I think? ) replacements!
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ALBERT Square misery Heather Trott wails as her baby's christening Enders in tears.
Party pooper ... Minty
BBC
Heather, played by Cheryl Fergison, had been playing happy families with Minty (Cliff Parisi) in the run-up to baby George Michael's big day.
But when Heather leaves the church, she catches Minty in a passionate embrace with Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook).
Heather scarpers, leaving her guests stunned in scenes airing on the BBC1 soap next month.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz0w4IjE65j
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Perry Fenwick has admitted that he is "absolutely delighted" after celebrating his 1,000th episode of EastEnders.
The Daily Mirror reports that the Billy Mitchell actor is one of only a few members of the BBC soap's cast to reach the milestone appearance.
"Seeing as I was originally signed up for four episodes, 996 episodes later, I still haven't been found out," Fenwick said.
"I'm absolutely delighted and can't wait to tell my mum."
Fenwick made his first appearance in the show in November 1998.
The 48-year-old's 1,000th episode, which sees Billy in a scene with Jay (Jamie Borthwick), was shot on Friday and will air later in the autumn.
EastEnders executive producer Bryan Kirkwood added: "Billy is the most lovable loser on British TV and despite a thousand episodes of bad luck, the audience are still willing him to succeed."
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EastEnders star Perry Fenwick has revealed details of his first ever encounter with the soap's veteran actress June Brown.
The actor, who plays Billy Mitchell on the Walford soap, admitted that he had a humorous exchange with Brown (Dot Branning) during his first day on set 12 years ago.
Speaking on The Paul O'Grady Show, Fenwick explained: "I was just outside and June was there having a fag. She says to me, 'Oh who are you then?' I replied, 'Perry Fenwick'. She then says, 'Where you from?' I replied, 'The East End'.
"Then she says, 'Who you playing?' I replied, 'Billy Mitchell'. 'Oh no,' she replied, 'not another Mitchell!'"
Tonight's episode of The Paul O'Grady Show will see the chatshow host paying tribute to EastEnders. As well as Fenwick and Brown, Belinda Owusu (Libby Fox), Don Gilet (Lucas Johnson), David Proud (Adam Best) and Charlie G. Hawkins (Darren Miller) are also guests on the programme.
The Paul O'Grady Show airs at 5pm on Channel 4.
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Tamzin Outhwaite has revealed that she would consider returning to EastEnders if the opportunity arose.
The 39-year-old actress, who is currently working as a judge on Five talent show Don't Stop Believing, played Melanie Owen in the Albert Square serial between 1998 and 2002.
She told Holy Soap: "I've never officially been asked. I wouldn't see it as a bad thing but, at the moment, it's not something that I'm looking into."
However, the star added: "I don't know how Mel would return because there's no-one there for her to return to. She doesn't really know anyone apart from Ian Beale and Phil Mitchell. So unless she was coming back to see one of them..."
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EastEnders star Glynis Barber has revealed that she never intentionally played her character Glenda Mitchell as a "baddy".
The actress told Inside Soap that she tries her best to give a genuine performance, often resulting in her character being portrayed as a devious person.
She said: "Viewers say to me, 'Oh she's an absolute bitch,' before telling me how much they love her. What's funny is that I've never played Glenda as a baddy. But the more genuine I try to make her, the more devious she appears to the audience!"
Speaking of Glenda's daughter Ronnie being abused by her father, she added: "I found it a very difficult thing to get my head around, because if Glenda knew her child was being hurt all along, then she's a complete monster.
"So the way I played it was to try to justify why she pushed aside the uneasy feeling she had about what was taking place. She didn't want to think about anything that horrible."
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John Yorke has claimed that EastEnders loses 5,000 viewers every time a "bad episode" is aired.
The BBC controller of drama production told The Guardian that the soap had to maintain standards as it faced tough competition for viewers.
"I can't remember a time when it's been more competitive," he said. "25 years ago there was little to draw your attention away from the soaps but now it's not just the multitude of other channels and the internet we're competing with, it's everything else too."
He continued: "Back in the day, everything used to shut at 6pm and that's just not the case any more; people simply have more social lifestyles. There has been a decline in soap audiences just as there has been a decline in channel share but as a rule of thumb, I don't panic unless EastEnders's audience declines more than channel share."
However Yorke admitted that ratings timeshifts had seen a "massive change" as "for anyone under 25, the main viewing platform is less likely to be TV".
"We've been getting audiences of 1.5 million on BBC3 as well as over 1m requests on iPlayer regularly," he added. "Viewing isn't about habit any more: you have to work hard to attract an audience. The audience is still there - the 20 million viewers we got for our 25th anniversary episode proved that - but we've got to be better than we've ever been.
"I believe that every time you put out a bad episode you lose 5,000 viewers who never come back."
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JUNE Brown has revealed the secret to her eternal youth - the Hay Diet.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...zz0wugXwfdfThe 83-year-old, who plays Eastenders' chain-smoking Dot Cotton, says that for years she has stuck to the regime which forbids meals combining protein and carbohydrates.
June says: "You can eat all sorts of lovely things like cream and cheese, but you just don't mix protein and carbohydrates in the same meal."
The actress, who does yoga stretches every morning, also eats almonds each day because she says the folic acid in them is good for fighting cancer.
And she revealed: "I never touch sugar because it's poison."
Sprightly June vowed to keep playing Dot for as long as she can.
Asked about retiring from the BBC1 soap, she insisted: "Not while my brain's in order and I can remember my lines and walk and talk."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz0wugHI2Lc
