Jacqueline Jossa promises ‘catastrophic’ Christmas on EastEnders

Jacqueline Jossa has said she is sad to be leaving EastEnders but has promised that the Christmas episodes will be “catastrophic”.

The Lauren Branning actress is departing alongisde Lorna Fitzgerald, who plays her on-screen sister Abi Branning, as part of a dramatic new storyline.

Lauren and Abi’s father Max Branning, played by Jake Wood, is at the centre of the drama on the show this Christmas as his long-running revenge plot finally reaches boiling point.

She told Radio Times magazine that Christmas for the Brannings this year “doesn’t disappoint”.

She added:” In fact, it’s catastrophic, the worst one yet.

“We don’t even get to sit down for dinner this year. The episodes are wicked.”

She said: “I’ll be sad but I’m leaving when everyone else goes on their Christmas break, so that helps.

“But I’m really looking forward to spending more time with Ella. I do feel I’ve missed stuff these past two years.”

Jossa, who is married to former The Only Way Is Essex star Dan Osborne, added she would like to not remain in the spotlight, but understands that may not be the case.

“I wish, in a way, that once you’re not on the show, you could go to, say, Nando’s and not be recognised. But that’ll probably still happen,” she said.

Jossa joined the show in 2010, taking over the role of Lauren from Madeline Duggan, while Fitzgerald made her Albert Square debut in 2006.

Fitzgerald said that while she is sad to be leaving after playing the role of Abi since she was 10, she is “feeling positive” about what the future holds.

She added: “If you’re going to go, it may as well be at Christmas. The build-up has been huge and what happens is very dramatic.”

The Christmas issue of Radio Times is available from Tuesday December 12.