[Christina]

Oh yeah Heather and Minty
There so cute lol x

[Callum]

Source: the sun

EASTENDERS has pushed back the boundaries with story lines of murder, domestic violence and gangsters coming back from the dead.

But tonight viewers will watch one of the soap’s most controversial yet – as Tanya Branning buries her cheating husband Max ALIVE.

Jake Wood, who plays Max, admits the plot – in which Tanya (Jo Joyner) leaves him to suffocate in a shallow grave in revenge for him bedding his daughter-in-law – is disturbing.

But the 35-year-old says: “They’re great episodes and brilliantly written. It’s everything you can hope for when you’re on EastEnders, that you’ll keep busy and do successful story lines.

“Being buried alive seems quite extreme when you first read about it but the writers have done it justice.

“When they do something like this you just hope it’s written well so it doesn’t seem like it’s just come out of nowhere – and I don’t think this does.

“Viewers who have been watching for the last 18 months will see where Tanya’s motives have come from.

“It’s been done sensitively in that it’s the culmination of a year’s story lines. It does make sense rather than being crowbarred in for shock value.”

In episodes tonight and tomorrow viewers will see Tanya cook Max a romantic dinner then drug him.

Her lover Sean Slater (Rob Kazinsky) then helps her carry unconscious Max into a forest where he has dug a shallow grave and put a coffin inside.

Max is dumped into the box and left to wake up and be slowly starved of oxygen.

The revenge comes after Max’s affair with his daughter-in-law Stacey (Lacey Turner) was revealed at Christmas – an episode which this week earned EastEnders a Bafta nomination.

Jake explains: “Being buried alive is Max’s greatest fear since his dad Jim did it to him when he was a child.

“The last thing you see on Friday is Max being lowered into the ground.”

Jake will not reveal Max’s fate – though he does coyly admit he has not been at work for the past seven weeks.

Employed or not, he is keen to defend the show from famous detractors including Michelle Collins and Sir David Jason, who have said EastEnders is too sexual and violent.

And he says he’d be happy for his daughter Amber, three, to watch the show when she gets a bit older.

He says: “I think what the BBC do is very responsible.

“The whole family can sit down and watch it once the children are of a certain age.”

Away from his womanising character Jake is a softly-spoken family man.

After a career spanning more than 20 years, including appearances on hit shows Only Fools And Horses, Red Dwarf and One Foot In The Grave, Jake decided to take the plunge and join EastEnders a year after his wife Alison gave birth to Amber.

He asked to be written out of the soap to spend time with Alison and Amber as well as their six-week old baby – who The Sun can reveal has been named Buster.

Jake says with a smile: “It’s been lovely for the past seven weeks just to spend some time with my family. It’s great being a dad again.

“I knew EastEnders would change my life in terms of the hours I worked and getting recognised, so I did consider it very carefully.

“But I love the benefits it has brought me. Joining the show was the best decision I’ve made.”

On our short walk from the This Morning studios in London, where he has been filming, to the restaurant where our interview takes place, Jake is recognised by almost everyone who passes.

He says: “People are generally just happy to see someone off the telly and are pretty nice, I always give a wave and say ‘hello’. It is a funny thing to get used to but my daughter thinks it’s completely normal.

“She spots me on the front of magazines in supermarkets and says, ‘There’s Daddy’. She thinks everyone’s daddy is on the front of magazines.

“Mind you, I picked her up from the nursery the other day and one of the kids shouted ‘Max’, which puzzled her.

“It will be a few years before she gets the hang of what being famous means.

“She’s been down to the set quite a few times so she knows what I do for a living but it doesn’t mean much at the moment.”

Jake is nominated for Best Villian and Best Actor in May’s British Soap Awards.

Much of the success has been down to his great on-screen chemistry with both wife Tanya, and former mistress Stacey.

In fact, he reveals, the affair between Max and Stacey was originally meant to last for only three months but the reaction from viewers was so good that producers decided to extend it for a year. It was also the centre of the soap’s Bafta-nominated Christmas episode.

Jake says: “I love the show for that, it’s quite organic. If the writers see something on screen they like they’ll extend it.

“When you’re paired with someone it can sometimes work brilliantly. All our TV family got incredibly lucky, the whole unit feels very strong.

“Lacey and Charlie Clements, who plays my son Bradley, are both very instinctive actors. Looking back at myself at that age, I don’t think I’d have been able to cope with it half as well as they can.

“I’ve got 20 years experience on them but I don’t see that there’s any difference between them and me.”

Having to kiss not one but two women on screen was at first strange for both Jake and his wife Alison.

He admits: “There’s an adjustment you have to make when you realise what effect it can have on your life, your family, your friends.

“That was all part of the learning curve. But hopefully as a family we’ve learned to deal with that. It wasn’t any more embarrassing with Lacey than with Jo.

“You’re there to make it as realistic as possible, it’s a job.” As a Branning, Jake gets to work with some of Albert Square’s finest actors, including June Brown, who plays his mother-in-law Dot, and – before his stroke last year – his father Jim, who is played by John Bardon.

Jake is thrilled at the news John is recovering so well that he may be back in the soap later this year.

He says: “We get reports back from June, who sees him an awful lot.

“I know he wants to come back and that would be amazing, he’s missed. He’s very much loved by everyone at EastEnders and the public, too.

“It would be so powerful. I don’t think it’s ever happened before that someone’s had a stroke and come back into a show with that written into the story line.

“His dressing room is still as it was and until he says he doesn’t want to come back that was always going to be the case.”

But the big question is – will Jake still be at EastEnders when John makes his return, or is Max to be killed off?

Jake is giving nothing away. He says with a smile: “I’ve had a wonderful time at EastEnders and I’m enjoying a break.

“Whether or not I’m going back, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

You can vote for Jake and EastEnders at this year’s British Soap Awards. Simply go to britishsoapawards.tv.

[Callum]

Source: The Sun

BURIED alive in a coffin, Max is living his worst nightmare. As her husband desperately tries to claw his way out of his shallow grave, Tanya has to decide whether to leave him to rot or spare his life.

Can she really go through with murdering the father of her children?

“I don’t think Tanya has thought of the consequences of killing Max,” says Jo Joyner, who plays her.

As the week begins, Tanya and Sean are still in the woods, staring down at the coffin containing Max.

He starts to come round from the sleeping pills, and Tanya and Sean hear a muffled banging as he tries to escape his wooden tomb.

At first, Tanya is rooted to the spot, but then she falls to her knees and starts throwing earth on top of the coffin.

“Once she’s made the decision, she is frantic. She just needs to get it done,” explains Jo.

Meanwhile, Max reaches his mobile. He calls home for help and gets Abi * but can’t get a word in as she excitedly chats away!

As more soil thuds onto the coffin, Max’s reception dies away. He realises all hope is lost.

Tanya tells Sean she thinks she can still hear Max. But Sean assures her that he’s dead and that they need to head back.

On her return, Tanya is quizzed by Lauren about her change of clothes and the unfinished meal for two on the dining table.

She accuses her mum of fighting with Max and asks when he is coming home.

Later, Tanya is sickened by her own actions when Abi reveals she has bought Max his favourite sweets.

“Tanya knows how much the girls love their father,” says Jo. “She may not want Max in her life, but she realises he is a great dad.”

Meanwhile, Stacey sees Sean’s muddy clothes and knows he has done something to Max. When her brother struggles to conceal his guilt, Stacey storms round to demand answers from Tanya.

Back in the coffin, Max is close to death and whispers, “Dad.”

Has he breathed his last, or will Tanya mount a last-gasp rescue?

“Viewers will have to wait and see what happens,” teases Jo. “But there are some tough times ahead for Tanya!”

It's also been revealed that [spoil]Penny (jack's daughter) will return soon.[/spoil]

[supernoodles!]

thanks callum that was a brill interview,sooo cant wait for the soap awards and omg ee were nominated for a bafta for the xmas ep??that is great

[Christina]

Thanks Callum x

[Jake!]

EE is getting so much better these days. I hope Clare leaves EE so she can slowly make her way back home to HO.

[supernoodles!]

omnibus is on!yay:spin2 :

[\PJ/]

Originally posted by Kween-Dilemma
Oh yeah Heather and Minty
There so cute lol x

Cute with an edge of repulsiveness.

[dbh-g]

Tanya digs up the best plot

Jon Wise

Tanya Branning turned nuttier than a bowl of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes in a superb Easter EastEnders that saw her bury her husband Max alive.

This is one mean, messed-up, wannabe divorcee that makes Heather Mills seem like Mary Poppins.

Not content with dragging Max through the courts to try to take part of his money, a la Ms Mills, Tanya decided her only way out was to kill the cheating love rat.

Of course. Because there's no other reasonable course of action in such a situation.

Mind you, she did come to her grisly conclusion after sleeping with the ginger nut one last time...that could push any woman over the edge.

EastEnders have cleverly kept Tanya, left, simmering away for more than a year now before finally letting her boil (bunny boil, more like) over.

And die-hard fans will know that Max revealed over a year ago that his biggest fear is being buried alive.

Putting in a performance that deserves a win at the British Soap Awards in May, Jo Joyner showed just how it should be done.

Ok, so Tanya had clearly been watching too many Midsomer Murders - running around with a spade, the jitters and a coffin. But it was more gripping than one of Chris Fountain's G-strings.

With the help of Sean Slater, who has finally become one of the best characters in the show (just in time for him to leave), Tanya plotted to bury Max alive.

After emptying the crushed-up remnants of an Amy Winehouse night-out into Max's wine, Tanya and Sean dragged the drugged two-timer out into the woods.

And just as he woke in his lidless coffin, Tanya whispered: "It's your worst nightmare, remember. Now you're going to know.

Now you're going to understand just a tiny little bit of how I feel."

Ouch.

There was a distinct lack of Easter cheer to the episode, what with Ian and Jane being called in to the police station to identify a girl's dead body, believed to be his daughter Lucy.

But this is dreary Walford, after all.

When EastEnders get it right, it's as blissful as catching Paul Burrell out as a liar.

Scriptwriters have always created strong, determined women...Cindy Beale, Pat Evans, Janine Butcher.

But with Tanya they've explored a vulnerable side as well.

Tanya vowed to love Max "Till death do us part".

Well, at least she kept her word.

[Christina]

Originally posted by Pj

Cute with an edge of repulsiveness.

Lol there both in need of love .. its sweet x

[Callum]

BUMPITEY BUMP

[KKBL]

is Max coming back?

[Callum]

Not for a while, he's on maternity leave.

[MarkWaldorf]

Thank god.

[Christina]

I wonder if Lucy will come back x

[Callum]

Originally posted by Kween-Dilemma
I wonder if Lucy will come back x

SPOILER
[spoil]She does, in Inside Soap there's pictures of her, Ian and Steven at a train station, and it reveals that she is well and alive.[/spoil]

[Callum]

Some pictures here of Frank's Funeral:
http://www.walfordweb.co.uk/walfordw...cle.php?id=801

[Christina]

Originally posted by Callum

SPOILER
[spoil]She does, in Inside Soap there's pictures of her, Ian and Steven at a train station, and it reveals that she is well and alive.[/spoil]

Thanks Callum x

[Callum]

Possible Big Spoiler
[spoil]In Inside Soap it states that Tanya is going to get close to a member of the Branning family and that Jacks going to get a new woman other than Ronnie. It also said that Max is going to be happy when he returns and sees that his home life has changed. The way I read it is that Tanya and Jack will get together, but maybe I'm reading it wrong.[/spoil]

[Callum]

Source: The Sun

LOOK what the cat dragged in, it’s the return of Biancaaaa.

Patsy Palmer makes her EastEnders comeback next month with all her worldly posessions in BIN BAGS.

She slinks back to Walford with her tail between her legs and four kids after being made homeless. A source says: “Bianca and her brood return in the dead of night to see her friend Charmaine.”


Things go from bad to worse as Bianca and Ricky launch straight back into a row when they finally reunite.

Bianca – last in the show nine years ago – is too embarrassed to reveal she’s homeless and does a runner from the cafe toilet. Just like old times . . .


*Bianca is 8/11 to leave the BBC show before on-screen husband Ricky, according to bookmaker Ladbrokes.

[supernoodles!]

Callum i dont think that will happen coz you said that Max returns to see its changed and he`s happy,why would he be happy?
Anyway im sooooo excited to see Bianca back on the double decker busses they`ve got big posters going across them with 'RICCCCCKKKKKAAAAAY!!' written on them lol.

[001steven]

heres what i've read

[spoil]In inside soap Max does come back and finds tanya and the kids have moved on and is with another branning... my guess Jack [/spoil]

[KKBL]

awww thats sad but im glad Tanyas moved on

[Callum]

Originally posted by supernoodles!
Callum i dont think that will happen coz you said that Max returns to see its changed and he`s happy,why would he be happy?
Anyway Im sooooo excited to see Bianca back on the double decker busses they`ve got big posters going across them with 'RICCCCCKKKKKAAAAAY!!' written on them lol.

I meant to type isn't happy. The exact words from the article are "He left promising to keep his distance from Tanya, but Max has never been a man of his word. When he returns to the square later this year, however, Max is going to discover that his family have moved on - and his place in their hearts have been taken by another..."
+also on the front cover, there's a picture of Tanya and Jack and the title says 'New passions?' so I definitley think there's something going to happen between the two.

[MarkWaldorf]

When is Bianca back?