Jacqueline Jossa opens up on returning to EastEnders full time for the first time and says ‘it’s still my dream job’

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EastEnders,12-12-2022,6606,Lauren Branning (JACQUELINE JOSSA);Sonia Fowler (NATALIE CASSIDY),****EMBARGOED TILL SUNDAY 11TH DECEMBER 2022***, BBC, Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

WITH its gathering of faces old and new, Dot Branning’s EastEnders funeral was a seminal moment in soap history. 

But for Jacqueline Jossa, the epic send-off was far more than just a goodbye. 

Jacqueline returned briefly to EastEnders last year, to film alongside Natalie Cassidy for Dot’s funeral

Jacqueline is keen to get back to the limelight, seen here at ITV Palooza, Royal Festival Hall, London in November

The actress has now told for the first time how being back on the Square has lit a fire in her belly – and left her desperate to return to her role as Lauren Branning. 

Jacqueline, 30, said: “When I went back recently I was nervous, but I was literally like, ‘I could stay here forever. I love it. This is the best job in the world.’

“I’ve really realised that that’s where I am my happiest and my passion and enjoyment comes from that side of things.

“Since going back to EastEnders I’ve had that little fire in my belly again, like there is that part of me that isn’t fulfilled anymore, that creative side.”

Jacqueline was in good company when she returned to EastEnders to film touching scenes for Dot Branning’s funeral, which also marked the soap’s tribute to legend June Brown who died in April 2022 aged 95.

Other faces from Dot’s past back on set included George ‘Lofty’ Holloway (Tom Watt), Colin Russell (Lord Michael Cashman CBE), Barry Clark (Gary Hailes), Mary ‘the punk’ Smith (Linda Davidson), and Disa O’Brien (Jan Graveson) plus Adam Woodyatt as Ian Beale. 

When Jacqueline left the soap in 2018 after seven years to spend more time with her kids, life did not necessarily change for the better even after winning I’m A Celebrity in 2019. 

Now she’s opened up on her desire to get back to Walford.

Speaking to the Soap From The Box podcast, out today, Jacqueline continued: “I won the Jungle and have done things like that but I get people shouting Lauren at me the most out of everything. 

“People still care about her.

“I would 100% put the leather jacket back on and the boots and get going, because it’s the best job in the world, and it’s still my dream job.”

HOAR told in December how Jacqueline had had a conversation with EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw about options for the future after her stint. 

Before Dot’s send-off, Lauren was last seen on screen in February 2018. She was involved in a shock storyline that saw her and her sister Abi fall from the Queen Vic roof.

While Lauren survived, Abi – played by Lorna Fitzgerald, 26 – did not. 

Jacqueline was later written out as her character moved to New Zealand.

At the time, the actress said she couldn’t juggle her children – Ella, now seven, and Mia, now four – with the tough filming schedule. 

Jacqueline said: “There’s no such thing for me as maternity pay, so when I had kids I had to leave and I had to do magazine covers to make money to feed my kids. Before I went in the jungle, I was struggling with money.

“I had to sell my house. 

“Obviously when you’re there for eight years, everybody knows that there were points I probably should have left and then stayed, and then should have left. 

“I was actually pregnant with Mia when it was time to go, and I saw it as a sign of like, ‘Come on.’ I would’ve had to leave anyway. I never would’ve left on my own back. 

“Also, at the end of the day it was literally my dream job. Everyone sort of aims for the stars and this was the stars for me, honestly. I used to write about it in year six, like, ‘What do you want to be when you’re older?’ And I said, ‘I want to be in EastEnders.’”

Jaqueline Jossa was 17 when she first joined EastEnders

It wasn’t all showbiz and starbursts, though. 

Jacqueline was 17 when she joined the soap in 2010 and the soap’s gritty storylines meant she had to grow up fast. 

Elsewhere on the Soap From The Box podcast, she details how Lauren’s dramatic life saw her plunged into the adult world before she’d even experienced major events herself.

Shockingly, Jacqueline said: “I had to play drunk before I’d properly been drunk, much like I had to snog and film what would lead into a sex scene before I’ve even done that in real life. 

“I sort of had to do it all firsthand through Lauren, which was interesting. 

“Because my character was an alcoholic, it meant that when I was out, I had to be really careful because I couldn’t go get really recklessly drunk, because people would be watching, you know? I had a responsibility.

Jacqueline’s alcoholism storyline for Lauren Branning was huge

“Because I was always working and filming that storyline, specifically talking to a charity about it, I just felt like I couldn’t really do that. 

I got EastEnders and I didn’t know who I was. Didn’t know who I was as a person. 

“I didn’t sign up to be a role model for people. I just didn’t. I didn’t sign up for that. I make mistakes. I’ll say silly things, or I’ll do something, but that’s real. That’s me. 

“That’s why I think, stop holding me or any other celebrity by such high standards, this cancel culture. Who said that we weren’t allowed to make mistakes? Who said that we weren’t allowed to learn and grow and all of this?

“It’s a huge part of being a human being, and it’s really annoying because no one signed up for that.”

Series 4 of Soap From The Box launches today, download the latest episode, subscribe and catch up at http://anotherslice.com/Soapfromthebox–.

Fans were delighted to see Lauren Branning back on the Square for Dot’s funeral