Eastenders actress Jo Joyner, aka Tanya Branning, has admitted that when she first joined the show she was a bit disappointed by many of her characters storylines.

“I have to be honest, in the past I’ve been a little bit disappointed with the way things have gone for Tanya,” Jo told the Daily Star Sunday. “I really didn’t think she’d be so mumsy. And I don’t feel like I’ve made much of an impact since I’ve been in the show.

“People always laugh when I say that. It’s because I’ve been involved in some of the soap’s biggest plots. I guess I’m just not used to being in a show as big as EastEnders. You just don’t realise the impact it has.”

Joyner also claimed that Tanya’s potential was wasted until she discovered her husband Max’s affair with Stacey Slater.

“When I first arrived in the Square they didn’t really know what was going to happen to Tanya,” she explained. “I spent a year just being Max’s wife. But then things really took off when the affair was exposed. I loved the way Tanya took her revenge by burying him alive.”

A Walford insider promised: “We’ve got huge plans for her character. And she’s got the biggest storyline of the year to look forward to. Obviously we can’t say too much but it’s going to be explosive.”