As fans of EastEnders may know, when producer Lorraine Newman took over as the show’s executive earlier this year, she vowed to “shake up” the show..

And it was speculate that she planned to axe a number of the show’s younger cast members, fearing that older viewers weren’t interested in their storylines.

Matt Lapinskas – who played Anthony Moon – has of course now left the show, and a report in What’s On TV today hints that two more characters may be axed later this year.

It seems that the characters of Lauren and Joey Branning – who’re played by Jacqueline Jossa and David Witts – are set to be in a car crash later this year, which will leave viewers guessing as to whether they survive.

In scenes that’re being billed as one of the soap’s most expensive stunts ever, having cost around £1million to stage, we’ll see Lauren and Joey stealing Derek Branning’s (Jamie Foreman) Jag and going for a joyride in it…

However, they lose control of the car and it careens into a shop window before exploding, causing a massive fireball.

WOTV adds, “The crash was filmed over a five-day shoot in Keynsham, Somerset.”

An EastEnders insider said, “No expense was spared on this car crash.

“With salaries, location fees, hotel costs, security fees and maintaining the set for five days, costs were nudging one million pounds.

“But fans will think it all worth it with this thrilling plot line.”

Naturally, the fate of Lauren and Joey is being kept a closely guarded secret, but while that storyline is in the making, Jake Wood, who of course plays Lauren’s dad Max, has hinted at what’s to come for the Branning family over Christmas.

Speaking from the carpet of the TV Choice Awards, Jake said, “Max and Tanya are potentially getting remarried, they’re planning for that at the moment so we’ve got to wait and see.

“And obviously the Kat reveal I think will be some time before Christmas, so it should be a good Christmas, it’ll be a Branning Christmas I think.”

Jo Joyner, who plays Tanya, is taking a break from the soap early in 2013, and Jake went on to say he’ll miss his co-star.

He said, “Yeah of course [I’ll miss her] but Jo’s got twins and she wanted to take a break and spend some time at home and come back once they’re settled at school.

“We’ve all done that – I took three months last year and I think it’s important to come back refreshed and ready to go again.

“As lovely as it is to be in the show, it’s good to take breaks every now and again. You come back and sort of hit the ground running again.”