News from Walford way today is that  Jo Joyner has revealed that she’s delighted that Jake Wood is back on-set in his role as her character’s former husband, Max Branning.

Jo, who of course plays Tanya Jessop, told Inside Soap that the reason Tanya had ditched Max back in the summer – when he left the Square a broken hearted man – was because she’d just learned she had cancer, and she didn’t want him to feel behooved to take care of her.

However, Max comes roaring back to Walford in a fortnight, with his big brother Derek in tow. His return heralds a five-night Branning family special, which you can read more about here.

Getting back to Jo’s interview, she said of Tanya dumping Max, “Tanya just didn’t want Max to be around to watch her deteriorate.

“Their relationship has been based on Tanya having to be sexy and attractive to keep Max on his toes.

“But she hasn’t got the energy to work so hard to keep him.”

But of Jake’s return to filming, Jo said, “It’s been so lovely to have Jake back.

“I love the dynamics between Max and Tanya. It’s a comfortable history for us as actors to understand their relationship.”

As we reported earlier in the week, ahead of Max’s return, Tanya’s life is becoming ever more stressful, what with keeping her illness a secret from everyone except daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa). So on a night out, Tanya goes off the rails somewhat, and may drunkenly confess her secret to someone in the pub.

Of those scenes, Jo said, “Tanya is escaping a dark situation that she doesn’t want to think about. She’s not thinking straight and she’s just a bit high on life.

“It feels great, and it’s complete escapism for her.”

Aww, I hope Tanya and Max get back together. They’re sooo meant to be!

Would you like to see them reunite properly?

Here’s a clip of the moment Tanya realized how much she still loves Max, which was on her wedding day to poor old Greg Jessop (Stefan Booth).