We all watched with mouths open during last night’s Christmas Day EastEnders as Max Branning’s secret wife, Kirsty, turned up to stop his wedding to ex-wife, Tanya, in one of the best kept secret reveals the show has ever seen.

Now that the secret, which Jake Wood who plays Max admits he had to sign a secrecy contract promising to keep for the last year, is out the actress who plays Kirsty, Kierston Wareing, has spoken out about her new, high profile role.

Ever since Max has returned following the revelation last year that his ex-wife, Tanya, had cervical cancer, we knew he had been hiding something.
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The New Year in Walford will see Derek Branning laid to rest, but even from beyond the grave, he’s still causing trouble in the Butcher-Jackson household!

There’s heartache in store for Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) too as she discovers that Alfie (Shane Richie) has asked Roxy to move in with him. More on that in a moment…

But first, on the day of Derek’s funeral, as his sister Carol stands outside the house waiting for the arrival of the cortege, Poppy (Rachel Bright) hands her a letter that was found among Derek’s things.

A confused Carol immediately opens the letter, and on seeing who it’s from, she rushes back into the house, and when her brother Jack (Scott Maslen) goes after her, she tells him that she won’t be going to Derek’s funeral… Read more & comment »

It’s the question that every EastEnders fan has been dying to know since Max Branning returned to our screens earlier this year, but Jake Wood, who plays him, swears he won’t be telling anyone his characters secret – not even his wife!

Fans of the hit BBC1 soap have seen a desperate Max turn to bully- brother Derek (Jamie Foreman) to help pay off an unknown source regularly, with no word of what the money was for, or who it was going to.

This week saw a dramatic increase of pressure in the situation as Derek ended up getting brutally attacked when Max could not make the payment due to the cost of his up-coming wedding to ex-wife, Tanya (Jo Joyner).
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In tonight and tomorrow’s episodes of EastEnders we’re finally going to find out who Kat Moon has been having an affair with, as is her husband Alfie…

And when he finds out which Branning brother has been sleeping with his wife, it’s going to prove to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, and meek and mild Alfie will be temporarily replaced by seriously pi**ed off Alfie as he throws Kat (Jessie Wallace) out of the pub!

And Kat is going to find there’s no room at any inn for her this Christmas after most of the Square’s residents shun her in the wake of her latest betrayal against everyone’s BFF Alfie (Shane Richie).

However, there’s also of course a pretty grim Christmas ahead for Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) given that he’s going to shuffle off the mortal coil on Christmas Day! Read more & comment »

Ever since the news leaked that Walford baddie Derek Branning was to die over Christmas, it has of course prompted a Who Killed Derek frenzy, with bookmakers taking odds on who will be his killer…

However, the BBC haven’t actually revealed the manner and mode of Derek’s demise as yet, so he could die of natural causes, such as a heart attack, or of course, he could even commit suicide!

And today, bookie William Hill are running odds of 9/2 that he will do just that!

Previously – assuming he’s going to be murdered – a number of suspects were mooted, such as Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) if he finds out that Derek (Jamie Foreman) has been having an affair with his wife Kat (Jessie Wallace). Read more & comment »

As fans of EastEnders will know, Walford baddie Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) is to die over Christmas, and though it hasn’t yet been revealed what exactly he dies of – whether it’s natural causes or something more sinister – we do know that his funeral will air on January 4th…

After the jump, we have some new images for you of the funeral and as you’ll see, there’s not exactly a rush of people ready to deliver any moving tributes to Derek, and in fact only Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell) has anything like a kind word to say about him during the service.

Not even his brothers Max (Jake Wood) or Jack (Scott Maslen) seem to have a good word to say about Derek at his big send off, although that is most likely because on Christmas Day, Derek is due to spill the beans about Max’s big secret to the entire Branning clan… Read more & comment »

The Branning family has a lot to celebrate this Christmas – on the face of it that is – as Tanya Branning (Jo Joyner) has had the all-clear from her cancer check, and she’s due to remarry her beloved Max (Jake Wood).

However, as is the way of things in soap land, no family Christmas is complete without a betrayal and a death, and in the Branning household, they’re to have both!

The betrayal will come when Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) accidentally on purpose lets slip Max’s big secret – about why he’s had to send large sums of money to someone in Manchester for months – and of course, Derek is going to shuffle off the mortal coil over Christmas… Read more & comment »

Christmas for the Branning family is rarely a fun time – for instance, Max Branning’s affair with his daughter-in-law Stacey (Lacey Turner) was revealed on Christmas Day in 2008 – and it seems this year is going to be no exception…

We already know that Max’s brother Derek (Jamie Foreman) will die at Christmas, and with a report that’s out today, it seems there’s a chance that Max (Jake Wood) might be the one who kills him!

That’s because Digital Spy report that Derek is set to expose Max’s big secret to the entire family over Christmas. The secret is of course why Max keeps having to come up with big sums of money to send to some mystery person in Manchester.

However, though the full details about the secret, and how Derek reveals it, are being kept under wraps, we also know that Tanya Branning is set to leave the Square in the New Year as Jo Joyner, who of course plays her, is taking a few months off… Read more & comment »

Christmas in Walford is rarely a happy time, and this year will be no exception, particularly for the Branning family as Lauren’s (Jacqueline Jossa) drinking spirals out of control and Derek (Jamie Foreman) makes yet more enemies, any of whom could turn out to be a murderer because of course, Derek is set to die over the festive period!

And as if that wasn’t drama enough, Tanya (Jo Joyner) will learn whether her cancer has returned or not, and her recently found sister Ava Hartman (Claire Perkins) is set to make a comeback to the Square in a bid to mend some fences with her long lost family…

But first, apropos of Derek, he’s set to make an enemy of Sharon Rickman after he goes public with her secret, which is of course that she’s had – or may still have – an addiction to painkillers.

Derek will first find out about Sharon’s problem when he spots a bottle of tablets at his brother Jack’s flat. Wanting to know what they are and who they belong to, Jack (Scott Maslen) reluctantly tells Derek about Sharon’s addiction, but swears his brother to secrecy… Read more & comment »

In last night’s visit to Walford, we saw that Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) was overjoyed when a mystery benefactor gave him a wad of cash and a travel tickets to enable him to go to Germany to bring back samples of goods from the famous Christmas markets…

And though his wife Kat (Jessie Wallace) implored Alfie not to go – citing the expense as the reason for her objection – so that she wouldn’t be tempted to stray from the marital bed in his absence, a happy Alfie joyfully thanked the mystery donator and went off to pack.

And within minutes, Kat had a text from her lover saying how happy he was that she and he could be together again when Alfie had gone.

But of course, we also saw in last night’s show that Kat threw away the key to the bedsit where she has formerly met up with her lover, however, undeterred, the mystery man comes up with a new plan tonight… Read more & comment »

As fans of EastEnders will know, Derek Branning is being killed off at Christmas, which of course means that Jamie Foreman, who plays villainous Derek, is leaving the show…

And in an interview with TV Biz, it seems he’s not altogether happy with how his character has developed, or with being written out!

He began by saying that when he first learned about his character, and his difficult relationships with his son and daughter Joey (David Witts) and Alice (Jasmyn Banks) he had hoped that they might end up being close.

However, that of course hasn’t happened – with Joey at least – of which Jamie said, “I just hate having to play the same scene over and over again.

“After about four months of playing the same thing, it’s very difficult for actors to do… Read more & comment »

Tanya Branning is about to find out that her mother Cora Cross does not take kindly to being kept in the dark, much less being lied to, when she finds out that Tanya went behind her back to meet her sister, Ava Hartman…

We’ll see Tanya dragging a reluctant Patrick (Rudolph Walker) along with her when she goes to meet Ava (Claire Perkins) tonight, having tracked her down on the internet.

As we saw in last night’s episode, Ava’s the head teacher of a school that’s just minutes away from the Square, so Tanya goes there on the pretence of wanting her son Oscar to go to school there…

However, though it had been her intention tell Ava who she really is, Tanya (Jo Joyner) bottles out and leaves in a hurry, accidentally leaving her purse behind. Read more & comment »

Fans of EastEnders will of course know that the whole Who Is Kat Moon’s Lover storyline has been going on for about 16 years now, and many fans – me included – have given up caring who it is…

However, the show’s bosses have decided to finally end the speculation about who Kat’s mystery man is over Christmas when, following a dramatic row between Kat (Jessie Wallace) and hubby Alfie (Shane Richie) she blurts out the name of her lover in front of a pub full of punters.

The dramatic revelation apparently comes about after Alfie goes for one of the Branning brothers, prompting Kat to yell, “You’ve got the wrong brother!”

Of course, exactly which Branning brother will be outed is being kept a closely guarded secret, but the news has prompted more speculation that the Branning in question will be Derek (Jamie Foreman) and that Alfie will kill him! Read more & comment »

As fans of EastEnders will most likely know, as part of tonight’s Children In Need telethon – which airs on the BBC from 7.30pm – The Apprentice tycoon Lord Alan Sugar visited the set of the show recently to film a spoof sketch…

And last night, the BBC released a sneak peek clip of the scenes which will see Lord Sugar meeting with prospective candidates Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) and Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).

As you’ll see – the clip is after the jump – the acerbic Lord Sugar has doubts that he’s going to find a suitable apprentice among the entrepreneurs on Albert Square… Read more & comment »

Fans of EastEnders will of course know that Albert Square baddie Derek Branning is set to die at Christmas, and though the details about his death are being kept firmly under wraps, it’s widely expected that Derek is going to be murdered…

The big question of course is, by whom?

Well, bookmakers are taking bets on whodunit and currently, Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) is William Hill’s favourite to turn out to be a killer, with the assumption being that he tops Del after finding out he is the Branning brother who’s been having an affair with Alfie’s wife, Kat (Jessie Wallace).

However, there are other Walford residents in the frame too, and they include Derek’s brothers Max (Jake Wood) and Jack (Scott Maslen) and while my personal theory about what reason Max could have to bump off his brother is that it’ll transpire he had an affair with Tanya (Jo Joyner) I can’t see what reason Jack would have to kill him. Can you? Read more & comment »