Lauren Branning returns to Eastenders and heads straight back into the drama
Fan favourite Jacqueline Jossa, 23, will return to her role after having baby
EASTENDERS will see a familiar face back on the Square as Jacqueline Jossa returns to the BBC soap – but where is Peter?
Gobby Lauren Branning will reappear back on the square in order to lend support to her friends and family following a traumatic couple of weeks in Walford.
New pictures see the young mum reunite with the E20 residents in the Queen Vic.
But she's arrived back in Walford without her love, Peter Beale, played by Ben Hardy.
The pair had fled to New Zealand with newborn Louie in 2015, after Lauren went into labour at her dad Max’s murder trial.
Ben, 25, has recently hit the big time with a starring role as Angel in X-Men: Apocalypse, so is unlikely to return to the soap any time soon.
But that doesn’t mean that Peter will disappear altogether, as the oldest Beale boy has already been played by four different actors throughout the soap’s history.
The return of the friendly face is a silver lining to a horrific couple of weeks for the residents of Walford.
Viewers said an emotional goodbye to beloved Queen of the Vic Peggy Mitchell, who overdosed on pain medication rather than succumb to cancer.
Then just as things looked brighter with Stacey and Martin getting married, they were left reeling as rage-filled schoolkid Bobby Beale smashed step-mum Jane’s head in with a hockey stick.
The horrific scenes were compared by fans to bloodbath fantasy show Game of Thrones and left the schoolboy nicknamed the ‘Norman Bates of Eastenders’.
Lauren was one of the few people that knew young Bobby was also responsible for the death of his sister, Lucy, but wasn’t believed when she told the police.
Peter is the only Beale child to not have hurt their long-suffering step-mother Jane.
Ian Beale's third son Steven, set to return later this year, shot Jane when he was younger.
Jacqueline Jossa, 23, will be returning to the role of Lauren after becoming a mother in real life in February last year, giving birth to a little girl called Ella.
She is currently engaged to be married to former Towie star Dan Osborne, but the pair have postponed their summer wedding.
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