Jacqueline Jossa's dramatic return to EastEnders has been confirmed. The 22-year-old will reprise her role as Lauren Branning on 17 September after filming scenes for the past few weeks. Jacqueline has been on maternity leave since welcoming her daughter Ella in February – and was last seen on the screen that same month when her character moved to New Zealand with Peter Beale.Lauren will return to Albert Square for the start of her dad Max's trial – he stands accused of killing Lucy Beale, which Lauren knows he didn't do. She arrives home with the intention of clearing his name, but in a dramatic turn of events is rushed to hospital when her waters break, and gives birth to a baby boy named Louie.
Jacqueline Jossa teased fans ahead of her return to EastEnders later this month
"Max's trial will be a very exciting storyline and Lauren's return will be explosive because she knows Max didn't kill Lucy," a source told the Sun. "She agreed not to unmask Bobby as the killer but surely that won't be at the expense of her own father…"Jacqueline teased fans at the weekend, ahead of her return to the soap later this month. She posted a picture of herself as Lauren on Instagram on Saturday, writing alongside, "Guess who's back?!"Cheering the actress on as she makes her big comeback will be her partner Dan Osborne, and their six-month-old daughter Ella – who it seems is already a big EastEnders fan. Jacqueline recently shared a short video of her adorable baby girl waving her arms around in excitement while the soap's iconic theme tune plays in the background.
Jacqueline revealed this week that her baby daughter Ella is already a big fan of the soap
"We are just catching up on some EastEnders, Ella loves it!" the proud mum commented.
