Jacqueline Jossa teases EastEnders return after appearance at Dot Branning’s funeral

Jacqueline Jossa has hinted that she may return to EastEnders after she reprised her role as Lauren Branning for Dot Branning’s funeral episode earlier this month.

The 30-year-old returned to Albert Square in the emotional one-off four and a half years after leaving the beloved BBC soap.

The former Queen of the Jungle starred in the special episode alongside a host of other characters from EastEnders past for the funeral of her on-screen step-grandmother.

After viewers shared their joy over her brief return, Jossa has now revealed whether it’s likely to see her character comeback to Walford full-time.

During an Instagram Q&A, a fan asked, “Will you will ever go back to EastEnders full time?”

The star responded with a screengrab of her character and penned across it, “I loved being back, and was so happy with you in my DMs, maybe one day.”

Recently, the mother-of-two admitted that she was “quite scared” of returning to the soap after her exit over four years ago.

Speaking to The Sun, she shared: “I was quite scared, and it had only been 4 and a half years.

“But it felt like 33 years. I thought, I can’t remember how to act and then you walk in and see people like Natalie and Scott Maslen and you’re like, ‘Oh there’s Uncle Jack’.

“I was really nervous, I felt I was rusty and I didn’t know if people would still see me as Lauren again.

“But as soon as we were in amongst it and you’re talking about people you know, it’s Dot and you’re catching up with old friends – you get straight back into it.”

EastEnders Dot Cotton: June Brown

Her character left Albert Square for a new life in New Zealand with son Louie in 2018, following the death of her sister Abi.

EastEnders stars from past and present came back to Walford for the special episode, which honoured actress June Brown, who played Dot for nearly 40 years, after she passed away aged 95 in April.

The on-screen funeral was also attended by three of Brown’s real-life children, Sophie, Nim and Billy, who asked to be in the emotional scenes.