Lauren Branning - Casting and Characterisation

Casting and Characterisation

Lauren Branning was introduced in 2006 by executive producer Kate Harwood. She and her immediate family — father Max (Jake Wood), mother Tanya (Jo Joyner) are an extension of the popular and long-running Jackson/Branning clan, who appeared in the series since 1993. It was announced in May 2006 that Lauren will be played by actress Madeline Duggan while Lorna Fitzgerald was cast as Lauren's sister Abi Branning. Duggan had been axed from the soap by executive producer Bryan Kirkwood and that she had already filmed her exit scenes. Duggan was replaced by Jacqueline Jossa, with Duggan's final scenes airing on 23 June 2010. Jossa's first appearance was on 27 September 2010.

"Intelligent, clever and a deep romantic, Lauren has it all. Like her mum, she is a quick judge of character but can also be sardonic, cynical and dry, just like her dad."

—The BBC describes Lauren played by Jossa (2010)

Lauren is described by the BBC website as an "outsider" and "doesn't care what people think". It continues: "Lauren is very quick on the uptake and picks up on everything going on around her but knows it doesn't pay to have loose lips. She's learnt the hard way that secrets destroy people. And this has made her vulnerable." Jossa explained that upon Lauren finding out about Tanya's cancer, viewers will see a different side to Lauren. She told Inside Soap: "Immediately, there's a change in her - with Tanya so sick, Lauren has to grow up. You'd expect her to dive into the drink again or something like that, but she's right there for Tanya from the minute she finds out what's going on." She continues: "Tanya is still convinced she'll be fine, but then she finds out that the cancer has begun to spread. Tanya's really vulnerable at that point and it's Lauren who's saying, 'We're going to fix this and everything will be fine'. She's there for her mum the whole time - shopping, cooking, cleaning, looking after Abi and Oscar. She really wants to help Tanya and actually enjoys the responsibility."