Jacqueline Jossa is reportedly making her return to Eastenders, four years since her last appearance. The actress, who played Lauren Branning for eight years, is rumoured to be making a guest appearance for a special episode of the much-loved soap.
According to The Sun, Jossa will be back in Albert Square as part of a tribute episode to the late June Brown. Brown, who played Dot Cotton for 35 years, passed away in April this year.
Specific details of the episode are a closely guarded secret, with nothing officially confirmed by the soap's producers. However, it has been announced that the special will pay tribute to Brown by holding the funeral of the actress's character Dot.
The Sun has claimed that a "horse-drawn hearse with Dot's name in a floral tribute" could be seen making its way onto the set at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Herts.
"Bosses got in touch with Jacq about returning for Dot’s special episode and she was more than happy to come back," a source told The Sun. "She was back last week filming her little guest stint."
Jacqueline left the soap in 2018 following the death of Lauren's sister Abi. She went on to appear in the 19th series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, at the end of which she was crowned Queen of the Jungle.
Jacqueline is expected to appear in a couple of episodes before her character returns to New Zealand. The decision for Lauren to move abroad leaves the opportunity of a more permanent return open for the mum-of-two.
"It’s not a story that any of us wanted to think of or do, but under the circumstances, we’ve been working on a story where we will say a final farewell to Dot," EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw told Metro.co.uk. "We lost June earlier this year and what it will be is a fitting tribute to both June and Dot.
"We are working on it as we speak and it will be exactly what June deserves and I think what the audience deserves. We always knew we wouldn’t say goodbye to Dot while she was still with us, but she also knew that we’d have to find a time when we did say that.
"Sadly that time has come and we are determined to give the audience, who treasured Dot for so many years, the fitting tribute that she so deeply deserves. So whilst it will be a very, very sad day in Walford, we will be giving Dot the send-off that she and June would want and rightly deserve."
