Overview
- Jake Wood confirmed Max Branning’s full-time return to EastEnders on 16 December 2025 after a brief autumn stint.
- Wood said filming on the special has wrapped and teased that Max is “in a lot of trouble” leading into the episode.
- The one-off instalment will air on BBC One on New Year’s Day and marks the show’s first entire episode told as a flashforward.
- The future-set episode places Max and the Branning family at the heart of consequential drama and a year-ahead snapshot.
- Max first arrived in 2006, exited in 2021, and returned earlier in 2025, with current reporting also highlighting the unresolved secrecy around Annie’s paternity.