Life-or-death situation faces two characters in EastEnders ‘flashforward’

Two EastEnders characters faced a life-or-death situation during a glimpse into the future in the soap’s special flashforward episode.

At the end of the episode, which took place on New Year’s Day 2027, siblings Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) and Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) were threatened at gunpoint by an unknown figure.

Their father, Max Branning (Jake Wood), received a photo of the two being held hostage, and was told to decide which one of them should live or die.

The episode, set in the future, saw Max and his family at the centre of the drama on his chaotic wedding day.

It started as the character woke up with a mystery woman in his bed and an ultrasound on his dresser – hinting that he may be expecting a sixth child.

He was then the subject of an armed police raid, during which he made an escape to his daughter Lauren’s house – but she called the police on him and he was arrested for solicitation to murder.

The identity of the future Mrs Branning was unclear, with three characters hinted at as potentially being Max’s bride: Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams), Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).

It follows a fling between Max and Cindy on Christmas Day, and as he is desperately trying to get on good terms with Linda, so he can build a relationship with their four-year-old daughter, Annie – who he found out he was the father of earlier this month.

Meanwhile, his brother Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) appeared to be on bad terms with him, saying he is “sick of him”, having refused to be his best man at his wedding.

The detective inspector was also seen looking after a baby called Ethan but it was not revealed whether the child is his.

The episode also saw Jossa’s character face tensions with her husband Peter Beale (Thomas Law).

It is unknown how the events running up to the episode will unfold over the next year.

EastEnders executive producer Ben Wadey said: “We set up a gazillion questions in that episode but you don’t have to wait an entire year to get all the answers.

“You’ll be getting answers from almost the episode after, and then through every month we’ll be giving you little bits, but also we twist it and things are not as they seem.”

He also said the plan is to “re-see” elements of the flashforward episode on New Year’s Day 2027, so they “make sense in a new light”.

The soap previously showcased a flashforward scene in February 2023, depicting one aspect of the 2023 Christmas Day storyline.

EastEnders is available on BBC iPlayer.