Exactly how Max gets himself into these mysterious multiple scrapes will be explained as we get closer to New Year’s Day. It’s not just fans entering into a year-long guessing game, actor Jake Wood is just as in the dark as to what’s to come for his chaotic character.
The soap has explored similar territory before with ‘The Six’ murder mystery pegged on a single scene set 10 months ahead, but this much-hyped gaze into the crystal ball is the first time EastEnders has devoted an entire episode to a flash-forward, and gone as far into the future.
It’s an audacious concept with many logistical challenges, not least of which is the actors having no context as to their motivation, but Wood praises the ambition of the team pulling together to make it work. “Everyone has to be connected and on the same page. Although actors are feeling their way through because we don’t have the specifics, each department has enough information that allows us to tell the story in this way. It’s an incredible thing to be part of.”
“Max might’ve been on a date with Denise years ago, I can’t remember – he’s dated most of the women on the Square,” grins Wood. “They throw themselves at him! He just has that effect… Denise is an interesting possibility as a potential bride. At Christmas, Max found out Jack had slept with Stacey, one of the biggest loves of Max’s life. There could be a revenge motivation for Max if he’s with Denise.”
The 2027 wedding looked fraught with drama, perhaps that’s a sign from the universe for Max to give up on the idea of marriage, having spectacularly failed at it four times already? “Even though this would be wedding number five, Max needs to be with someone to feel grounded,” observes Wood. “He’s not good on his own. He is an eternal optimist and can be a loving, attentive partner when he wants to be. He’s an eternal optimist!”
“Jasmine is quite conniving when she wants to be. She plans to take Oscar away from Walford, Max wants to rekindle the relationship with his son and doesn’t want him to leave. Jasmine accuses Max of doing something he is actually innocent of, he has his work cut out to persuade Oscar it wasn’t what happened.
“Max is determined to repair things with his children. He can be ruthless and single-minded, and there are other people who want to take Jasmine on, so she better watch out!”
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“Max is a troubled guy and always connected to his origin story,” says Wood, who began playing the role 20 years ago. “He is still deeply scarred by what happened to him as a child. Max had a difficult relationship with his dad Jim, and is motivated to be a better father to his kids than his own dad was to him.
Wood’s instinctive and authentic performance imbues Max with sympathy he often doesn’t deserve. His magnetic screen presence has helped create some of the soap’s most unforgettable moments, notably the reveal of Max’s scandalous affair with daughter-in-law Stacey Slater on Christmas Day 2007, and Stacey’s murder confession to Max in EastEnders’ first ever live episode in 2010.
“I’d done plays in primary school, I remember being in Peter Rabbit and Bugsy Malone, and got into Anna Scher’s when I was 10 years old. It was life-changing. Kathy Burke talks about her experience in her autobiography and how she describes it is almost identical for me and thousands of kids who went through those doors. To have someone who made you feel valued and celebrated for who you were, and allowing the freedom to express yourself at that age was revelatory.
“Casting directors would come looking for child actors and I got my first TV job within a few months. I did an episode of The Gentle Touch in 1984, a big police drama at the time, and I loved it. Everyone was aware it was my first job and I felt I was being welcomed into the industry.”
View oEmbed on the source websiteAfter a small role in EastEnders as a homeless teenager in 1990, his professional path eventually led back to Walford for his most high-profile part. “I enjoyed doing different things and playing different characters, but what changed things for me was having a family.
Having returned last autumn after five years away, it already feels like Max never left the Square. Wood admits he likes to be busy and in the thick of things when he’s there, which he certainly will be for the next year at least.
But being Max Branning remains his top priority for now, and keeps the actor on his toes. “He still fascinates me, I’ve never been bored by playing this well-drawn character. Max has always felt very real to me. Even after 20 years in the job he has never failed to hold my attention, I hope that’s the same for the audience.
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