BBC Share Add as a preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 4 Feb 2026, 11:02 By Carena Crawford 4 Feb 2026, 11:02 The Branning family tree: Who's who in EastEnders' biggest clan How well do you know the Branning clan? Jack Branning Lauren Branning Max Branning Oscar Branning Share Add as a preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 4 Feb 2026, 11:02 By Carena Crawford 4 Feb 2026, 11:02 The Branning family may not have been in EastEnders since the very start, unlike the Beales or the Fowlers, but they’ve more than made their mark since their arrival in the 1990s. Now the Brannings are intertwined with just about every other iconic EastEnders family and it’s hard to imagine Walford without them. This year, they’ve become the centre of the drama thanks to a game-changing flashforward involving the one and only Max Branning. With that in mind, we thought we’d give you a reminder of who’s who! Jim first appeared on the soap in 1996 (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Jim and Reenie Branning Jim Branning was still married to late wife Reenie when he first came to Albert Square. He wasn’t always the best dad – in fact the first time we met him, he was busy sharing his racist views about daughter Carol marrying Alan Jackson, who was black. But over the years, and especially after his marriage to Dot, Jim’s relationship with his family mellowed and he became the heart of the family. Article continues below Read all the latest spoilers Jim and Reenie had six children. Derek was the oldest, followed by April, Carol, Suzy, Max and Jack. All six Branning siblings have appeared in Walford at one time or another. Derek died of a heart attack as his brothers looked on (Credit: BBC) Derek – the Branning bad boy In a family where a lot of the members have a loose relationship with what’s right and what’s wrong, Derek stood out as the baddest of all! He was a bully, and a criminal. He was very nasty to his kids, Joey and Alice, and he even seduced Kat Slater. Derek died after suffering a fatal heart attack on Christmas Day in 2012, while his unsympathetic brother looked on. April – the Greek goddess of EastEnders’ Branning family Back in 1995, April was supposed to be getting married to her Greek boyfriend Nikos but he jilted her, so her sister Carol married Alan Jackson instead! April stayed in the Square for a little while, having a romance with market inspector Michael Rose. When that fizzled out, she reconnected with Nikos and went back to Spain, where they still live today. She didn’t come home for Jim’s funeral. Carol Jackson – the OG Branning Carol arrived in Walford with her four kids and her fiancée (later her husband), Alan. Her time in Walford included broken hearts, cancer, rekindling her romance with first love David Wicks and that was just for starters! Carol’s biggest shock in her time in Albert Square was when her son Billie died after drinking too much alcohol. His death broke the hearts of his whole family. The eldest of the Jackson children is Bianca (Credit: BBC) Bianca Jackson All of Carol’s surviving children are EastEnders legends! Her eldest is Bianca Jackson – known for her yells of “RIIIIIICAAAAY”. Her on-off relationship with Ricky Butcher being one of her biggest storylines. She also found out her dad was David Wicks after trying to seduce him! Bianca left Walford for a new life in Milton Keynes with her boyfriend Terry, but they broke up B returned. After being diagnosed with depression, she threw all of her attention into saving sister Sonia from killer Reiss – and was held captive in a lock-up for her trouble. She left Albert Square last year, riding off into the sunset with Sonia after a tumultuous year of drama and tragedy. Whitney didn’t always have it easy (Credit: BBC) Whitney Dean Bianca’s adopted daughter is a Branning in all-but name. She was the daughter of Bianca’s boyfriend, Nathan Dean, who died leaving Whit in Bianca’s care. The two had a mother/daughter bond that was rocked when it was revealed underage Whitney had been sleeping with B’s current boyfriend Tony King. As Bianca made her see she had been groomed and abused, Whitney fell apart. But Bianca was there for her and put her back together, including supporting her when she had her own baby, Dolly, in 2024. Liam was up to no good on his 2021 return (Credit: BBC) Liam Butcher Bianca and Ricky suffered tragedy in the early years of their marriage when their unborn baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. They made the decision to end the pregnancy. It would have been a little girl who they named Natasha. Bianca then fell pregnant again and gave birth to Liam on Christmas Day 1998. Liam left to live with girlfriend Cindy Williams in Germany in 2015. He returned in 2021 to spend time with sister’s Tiffany and Whitney. Liam left again that same year, but it was revealed in 2023 he and Cindy had broken up. Maisie Smith played Tiffany Butcher-Baker on EastEnders (Credit: BBC) Tiffany Butcher-Baker Tiffany was named after her mum’s best friend, who died tragically young. Young Tiff is just as much of a fireball as her namesake was, and ruled the Square from the moment she first arrived. Bianca thought Tiff was Nathan’s daughter, but later she realised she had actually conceived during a one-night stand with ex-husband Ricky Butcher. Tiff has come and gone from Walford over the years, making frenemies with Dotty Cotton, enjoying a brief romance with Bobby Beale, and being besties with Bernie Taylor. Tiffany returned as an older teen and after the death of Shakil Kazemi, she began a romance with Keegan Baker – Bernie’s brother. It wasn’t all plain sailing though. Tiff got mixed up with a gang and later with right-wing extremist Aaron Monroe. But the cute pair did eventually marry and they now live in Germany with Tiffany’s brother Liam and her dad, Ricky. Morgan Butcher Morgan is Bianca’s youngest child. He appeared in EastEnders as a youngster when he asked Bianca who his dad was and she said it was Barack Obama! When Morgan’s actual dad Ray Dixon arrived in Walford, the pair got to know each other. Morgan now lives in Milton Keynes and Bianca recently mentioned he was besotted with his girlfriend. Dean Gaffney played Robbie Jackson (Credit: BBC) Robbie Jackson Robbie Jackson is Bianca and Sonia’s brother. He’s best known for being the proud and devoted owner of Wellard the dog. But he’s also had his fair share of dramas over the years. As a troubled and troublesome teen he got up to all sorts of antics in Albert Square. He met his dad, Gary, who gave him enough money to travel round India. Later, Robbie met young widow Nita Mistry, who had a son Anish. Robbie and Nita moved to India and Nita later had Robbie’s baby, Sami. Robbie returned with Sami for a while, and later on his own – though he brought Sami back to England without telling Nita, who came to collect her son. Months later, Robbie left Walford again to go and be with his family. Sami Jackson Sami is Robbie’s son. He was born in 2010, meaning he’s now a teenager but he hasn’t been seen in Walford since 2019. When Sami was injured in an accident, Robbie left Albert Square to return to India to be with his son. It’s been a very difficult time for Sonia lately (Credit: BBC) Sonia Fowler Where to begin when it comes to EastEnders icon Sonia?! As a teenager, Sonia had a brief romance with Martin Fowler – who wasn’t very nice to her – and then started dating Jamie Mitchell. Sonia was amazed when she gave birth to a baby girl unexpectedly! Baby Chloe – who was later renamed Rebecca – was given up for adoption, though Sonia struggled with the decision. When Jamie was killed – by Martin (accidentally!), Sonia was devastated. Later, she kidnapped Rebecca, was arrested for killing Pauline Fowler (wrongly!) and got back with Martin. They left the Square for a while but returned having split. Sonia later went to work in Kettering. In 2017 Sonia returned to deal with Bex being bullied. She tried to find her dad, Terry Cant, and instead was fooled by Tom “Rocky Cotton”, who pretended to be Sonia’s father. She eventually found out the truth. Since then, Sonia’s inherited Dot’s house despite having nicked a load of money from her step-grandma just a few years before. She met new fiance Reiss at Dot’s funeral and the pair embarked on IVF together, though Reiss killed his wife Debbie to get the money they needed! And then held Bianca hostage for months. And then died in the Vic explosion that he caused. Sonia left Albert Square with sister Bianca, daughter Bex, and new baby daughter Julia. Currently off travelling the world, Bex is Sonia’s daughter with Martin Fowler (Credit: BBC) Bex Fowler Sonia and Martin’s daughter Bex was adopted by a family called the Millers. Sadly both her adoptive parents were killed in a car accident when she was 5 and Sonia and Martin – who were married by then – tracked down their daughter. With a bit of help (interference) from Martin’s mum Pauline, they eventually brought their daughter back to Walford. Bex went travelling before university but she returned to the Square for her dad Martin’s funeral. She joined Bianca, Sonia and baby sister Julia on their adventure to Bali. Billie Jackson Billie Jackson was Carol’s youngest child, and the little brother of Bianca, Robbie and Sonia. When he was in a building society as a child, with his grandmother Blossom, he witnessed an armed robbery.Billie helped identify the criminals and ended up getting kidnapped. The family were eventually rehoused away from Walford as part of a witness protection programme. When they returned, Billie was a teen, and got mixed up with the wrong crowd. He accidentally shot his uncle Jack, and decided to mend his ways, planning to join the army. Billie started drinking and on his birthday drank so much that his despairing mum left him to it. But Billie had taken things too far, and the next morning he was found dead on the sofa having choked on his own vomit and suffered alcohol poisoning. Suzy was a fan favourite (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Suzy Branning Suzy wasn’t around for long but she certainly made her presence felt. She had a rocky romance with Phil Mitchell, pretended to be pregnant with his baby, nicked £10k of his money and legged it. Oh, but before she did, she chucked a grenade into the Mitchell family Christmas by sticking Roxy’s DNA test results – the ones that proved her daughter Amy’s dad was Jack Branning and not her husband Sean Slater – in a cracker. Ho ho ho Suzy’s got two kids – Rebecca and Kevin – but they’ve never been on screen. Max’s time in Walford was definitely eventful! (Credit: BBC) Max – the Branning love rat and EastEnders lothario Serial cheater Max arrived in Albert Square with his wife Tanya and their daughters Lauren and Abi. Max’s son, Bradley, by his first wife Rachel also came to Walford. Later Max and Tanya had a son – Oscar. It’s hard to know where to start with Max. He was blamed for Lucy Beale’s murder and went to prison, he had an affair with Linda Carter (and he’s dad to little Annie, though he doesn’t know that). But probably the biggest story he was involved in was his steamy affair with Stacey Slater – his daughter-in-law – and the reveal of their betrayal on Christmas Day. After a lengthy absence from the soap, Max is now back full-time – and he’s causing as much carnage as ever. Bradley suffered one of the soap’s saddest deaths (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Bradley Branning served as EastEnders’ most tragic death Bradley Branning was Max’s son and Stacey Slater’s first true love. The pair were super cute together and planned to get married, except Bradley didn’t know that Stacey had been having a very torrid affair with his dad, Max. He found out though, in some style, when Lauren played their wedding video on Christmas Day and revealed the affair to the whole family at once. They somehow managed to put it behind them though and even remarried in 2010. But when Archie Mitchell was killed, Bradley took the blame, even though Stacey was the murderer. He tried to escape from the police by scaling the roof of The Vic but tragically fell to his death. Max’s eldest daughter has always had a rebellious streak (Credit: BBC) Lauren Branning Lauren Branning has always had a sneaky side and never more than when she revealed her dad Max’s affair with Stacey on Christmas Day, and then did basically the same thing again by revealing Cindy’s dalliance with Junior this year. She’s had her troubles, though, including alcoholism, losing her best friend Lucy Beale, having an ill-fated romance with her cousin Joey Branning. Lauren found out she was pregnant during the investigation into Lucy’s murder. She returned to the Square to clear Max’s name having discovered that Bobby was the real killer. She started a romance with Steven Beale. When Abi and Lauren confronted and rejected their dad, Max, about his behaviour, he tried to kill himself from the roof of The Vic. The women went up to stop him and instead both fell. Abi died, and Lauren was injured. Lauren returned to the Square with cousin Penny in 2024 and reunited with Peter – who she subsequently married. But she’s already battled an addiction to painkillers and discovered her new baby son, Jimmy, is vision impaired. Lauren and Peter’s son, Louie Beale (Credit: BBC) Louie Beale Louie is the son of Lauren and her partner Peter Beale. He’s a keen footballer and was recently diagnosed with dyspraxia. Jimmy Beale – the next generation of EastEnders’ Branning New baby Jimmy is vision impaired. Mum Lauren fought hard to get medical staff to listen to her concerns about her baby and now blames herself and her drug habit for his condition. Dad Peter is struggling to deal with his son’s diagnosis. Tragic history repeated itself with Abi (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Abi Branning Abi Branning was a sweet, good-natured little girl who was best friends with Ben Mitchell and Jay Brown, and loved animals. But life on the Square isn’t easy and as Abi grew up she became more hard-hearted and cynical! Her parents were Max and Tanya, and their rocky relationship took its toll, too. Abi and Jay started a romance, but Jay was in love with Lola and Abi was heartbroken. She became a much nastier person after the break-up, and after being used by Ben Mitchell, who was struggling with his sexuality and secretly seeing Paul Coker. Abi later revealed to Steven Beale that his girlfriend – Abi’s sister Lauren – had aborted his baby. She and Steven started an affair, but then Steven was killed in a fire at Ian’s restaurant. By now, Ali had gone full villain, she flushed Steven’s ashes down the loo, revealed her affair by donning Lauren’s wedding dress and then revealed she was pregnant! But things came to a tragic halt when Abi fell from the roof of the Queen Vic. She was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced brain dead. Her baby girl was delivered by c-section and named Abi after her mum. Baby Abi’s with her grandma, Tanya (Credit: BBC) Abi Branning Jr. Baby Abi was involved in a custody battle when she was just a few months old as her grandfather Max fought to keep her from being brought up by great-grandmother Cora Cross. Max roped in his former sister-in-law Rainie and paid her to marry him to make them look more respectable. It worked but not for long. The pair’s fake relationship fell apart and Max ended up running off with baby Abi. Max recently revealed that Tanya took Abi Jr into her care after he left her home alone while he was out with a neighbour. Oscar was instantly beloved by fans (Credit: BBC) Oscar Branning Oscar is Max and Tanya’s son – brother to Lauren and the late Abi and Bradley. And, though he doens’t know it, he’s also Annie Carter’s half-brother. He arrived in Walford last year, fresh out of a stint in a young offender’s institute. Since then, he’s become a firm fan favourite (aside from that one time he burgled and then accidentally attacked Patrick), and is at the heart of one of the soap’s biggest storylines thanks to his relationship with Jasmine Fisher. Lauren recently found out Annie is her half-sister (Credit: BBC) Annie Carter Little Annie was conceived when Linda Carter had a short-lived romance with Max Branning. When she found out she was pregnant, Linda told her husband Mick that the baby wasn’t his. At first he wanted to bring Annie up as his own, but he found it tricky. Since Mick’s death, Annie’s been living with her mum. Upon his return, Max learned the truth about Annie, and was appalled to discover that Jack and the children had all played a part in hiding Linda’s big secret. Jack is Walford’s long arm of the law (Credit: ITV) EastEnders’ Jack – another Branning love rat Youngest Branning brother Jack likes to think he’s a respectable policeman but we all know better! He’s got up to all sorts while he’s been in Walford. He even almost married Sharon Watts! And his turbulent romance with Ronnie Mitchell led to all sorts of heartache including the loss of their baby James and then Ronnie’s own tragic death. Now he’s juggling the demands of his daughters Penny and Amy – and son Ricky – and granddaughter Charli Slater. Jack’s daughter Penny was estranged from her dad for many years (Credit: BBC) Penny Branning Penny Branning is Jack’s daughter from his first marriage to ex-wife Selina. She’s in a wheelchair after one of Jack’s dodgy drug dealing contacts deliberately hit her with a car. Jack had been taking money from the dealer in exchange for tip-offs but when the dealer was arrested, he hurt Penny in revenge. Penny has been living in France but returned to Walford in early 2024 with cousin Lauren – and brought trouble with her after planting drugs in Lauren’s bag. Amy is still recovering following the crush at Peggy’s (Credit: BBC) Amy Mitchell Jack’s daughter Amy was conceived after he inadvisedly slept with Roxy Mitchell – his girlfriend’s sister. Oops! Roxy died, along with her sister Ronnie, in 2017, and Jack has been bringing Amy up. Sassy Amy has had her troubles including self-harming, but she’s now on the mend. Young dad Ricky is Sam Mitchell’s son (Credit: BBC) EastEnders’ Ricky Mitchell – now Ricky Branning Ricky is Jack’s son with another Mitchell woman – this time it’s Sam who’s the baby-mama. Sam’s less than perfect when it comes to parenting, though, so Ricky considers himself a Branning and even changed his name recently. Ricky’s also a dad, getting Lily Slater pregnant at just 13. Granny Stacey helps look after baby Charli (Credit: BBC) Charli Slater Baby Charli was born to Lily Slater and Ricky Branning in September 2023, when her parents were young teens. She’s not named after the Slaters’ beloved Charlie, but rather gets her name from singer Charli XCX! James Branning (R.I.P) Baby James Branning was the son of Jack and Ronnie Mitchell. Ronnie had longed for a baby so when she found James dead in his cot on New Year’s Eve, she almost lost her mind with grief. She wandered out into the Square, following the sound of a baby crying. Except the baby was actually Tommy Moon. Ronnie took him from his cot and left James in his place. It took months before the tot was returned to Kat and Alfie. Jim married Dot Cotton in 2002 (Credit: BBC/YouTube) The Cotton family You can’t discuss the Brannings without mentioning the Cottons! When Jim married Dot Cotton it brought together two of EastEnders’ most famous families. Dot just had one son – the iconic baddie Nick Cotton. Nick himself had three kids with three different women – son Ashley who was killed in a motorbike accident, then daughter Dotty, and another son Charlie. Charlie and Ronnie Mitchell had a relationship and Ronnie had a baby boy – Matthew. He now lives in Ireland with his dad. Read more: Who’s leaving, joining and returning to EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns. Share Add as a preferred source on Google Good to Know Share Add as a preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 4 Feb 2026, 11:02 By Carena Crawford 4 Feb 2026, 11:02 Previous Story Next Story
