BBC/Composite: EastEnders Insider Share By Joel Harley Sep 9 2025 By Joel Harley Sep 9 2025 9 times Jack Branning was the world's worst police officer Somebody call AC-12 Features Jack Branning Scott Maslen Share By Joel Harley Sep 9 2025 By Joel Harley Sep 9 2025 Local police officer Detective Inspector Jack Branning has been living and patrolling the Walford beat since his arrival on EastEnders in 2007. Since then, he’s been at the heart of many of the soap’s biggest storylines, locking horns with local gangsters like Phil Mitchell and Ravi Gulati. Don’t let the badge fool you though, Jack can be as corrupt as they come, and has been directly involved in all manner of criminality on Albert Square over the years. This includes recent scenes on the soap, in which he managed to get Zoe Slater shot while feuding with drug dealer (and tenant!) Ravi. Here are 9 times Jack Branning was the world’s (or at least Walford’s) worst police officer. Before Ravi, there was Phil (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Nine times Jack Branning was EastEnders’ worst police officer 1. Blackmailed Phil Soon after arriving Walford, Jack made his mark by blackmailing local top dog Phil Mitchell. This he did by secretly recording Phil confessing to causing the death of Kevin Wicks. After getting the car lot from Phil in exchange for his silence, Jack ensured that he would have a rival for life in Phil. Just think of the trouble that could have been avoided if he’d just arrested Phil Mitchell then and there. Article continues below Read all the latest spoilers 2. Kidnapped and beat up his own brother Following his brother’s affair with ex-wife Tanya, Max was out for revenge. After Max tried to frame Jack for attempted murder, he hit back – taking Max hostage before beating him up and leaving him humiliated in an old warehouse. Max was struck by a hit-and-run soon afterwards, leaving Jack the prime suspect. As it turned out, that was teenage Lauren, but it wouldn’t have surprised us if it had been Jack. Jack’s dodgy dealings left Penny fighting for her life (Credit: BBC) Nine times Jack Branning was EastEnders’ worst police officer continued 3. Dealing drugs Phil and Jack’s rivalry continued when Phil learned that Jack was involved with drugs. As he later admitted, Jack was in deep with various drug dealers and street gangs, even doing deals to keep them out of prison. Jack’s corruption had terrible consequences for daughter Penny, who was caught in the crossfire when one of Jack’s criminal contacts deliberately hit her with a car in revenge for being sent down. Jack let Derek die (Credit: BBC/YouTube) 4. Let his other brother die Jack stood by with Max while their other brother, Derek Branning, suffered a heart attack. As Derek lay dying in the street, first aid trained police officer Jack chose to do nothing, indirectly contributing to his brother’s death. He was then instrumental in the subsequent cover up with Max, Kat and Derek’s son, Joey, all of whom had also been present. Jack helped The Six cover up Keanu’s murder (Credit: BBC) Nine times Jack Branning was EastEnders’ worst police officer continued 5. Covered for The Six In 2024, Jack discovered the Six’s murder of Keanu Taylor when he caught Denise and Stacey rooting around in his makeshift grave in search of a necklace. Jack decided to make himself useful by retrieving the necklace himself and assisting with the subsequent cover-up. As such, he was party to the plan to frame Dean Wicks for the crime, even forcing colleague Callum Highway to cease his investigation into the case. Jack decided to let Penny take the blame for the club crush (Credit: BBC) 6. Framed his own daughter and beat up Harry Later that year, Jack was horrified when Amy was severely injured in a crowd crush at Peggy’s Nightclub. It later emerged that Denise’s daughter, Chelsea, had been responsible for the incident. However, Jack agreed to let his own daughter take the blame. It’s little wonder she and Harry decided to blackmail him a few months later, using footage of him punching Harry to convince him assist in the theft and moving of stolen cars. As a result of the footage being leaked, Jack was suspended from the force, following investigation. After letting Walford’s entire criminal underworld slip through his fingertips, Jack cracked down on… Kojo (Credit: BBC) Nine times Jack Branning was EastEnders’ worst police officer continued 7. Threatened to arrest Kojo More recently, Jack threatened to arrest Kojo after learning that he’d inadvertently taken drugs. Given all he’s done, brushed under the rug and blatantly covered up, this was spectacularly petty of Jack, who had no reason whatsoever to think Kojo might have taken drugs on purpose. Jack’s approach to a dangerous Cuckooing operation unfolding right beneath his bent little nose? Arrest the victim. He eventually let it slide, but it was a funny choice of time to play by-the-book. Jack proved equally useless when police colleagues arrested Avani, shrugging off daughter Amy’s concerns for her friend and defending his fellow officers in spite of everything they’d done wrong. Oops (Credit: BBC) 8. Shot Zoe And then, of course, there’s his accidentally shooting Zoe during his latest macho-off with Ravi. His decision not to arrest Ravi when the man quite literally flashed a gun at him lead to their wrestling match which, in turn, led to Jack’s finger being on the trigger when Zoe was shot. How much more compromised can Jack get? As it turned out, much. Jack’s next attempt at covering up the crime was to decide to frame Ravi, hatching a scheme to plant the gun in the flat, thereby sending his rival down for good. But will Jack succeed? Jack’s gun-stashing skills need some work (Credit: BBC) 9. Poor gun admin Not a criminal issue this, but still a very serious one. Amid all the ongoing drama with the gun, Jack proved himself the last person you’d want in charge with a firearm. After stashing it in his house for Ravi to find and steal back, Ravi returned home where he stored it in his hidden safe. You know, the hidden safe where he probably should have put it in the first place. But who’s to say Ravi didn’t find the safe? With Jack choosing 1234 as his safe password, maybe Ravi found it and hacked the code within about, say, two minutes. It’s a good job Jack’s not on the firearms squad, that’s all we’re saying. Read more: Who’s leaving, joining and returning to EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns. Share Good to Know Share By Joel Harley Sep 9 2025 By Joel Harley Sep 9 2025
