It’s the end of an era.
Jacqueline Jossa exited EastEnders on Friday night as Lauren Branning’s final scenes aired in the wake of Abi’s funeral.
But fans were left floored – and a bit crushed – when Lauren decided to ditch her boyfriend Josh Hemmings, and headed off on her own instead.
The Branning family have faced a rocky few months after Max’s involvement with Weyland and Co was exposed.
During dramatic scenes on Christmas Day, both Abi and Lauren fell from the Queen Vic – with the younger Branning sister sadly passing away due to her injuries.
While Max was ordered to stay away from he service (he spent some time with Abi’s baby daughter instead), he did get to say his own farewell after the service ended.
He also shared an emotional moment with Lauren, who told him that she needed to leave Walford to focus on a future for herself and her son, Louie.
She ended up scrapping her plans to go to Glasgow and start anew with her boyfriend Josh and, instead, she and Louie walked off after the funeral.
Fans took to social media after the episode to pay tribute to the actress.
Tonight’s episode of #eastenders pays beautiful homage to the end scene in the graveyard in the #thethirdman Go Lauren!! @bbceastenders ❤️
— Tonya McMullan (@TonyaMcMullan) February 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/magiczackey/status/964603907275182080
Gonna miss Lauren in eastenders,she was my favourite💕💕
— Meg (@meglove2406) February 16, 2018
So tonight showed @jacquelineMjos exit on Eastenders, it was such a sad Episode 😢 but I can’t tell you have amazing Jacqueline has been over the past 8 years on Eastenders, she’s portrayed Lauren Branning amazingly and I couldn’t be more proud!!
— JAMES MEEHAN (@Jamesmeehan_) February 16, 2018
OMG I miss Lauren already @jacquelineMjos #EastEnders
— BEX (@Bex_WithAnX) February 16, 2018
It was announced last year that both Jacqueline Jossa and her on-screen sister, Lorna Fitzgerald, were going to be written out of the soap as part of a “major shakeup”.
