It’s only just over a month since Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell died in EastEnders’ New Year’s Day episode, and now Scott Maslen, who plays Ronnie’s on-screen widower, Jack Branning, has opened up about their deaths.
The sisters met their makers after Roxy suffered a heart attack when she jumped into a swimming pool. Ronnie dived in to save her sibling, but was weighed down by all the lace on her wedding dress and drowned.
Since the heartbreaking double tragedy, Jack has been struggling to cope with the loss of his wife as well as bringing up the three young kids he’s been left with.
And it seems he isn’t the only one who’s found the Mitchells’ deaths difficult to take – it turns out actor Scott struggled with it as well.
Speaking to OK! at last week’s National Television Awards, he admitted:
“It’s very draining.
“Even though it’s fiction you still have to take yourself to that dark place in order to do the scenes justice.”
The magazine went on to ask him how he’d coped with that extra pressure, and he replied:
“I certainly drank a lot more beer!”
Read more: Jack Branning to bed another Mitchell woman?
The star also admitted that he understood the decision to write Ronnie and Roxy out.
“That’s the nature of soaps,” he said.
“It’s always changing to give people the shock element and to keep people on their toes.
“I know people think that their characters shouldn’t do certain things, but it’s just the world we work in.”
Scott has won high praise from viewers for his portrayal of grieving Jack, and they’ve taken to Twitter to let him know how they felt.
@RealScottMaslen Some emotional scenes in tonight's episode of eastenders.😢Some superb scenes off jack branning tonight!!👌👏
— Ryan (@ryanfellows2) January 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/FatimaBux/status/822589892257599488
Think @RealScottMaslen has played Jack really well over last few weeks…certainly deserves an award or two! #eastenders
— Lana Donnison (@dopeyf1fanatic) January 20, 2017
Read more: EastEnders’ Whitney to confess everything?
But rumours are now flying round that Jack’s set to bed his late wife’s MOTHER Glenda Mitchell. Now that would just be plain wrong.
We don’t reckon fans would have much sympathy for him if he did that.