EastEnders star Jake Wood has defended how long Max has taken to get his revenge on the people who wronged him, and says the amazing Christmas episodes make the build-up worthwhile.
Max’s revenge has been on screen since last Christmas – and really goes back even further, to the ‘who killed Lucy Beale’ drama – so viewers have been waiting a long time to watch it unfold.
But the story (finally) comes to a dramatic conclusion over the festive period with Max suffering the consequences of his actions, and daughters Abi and Lauren leaving Walford forever.
“The lead-up to Christmas is some of the most action-packed, week-on-week stuff I’ve seen and they culminate in Simon Ashdown’s episodes at Christmas and they’re amazing,” Jake Wood told Metro.
And he said that the story being such a slow-burn is what makes next week’s episodes so exciting.
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“The best kind of drama comes, not out of the blue, but out of a well-structured, well-thought-out, big build up,” he said.
“The Max and Stacey reveal was a year. It’s a delicate balance in stretching out the storyline but you need that time. That’s why that Christmas was so memorable.
“I feel that this is the same situation. This really goes back to ‘who killed Lucy?’ We’re still playing out the same story.
“For me, those are the best payoffs because everyone has invested over a long period of time.”
Max’s revenge hasn’t been going too well so far, after horrible James Willmott-Brown scammed him out of the money he was promised.
So in tonight’s episode he gets physical instead and heads off to Ian’s to deal with cowardly Mr Beale, who let Max take the blame for Lucy’s murder, even though Ian knew he was innocent.
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As the pair trade insults – and then blows – things look bleak for Ian. But would Max really kill him? Or will his revenge be something different?