She hasn’t even left the soap on-screen yet but EastEnders bosses have already sneakily replaced Jacqueline Jossa with the original Lauren Branning – Madeline Duggan.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted the swap during Tuesday’s episode when Max Branning stuck a photograph above daughter Abi’s hospital bed.
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Abi is currently in hospital after falling from the roof of The Vic on Christmas Day.
Despite being declared brain-stem dead, Max is having trouble accepting that nothing can be done to save his daughter.
Lauren has been trying to convince Max to turn off Abi’s life support machine, but her pleas have been falling on deaf ears.
But what got viewers talking was the short cameo Madeline made in the scene.
The photo Max stuck over Abi’s bed featured the whole Branning family – including baby Oscar – back in happier times. As Jacqueline didn’t take over the role until 2010, when the Brannings were well and truly broken, Madeline was in the snap.
“How they going to have the old cast of Lauren in a family photo? Should have cut that photo part out #EastEnders” said one observant fan.
Another commented: “They used a photo with old Lauren?”
While a third tweeted Madeline herself to let her know about her brief appearance: “Hi @maddiedugx is there any truth to u returning to the role of Lauren branning?? I mean max put a pic up in the hospital of max ABI Lauren Tanya and Oscar and the Lauren was u.. lol..”
Jacqueline was cast as Lauren after the character took a brief break from Walford as producers wanted her to tackle more grown up storylines when she returned.
And she certainly did that. In the eight years Jac has been playing the eldest Branning daughter, she’s faced a battle with alcoholism, a relationship with her cousin, the murder of her best friend, an unplanned pregnancy, a psychopath boyfriend and now her sister’s untimely death.
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Meanwhile Madeline is still an actress and has appeared in Silent Witness and Sky 1 drama The Smoke.
EastEnders continues tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One