Love him or hate him, it’s impossible to deny that Max Branning doesn’t add drama.
The EastEnders bad boy has gone hand in hand with deception and death in his 12 years on the soap and, other than taking a break while his character was wrongly imprisoned, Jake Wood has been a permanent fan favourite all of that time.
So those fans will be over the Alfie Moon to hear that Jake has put pen to paper on a contract extension with the BBC, guaranteeing us plenty more mad Max shenanigans to come.
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“I’ve just signed another year so I’ll stay for that at least,” Jake told The Sun at The BT Sport Industry Awards last night.
“As I’ve always said, I’m always happy there and fully committed to the show. I’ve been there for 12 years, so long may it continue.”
It’s great news for Jake’s legions of fans, and suggests that the current storyline involving Max is set to be a long- running one.
Max has only recently returned to the square and he’s already up to no good, pretending to be in a stable new marriage with his former wife’s sister, Rainie.
We already know that it’s a sham arrangement though, and Max is actually plotting to pay Rainie to help him fool social services into awarding him custody of his granddaughter, Abi.
It seems that this won’t be quite as easy as Max imagines though, and Jake recently told Digital Spy that Max and Rainie will struggle to keep their charade going.
“I don’t think either of them have really thought it through, what it means day to day, to be living together and pretending to everyone that they’re a couple,” he said.
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“Of course, that has its own pressures, so viewers will see just how that pans out.”
We’re already looking forward to it, Jake!