Max Branning
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| Max Branning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Duration | 2006—2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 27 June 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Max Branning is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He is played by Jake Wood. He made his first appearance on 27 June 2006. Wood went on paternity leave as of 24 March 2008. He returned on June 23 2008.[1]
Background
Max is the fifth child and second son of Jim and Reenie Branning. With a large family living in a poor area of East London Max had a difficult childhood, which was made all the worse by the arrival of his younger brother Jack. Max and Jack vied for the attentions of their father Jim, who was a drunk and frequently neglected his children. When Max was blamed for stealing and losing a medal that Jim's mother was given during World War 2 in honour of his late father for bravery, Jim severed all ties with his son and even once locked him in a coffin after a drinking binge.
A messed up teenager, Max got involved with women in order to release the tension from his home life. As a result Max got his girlfriend Rachel pregnant at just seventeen, which led to them marrying in a shotgun wedding and him becoming a father to their son Bradley in August 1987 at just eighteen. Tired of the interference from his parents, Max walked out on the Branning family in 1989 and lost all contact with both Jim and Reenie, although still kept in touch with his siblings, in particular Carol. However Max struggled with the pressure of being a father too young and as a result he began an affair with Tanya Cross, who herself was a messed up teenager dabbling in drugs and alcohol. After discovering that Tanya was pregnant by him in 1993, Max divorced Rachel and lost all contact with his son Bradley before going on to marry Tanya on 6 August 1994 and becoming a father to their daughters Lauren (in March 1994) and Abi (in June 1996).
Storylines
Max first arrived in Walford in June 2006 after his car broke down in Albert Square. He had turned up in order to confront his father Jim after a seventeen year absence from his life but after Jim threw him out of his house he met Bradley, and decided that he wanted to stay on in Walford in order to rebuild his relationship with his estranged son. Later that day his wife Tanya turned up in Walford to collect him and a month later they returned after he bought 5 Albert Square for them and their two daughters Lauren and Abi to live in. Max had recently been caught out having an affair with Gemma Clewes by Tanya and the move to Walford prompted her to give their marriage one last try, despite having filed for divorce. Max then bought 10 Turpin Road for Tanya to open as a beauty parlour and began meeting up with Bradley, but it wasn't long before his son discovered that Max was still having an affair with Gemma and he decided he wanted nothing more to do with his father. In order to prove he had changed Max broke up with her, which prompted Bradley to agree to another try at repairing their relationship. However Bradley was in a relationship with Stacey Slater, which caused strain in Max and Bradley's relationship as he felt that his son was too good for the market stallholder. Upon discovering that Stacey was pregnant in August 2006, Max handed Bradley money in order to pay for an abortion, telling him he would ruin his life if he kept the baby. Stacey had an abortion, but it wrecked her relationship with Bradley and eventually in December 2006 they broke up.
In order to hurt Bradley, Stacey made a move on Max and on Christmas Day 2006 they had sex. As a result the couple began an affair, taking every opportunity to spend time together. However out of guilt Max broke up with Stacey when his daughter Abi was hit by a car when he forgot to pick her up from school as he was having a secret meeting with Stacey, but the pair soon reconciled. However in May 2007 Tanya, who suspected Max of having an affair with Carly Wicks, informed Max that she was pregnant by him. Max tried to save his marriage for the sake of their unborn child, despite promising Stacey that he would leave his wife for her. When Tanya confided in Stacey that she was pregnant, Stacey gave Max an ultimatum: either he told Tanya the truth or she would. In a panic Max packed up his family and went on a spontaneous trip to Spain, and a few weeks later phoned Bradley to tell him that they would be moving there permanently. Max soon returned to Walford with his family that summer after deciding that he wanted to be with Stacey, only to discover that Bradley and Stacey had reconciled and had in fact got engaged. Max begged Stacey for another chance but she rejected him and, heartbroken, Max decided to concentrate on his family. However Max couldn't resist temptation and on Bradley and Stacey's wedding day in November 2007 he propositioned Stacey and kissed her, but she again rejected him. However unbeknown to them Max's daughter Lauren had left her videocamera in the bedroom and it had taped their sordid conversation. Max again tried to concentrate on his family and even delivered his son Oscar in December 2007 when Tanya went into labour in the house and the ambulance didn't arrive on time.
On Christmas Day 2007 Max and Stacey's affair was revealed after Lauren made a copy of the incriminating tape and gave it to Bradley as a present. As a result both couples separated, and Max was forced to live with Jack. Tanya was determined to move on with her life and hired a divorce solicitor, but Max wasn't prepared to let her go without a fight. At her birthday party he spiked her drink, exposing her romance with Sean Slater, and then took their children to his house without her knowledge. When she turned up looking for them Max blackmailed her by threatening to expose her to the courts as an unfit mother. Seeking revenge, Tanya informed Max that she would halt the divorce proceedings if he sold everything over to her. After signing everything over Tanya reluctantly slept with her estranged husband, only to discover the next morning that Max had shredded all the documents. Working with Sean, Tanya drugged her husband and placed him in a coffin before burying him alive in the woods in March 2008. However an attack of conscience prompted Tanya to dig him up and after a brief scuffle which saw Max try to strangle his wife, Max decided to leave Walford as he could see how much devastation he had caused in Tanya's life.
Max returned home in June 2008, when Abi stole Tanya's phone and texted him. He was confused by his wife's frosty reception to his return, until he discovered she was seeing his brother, Jack Branning. Furious with the situation, Max tried many times to separate the couple; attempting to purchase their house from Ruby Allen, seducing Jack's ex-girlfriend Ronnie Mitchell, and planning to frame Jack for a crime he didn't commit by acquiring a gun with his fingerprints on. Tanya and Jack planned to move to France, severing all contact between Max and his children. On 30 October, Max was abducted and beaten by Jack. Upon returning to the Square, he shared a kiss with Tanya, and later that evening was the victim of a deliberate hit-and-run, which appeared to be the fault of Bradley, however, on November 10, Tanya had confessed to being the one driving the car. However, the storyline took a dramatic turn when on December 1, 2008 Tanya was on the phone to a mystery caller admitting that she was covering for them. It later transpired to be Max's daughter Lauren. On January 2 2009 Lauren watched Tanya plead guilty to Lauren's crime and minutes later outside the courtroom, Lauren in an angry mood confessed to Max that she attempted to run over him. On January 5, Max was torn over who to save, and tried to prevent Lauren from confessing but was too late as she had already turned herself in to the police against his wishes.
Tanya returned on the 19th January 2009, slapping Max and chucking him out due to discovering that Lauren went into care and Max didn't inform her. On March 19 Max bumped into Lauren's case worker Polly. He flirted with her in order to try and get information about Lauren, even lying that it was his birthday, and it was then revealed that his and Tanya's divorce had finally come through. However, just weeks after their divorce was becoming final, Max and Tanya kissed again on April 2, 2009 while waiting from a call from Lauren's case worker. Max and Tanya's relationship then improved and they got on on more friendlier terms.
Lauren's trial took place on 7 April 2009. In court everyone including Peter Beale had given evidence of the night when Max got deliberately ran over by an unknown person. Although it was a bad start when Tanya admitted to givivng a false statement in order to cover for Lauren. Later after the trial was dismissed, the verdict decided that Lauren is not guilty but will still be charged for the attempted murder of Max but was sentenced up to 2 years under supervision of the social services, meaning that she will not have to go to prison, much to the delight of Max and Tanya.
Reception
The storyline which saw Tanya bury Max alive prompted 167 viewer complaints, citing the inappropriate nature of the scenes, which aired prior to the 9.00 pm watershed. The BBC responded with the statement: "Whilst we appreciate that these episodes were dramatic, they were carefully filmed and edited in order that Max's ordeal was in the main implicit, rather than explicit, whilst still retaining their powerfulness. It's also important to note that Max made it out alive after Tanya realised she couldn't go through with her plan to leave him for dead. The burial is in no way glamorised or glorified, rather we see that when pushed to the edge, Tanya's behaviour becomes out of character, and indeed that it's Tanya herself who ultimately suffers because of her actions. Once again we are sorry that you did not enjoy these episodes."[2] The UK communications regulator Ofcom later found that the episodes depicting the storyline were in breach of the 2005 Broadcasting Code. They contravened the rules regarding protection of children by appropriate scheduling, appropriate depiction of violence before the 9pm watershed and appropriate depiction of potentially offensive content.[3]
References
- ^ "Max Flees Walford". Virgin Media. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
- ^ John Plunkett (2008-03-25). "BBC says sorry to EastEnders viewers". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin 112, June 2008