EastEnders fans are “praying” that BBC bosses haven’t made the decision on a potential new storyline regarding Max Branning (Jake Wood).
It comes as Zoe Slater’s (Michelle Ryan) explosive return to Walford continued last night (September 3), following the axing of the early iPlayer release on Wednesday morning.
The soap is usually released at 6am each day of transmission, but was only available to watch at the same time it aired on BBC One from 7.30pm.
This was because Zoe’s past was set to come to light, sending “shockwaves” around Albert Square and beyond.
Turn your TV up to Max-imum volume, h’s is back. Watch the whole episode now 👉https://t.co/kKNjJRkUYj #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/5zUxYlA9qS
— BBC EastEnders (@bbceastenders) September 3, 2025
Yesterday, Zoe was accidentally shot by Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
Viewers then watched as Zoe was taken to the hospital, before flashbacks to 2006 revealed she had given birth to twins with an unknown man.
But it seemed a daughter may have died while a son survived, yet Zoe later abandoned him (or them).
Fans were then treated to a cliffhanger at the end of the episode, when a mysterious caller rang Zoe’s phone, which was answered by Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), who then threatened them as she thought they could be wanting to harm Zoe.
In a shock turn of events, it was revealed that the caller was in fact, Max.
EastEnders’ Top 5 Villains
EastEnders fans say Zoe Slater and Max Branning storyline would be ‘too much’
Thursday’s episode (September 4) will detail how Zoe and Max are connected, thanks to their past.
However, EastEnders fans are concerned that if Max were to be the father of Zoe’s twins on the soap, it would be “too much”.
It comes as someone took to Reddit and said: “Please don’t give Max Branning yet ANOTHER child/children.
“Let him build relationships with the children/grandchildren he does have on the Square.
“He’s got Lauren, Oscar and Annie – all his living kids are on the Square.”
“He’s also got two grandchildren on the square.
“We don’t need him to have any more children. It’d be too much imo.”
But this person argued: “They’re clearly not his. Max’s connection to Zoe is recent and that’s why he’s calling her in the present day. And also Zoe’s son (and/or the daughter if she lived) is just the appropriate age to be a love interest to Oscar when he shows up. There’s no way the twins are Max’s”.
Recommended reading:
Wondering who Zoe’s “secret” son could be, one user chimed in: “It can’t be Joel because Joel is the same age as Tommy; he’s 15-16. There’s no way Ross would lie about Joel being 18-19 and then let him be in the same school year as 15-16 year olds.”
This profile jokingly asked: “How many long lost kids do you think he [Max] has scattered across the UK.”
Tonight’s EastEnders is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now and will air on BBC One at 7.30pm.
