{"id":287983,"date":"2026-02-08T23:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/287983\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T23:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:33:14","slug":"kellie-bright-was-almost-cast-as-a-different-iconic-eastenders-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/287983\/","title":{"rendered":"Kellie Bright was almost cast as a different iconic EastEnders character"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kellie Bright has recalled almost winning the part of an iconic EastEnders<\/a> character long before playing Linda Carter.<\/p>\n

The actress joined the BBC One soap in 2013 as the future Queen Vic landlady, Linda, and has been a beloved mainstay in the show ever since and at the centre of some of its biggest plotlines.<\/p>\n

However, long before she became the iconic Linda Carter, Kellie Bright had previously auditioned to play the role of Tanya Branning, the second wife of Max Branning<\/a> (Jake Wood).<\/p>\n

The role would ultimately be played by Jo Joyner, who played the character from her arrival in 2006 until her exit as a regular character in 2013.<\/p>\n

Joyner later reprised the role for guest stints around the 30th anniversary in 2015, and from late 2017 until early 2018 as part of the exit storylines of her on-screen daughters.<\/p>\n

Now, while speaking to us at The Radio Times Covers Party 2026<\/a>, Bright was asked about her previous audition to play Tanya.<\/p>\n

\"Jake<\/p>\n

Max (Jake Wood, left) and Tanya Branning (Jo Joyner) in EastEnders in 2006.\u00a0BBC<\/p>\n

Bright responded: “This is very good, good, good research! I did audition. It actually was between myself and Jo Joyner for that part, and I actually screen tested with Jake in the Vic.”<\/p>\n

A fantastic bit of lore there! Of course, Linda herself has gone on to have an affair with Max and even share a child with him, daughter Annie Carter (now played by Lois Hawkins).<\/p>\n

Linda has since become one of multiple potential brides for Max in the recent New Year’s Day 2026 flash-forward episode<\/a>, which shows Max set to marry a mystery woman in 2027.<\/p>\n

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So would it be a full circle moment for Kellie Bright to now play Mrs Branning, two decades after auditioning to play one?<\/p>\n

“I don’t know,” she stated, continuing, “at the moment, where I’m at with her, I can’t imagine it. But who knows what will happen this year?”<\/p>\n

Given the wedding is on New Year’s Day \u2013 Linda’s wedding anniversary to late soulmate Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) \u2013 that would certainly be a choice for Linda \u2013 and one Bright can’t currently see happening<\/a>. Yet, stranger things have happened on Albert Square!<\/p>\n

\"Kellie<\/p>\n

EastEnders favourite Kellie Bright strikes a pose at The Radio Times Covers Party 2026.\u00a0Ray Burmiston for Radio Times<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jo Joyner herself has poured cold water on the prospect of returning as Tanya<\/a> anytime soon \u2013 despite the revitalisation of the Branning clan with Max’s recent return and the arrival of her now-adult son Oscar Branning, played by the brilliant Pierre Counihan-Moullier.<\/p>\n

We’ll have to see if this remains the case in 2026 \u2013 the year of the Brannings…<\/p>\n

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Read more:<\/p>\n

Visit our dedicated EastEnders<\/a> page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.<\/p>\n

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Check out more of our Soaps<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide <\/a>to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kellie Bright has recalled almost winning the part of an iconic EastEnders character long before playing Linda Carter.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-287983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}