{"id":558997,"date":"2026-07-20T12:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/558997\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T12:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:45:12","slug":"eastenders-reveals-two-new-characters-in-jack-branning-story-in-iplayer-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/558997\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders reveals two new characters in Jack Branning story in iPlayer release"},"content":{"rendered":"

EastEnders<\/a> spoilers follow for Monday\u2019s episode (20 July), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn\u2019t yet aired on TV.<\/p>\n

EastEnders has introduced two new characters to the show, as Jack Branning gets some big news at work. Jack has been struggling to cope with his partner Denise Fox\u2019s recently blood cancer diagnosis<\/a>, and her intensive chemotherapy treatment that has left her feeling weak.<\/p>\n

Last week, Denise revealed to Jack<\/a> that her initial course of treatment hasn\u2019t been as effective as the doctors had hoped, and they would need to try again with a different mix of drugs.<\/p>\n

\"denise<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n

Denise has been concerned about her own mortality after the death of Teyanna, a friend she made while in hospital, but she has kept this news from Jack. In today\u2019s episode<\/a>, with relations still strained between the couple, Jack was stunned to find Denise writing her will. <\/p>\n

Jack told Denise that she was going to beat this disease, but as they left the Square for her next stint in hospital, Denise was keen to remain practical about her survival prospects.<\/p>\n

Once she got settled back on her ward, Denise encouraged Jack to get to work. She reunited with hospital worker Ralph but managed to steer the conversation away from Teyanna in front of Jack.<\/p>\n

When Jack headed to the station, he was furious when DCI Reynolds told him that he was being put on compassionate leave with colleagues Craig and Rita taking over the case he\u2019d been working on for a while.<\/p>\n

Although they weren\u2019t credited on this episode, today is the first time both new characters have appeared on screen, with Craig played by former Hollyoaks favourite Matthew James-Bailey<\/a> and Rita by comedian Amy Matthews.<\/p>\n

\"jack<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: EastEnders confirms face from George Knight’s past in new advanced spoilers<\/a><\/p>\n

Craig in particular is introduced as part of a major new storyline that will unfold over the coming months, as Jack\u2019s younger colleague who quickly finds himself working on a case close to Albert Square.<\/p>\n

Back in the hospital, Denise and Ralph had an emotional chat about Teyanna<\/a>, and Denise admitted that she hadn\u2019t told Jack about her friend\u2019s tragic death.<\/p>\n

Ralph advised her that she needed her loved ones around her during this tough time, so will this encourage Denise to finally open up to Jack? And why is Jack seen looking cosy with colleague Rita<\/a> in scenes later this week?<\/p>\n

For free and confidential support and information on blood cancer and life after a diagnosis, contact Blood Cancer UK online<\/a>, by phone on 0808 2080 888 or via email at support@bloodcancer.org.uk.<\/a><\/p>\n

EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.<\/p>\n

Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EastEnders spoilers follow for Monday\u2019s episode (20 July), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[131124,1105,236387,1107,93,61,60,184510,1135,236386,223989,131322,282],"class_list":["post-558997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-e9cff9b8-5df4-4f10-a29e-75f83bfd682e","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-eastenders-reveals-two-new-characters-in-jack-branning-story","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-eastenders","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558997","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=558997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}