Lauren Branning shouldn’t count on Cindy Beale revealing her drug secret, EastEnders actress Jacqueline Jossa has revealed.
The star has hinted the truth about her character’s misuse of prescription m.e.d.i.c.a.t.i.o.n will come spilling out in the lead-up to Christmas, as her mother-in-law walks back on their deal.
As fans of the BBC soap know, Cindy found out about Lauren’s struggle and used it as leverage to stop her from revealing what she knew about her involvement in Kojo Asare’s (Dayo Koleosho) recent accident.
Cindy then started supplying Lauren with p.i.l.l.s to keep her quiet.
However, in scenes to air this week, Lauren’s secret pregnancy is revealed to the Beale family, and Cindy is horrified to realise she has been using while expecting a baby.
‘Lauren is really worried that Cindy is going to spit the truth out at any moment,’ Jacqueline reveals. ‘Cindy tells Lauren that she’s going to take the d.r.u.g.s away from her because she’s pregnant, and that’s not something Lauren thinks she can do right now.’
After Cindy issues Lauren with an ultimatum to tell partner Peter Beale (Thomas Law) about her d.r.u.g use, Jacqueline says her character is left even more scared.
‘Lauren wants to tell Peter, but in telling him, she knows she’s got to get this addiction under control,’ she explains.
‘Now Cindy has the upper hand, massively. Cindy and Lauren are always too-ing and fro-ing, and Lauren had something huge on Cindy with Kojo, but with this, there is a baby involved. So, Lauren knows it’s a ticking time bomb, and something needs to happen.’
Jacquline believes Lauren has played ‘a really good game’ against Cindy, but when Cindy’s dark side re-emerges, she realises her opponent is capable of anything.
She says: ‘There’s part of Cindy that will do anything to protect her family, even though what she’s really doing is protecting herself.
‘Cindy will do anything to keep her secrets, and Lauren knows that Cindy will take her down.’
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One, or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.
