After spending fifteen years living in France with her mother Selina (Daisy Beaumont), Penny, the daughter of Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), has returned to the Square. Since starting a drug mule plot while returning from Paris, Penny has shown herself to be a troublemaker.
Since leaving the Square 15 years ago, you may be wondering what happened to Penny Branning in Eastenders. And where did she go?
What happened to Penny in Eastenders?
Penny is the daughter of Jack and his first wife, Selina, and she made appearances in the soap opera from January to April of 2008.
Penny made her first appearance on The Square in January 2008, when Jack was dating Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack).
Jack revealed to Ronnie that the shocking reason why Penny was in a wheelchair was because of his criminal activities as a corrupt police officer. Before his time in Walford, one of Jack’s dubious informants intentionally struck Penny with his vehicle as retaliation for being demoted.
Penny’s spinal cord was severed during the ordeal, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
Penny did not get along with Ronnie during her brief stay on the Square, but she did get along with her aunt Tanya Cross (Jo Joyner). When Tanya prepared Penny’s farewell dinner in April 2008, it became clear that Penny had no intention of leaving Walford behind. Selina had decided to move to France to be with her parents and take Penny with her.
However, Jack persuaded her to go to France with Selina.
Who plays Penny Branning in EastEnders?
Mia McKenna-Bruce, who played Tee Taylor in CBBC’s Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground, played Penny in her first role. She’s also acted in The Witcher, the Netflix film Persuasion, the BBC series Get Even, Vampire Academy, Holby City, Last Train to Christmas, and many more.
Now that Penny has been recast, Kitty Castledine, a rising star who graduated this summer from the London Academy of Music and Drama (LAMDA), will play the part in her first significant television role.
Kitty expressed her surprise at starting her EastEnders journey so soon after graduating from drama school, saying, “I cannot believe it!” My childhood memories of watching EastEnders on my Nanny Kay’s lap are filled with fond memories of the show. Now they get to see me in Albert Square.
I am excited to be playing a character as feisty and cool as Penny because, as a wheelchair user, I think it is so important to see disabled talent represented on screen. She’s thrown into the middle of the drama straight away, and I can’t wait to see what she gets up to.”
