EastEnders' Jacqueline Jossa admits 'I was very scared' as she shares life change

EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa has opened up about noticing a major change in her life after turning 30, admitting that she "used to be very scared".

Having made her entrance on the soap in 2010 after being cast as Lauren Branning, she has been at the heart of some of the show's biggest storylines in the decade and a half that has followed since then.

However, in a recent interview with Closer magazine, she opened up about one major change she has noticed since turning 30 nearly three years ago.

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She said: "I don't know what's happened to me, but since I reached my thirties, I'm having a moment!"

She added: "I love it. I feel great and I'm just more confident. I used to be a very scared person. I would get intimidated in big groups and try to mask it by being bubbly and chatty."

Despite becoming one of the most recognised faces on the famous soap, it was announced in 2017 that she would be stepping away from the show.

However, during her hiatus, in 2019 she was selected to take part in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! where she made it all the way to the final before beating fellow soap star Andy Whyment (who plays Kirk Sutherland in Coronation Street) to be named Queen of the Jungle.

Her time away from the soap briefly came to an end in December 2022 when she returned for one episode that saw her on-screen grandmother's funeral take place.

But less than a year later, it was announced that she would be making a permanent return to the soap.

In recent episodes, we have seen Lauren in the thick of the action once again, as she has had doubts over agreeing to marry her fiancé Peter Beale (played by Thomas Law).

After a number of will-she-won’t-she scenes, the pair finally exchanged vows after Lauren had initially admitted that she nearly ditched plans to tie the knot with Peter.

EastEnders is set to return to our screens this evening at 7.30 p.m. (7 October) on BBC One.