EastEnders confirms epic Max Branning flash-forward episode to air on New Year's Day 2026 – as show jumps forward a year

EastEnders has announced a format-breaking episode that will see the action sky-rocket a whole year into the future on New Year's Day.

We'll get a glimpse of what will unfold during 2026, while Max Branning (Jake Wood) will take centre stage for the proceedings – in a situation that will have catastrophic consequences not only for him but also for the wider Branning clan.

Throughout the 30 minutes we'll also see a number of other events unfolding, and it'll become clear that the next year is one that some Albert Square families would rather forget.

There are secrets on the brink of exposure, and trouble that will be hard to escape. Viewers will also see what 2027 may hold for Max and those around him.

The accompanying picture shows him wearing a suit and blood stained buttonhole... could someone's life be at risk?

The show has delved into flash-forward territory before, with a teaser of 2023's Christmas Day action airing a whole 10 months before the big day.

We saw six Walford women stood around a body – later confirmed to be Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) – though a further twist in the festive episode revealed that he was still alive, and Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) was the resident who perished.

It's undoubtable that this instalment will leave fans with more questions than answers, and a surprise or two to keep the conversation building.

A lot can happen in 52 weeks and 365 days, or 210 episodes...

Speaking of the episode, EastEnders executive producer Ben Wadey said: “For the first time in the show’s history, we’re going to be offering our viewers an entire flash-forward episode set on New Year’s Day 2027.

"2026 is going to be full of drama in Walford, especially for the Brannings, and the episode is sure to raise plenty of questions on how Max has got himself, and his family, into such predicaments, but all is not what it seems, so stay tuned for 2026 to find out how and why..."

Intriguing!

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