EastEnders' Tanya Branning star displays huge hair makeover 12 years after exit

Daily Mirror

22-05-2025

She was once caught up in the EastEnders rollercoaster. Now, former Tanya Branning star Jo Joyner stars as Diane Kruger's best friend in a brand new thriller for Paramount +.
Diane Kruger has ditched Hollywood to star in a new British TV series alongside EastEnders ' Jo Joyner – and the experience has left her exhausted.
Jo, 47, was once known to BBC One viewers as Tanya Branning, one of Walford's most loving mum. But Tanya had a dark side, which made her wise to any of the tricks her daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) pulled.
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During her first stint in Albert Square, Tanya suffered heartache, with her husband Max (Jake Wood) embarking on an affair with his son's partner, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner). But it was her daughter Abi's death that pushed her to leave Walford altogether in 2018, ending her 12-year tenure.
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Now, Jo dives into more sinister waters for Paramount+ in Little Disasters - a psychological thriller starring Diane Kruger. The pair portray best friends torn apart by secrets and duty. In the show, Jo no longer sports Tanya's golden locks - she's traded them for a darker mane as Liz.
Diane, who's best known for blockbusters like Inglourious Basterds and National Treasure , was shocked by the fast-paced filming on Little Disasters , which was shot across Budapest, France and London.
'It was an exhausting job,' she says of the six-part drama. 'I don't do that much TV so you forget how fast it is and how much work you have to do in a day. It feels like you're putting out a thousand fires just to get through the day. I found it very tiring.'
Diane, 48, stars as Jess, a mother teetering on the edge as she struggles to manage her young children – one of whom may be on the autism spectrum – while her marriage to Ed (played by JJ Feild) unravels under the pressure.
'Jess has a lot on her plate with her son possibly being on the spectrum. It's a lot of work,' Diane explains. 'Her youngest isn't an easy baby, either. There's a strain on her and she doesn't want to admit she needs help. She feels ashamed for failing.'
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Jess is part of a seemingly tight-knit group of friends: Liz (played by Jo), Charlotte (Shelley Conn) and Mel (Emily Taaffe). United by first-time motherhood, their friendship is built on shared holidays, gossip and support. But that bond is tested when Jess' 11-month-old baby is rushed to hospital with a head injury.
Soon, her parenting is being scrutinised, her anti-vax views are questioned and suspicions escalate – especially after Liz, a doctor, reports the incident to social services.
Liz is caught between friendship and professional duty. Actress Jo, 47, says, 'When you become a mother, your friendships refine. Liz and Jess are polar opposites in their parenting, but they're close.
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I loved playing someone who isn't afraid to speak her mind.' But the role also struck a chord. 'Liz feels like she's never enough for everyone,' Jo says. 'I identified with that. A lot of women do.'
Jo has her own group of mum friends and admits the show's central dilemma hit close to home. 'We're all mums,' she says. 'It would put a bomb among us if one of us had to report another.'
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Diane admits that stepping into a British-led show sometimes made her feel like an outsider, mirroring Jess' own isolation. 'I wasn't familiar with all these great actors,' she says.
'I felt a little bit like Jess, like the odd one out. But I really enjoyed working with Jo. We have most of our scenes together. She was so great and so supportive.'
Shelley Conn plays Charlotte, a woman who appears to have it all but quietly grapples with self-worth. 'There's something missing in her life,' Shelley says. 'That's a tough thing for any woman to confront, especially mothers.'
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Meanwhile, Emily Taaffe's character Mel hides a darker reality. Her partner Rob (Stephen Campbell Moore) is controlling and unpredictable. Emily says, 'There's so much going on behind closed doors. I liked playing that.'
Despite the intensity of the subject matter, the set wasn't short of light moments. 'We all got on really well,' says Shelley. 'We had so much in common.'
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Jo adds, 'It was a mix of good wine, nice meals and bed by 11pm.' However, Diane didn't always have the luxury of downtime. 'I have a six-year-old daughter,' she says. 'I can't bring Jess' intensity home.'
Little Disasters delves into the emotional complexity of motherhood, including postnatal depression, which affects more than one in every 10 women in the UK, according to the NHS. Other studies, like one led by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, suggest that around 15–20% of women experience depression in the first year after birth.
Jess' troubling behaviour is soon linked to the condition, something Diane found difficult but important to portray. 'It was the toughest part for me,' she says, 'but the more you talk about it, the more you realise how common it is.'
Shelley agrees, adding, 'There's an illiteracy around these issues. We need to bring them into the open.' Diane reflects on another difficult side of motherhood, saying, 'The mum guilt is real. I wouldn't have survived without a community of other mothers.
'Motherhood can be extraordinary, but it brings out fears, too. We're judged by others, even by other women. But your harshest critic is always yourself.'