
BBC EastEnders Oscar Branning actor's real age leaves fans gobsmacked
EastEnders fans were left stunned after learning the real age of actor Pierre Moullier, who plays Oscar Branning on the BBC soap. Oscar was introduced as the third child of Max Branning (Jake Wood) and Tanya Cross (Jo Joyner).
The character was born in 2007 amid his dad's affair with daughter-in-law Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner). He was last seen in the Square back in 2017 after visiting Max briefly on Father's Day and has since been living away from Walford with Tanya, following her split from Max.
However, this week marked the return of Oscar to the soap, now played by actor Pierre Moullier. The character made his reappearance in Monday's episode where he rang sister Lauren Branning after finding himself in a bit of trouble.
The return of Oscar was announced last month, with new executive producer Ben Wadey revealing that "there's going to be plenty of drama in store this summer", according to Plymouth Live.
Pierre described joining the soap as "pretty surreal" and hinted that "the audience should be prepared for the unexpected as he's a complex guy".
Prior to his stint in EastEnders, Pierre features in Channel 4 series Cast Offs back in 2009. He also had a more minor role in Netflix's Fate: The Winx Saga. However, it's the actors age which has caused many fans to be left stunned.
While Oscar is 17 years old on the BBC One soap, actor Pierre Moullier himself is around 24 or 25. On an EastEnders Facebook fan page, viewers expressed their surprise that Pierre is actually in his mid-twenties, as they quickly racked up comments.
EastEnders fans were left gobsmacked after finding out the news. One person wrote, "The new actor who plays Oscar Branning is 24 or 25! Wth," one viewer couldn't hide their surprise.
Another fan was equally astonished, as they quipped, "No way is he 25." A third chimed in, expressing their disbelief: "What? ! I thought he was like 18!".
The Branning family is set for further drama as it's not just Oscar making a return to EastEnders. Max Branning, Oscar's dad, is also set to make a comeback to Albert Square as we reported previously.
Jake Wood, the actor famed for portraying Max, shared his enthusiasm about rejoining the cast. He said, "I'm over the moon to be coming home to Walford. Max has got lots of unresolved drama with many characters, so I'm sure he'll be busy."
He continued, hinting at an eventful storyline ahead: "I'm excited to see what he's been up to, and what is next for the character, but if his last 15 years in the Square are anything to go by, I'm sure there will be plenty of chaos."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Metro
16 minutes ago
- Metro
EastEnders star Ricky Champ's wife rushed to hospital after complications
EastEnders star Ricky Champ's wife has been hospitalised after suffering complications to a pre-existing health issue. The actor, 45, who played Stuart Highway in the BBC soap between 2018 and 2022, has been married to influencer Sammy Gilbert for nine years. Together they share two children – a daughter named Beatrix and a son named River. Taking to Instagram this weekend, Sammy told her followers that she was unable to see out of her eyes as a result of them being swollen. 'What is the absolute one thing you don't need to happen the day before you fly to Disney when you need to go shopping/pack/clean/do washing,' she questioned. 'Oh that's right, wake up with your lips so swollen you can't speak and eyes swollen shut so you're in A&E at 7am.' 'One of the side effects of my gallstones and liver is severe hives all over my body every single morning that go away by bedtime then I wake up and it starts all over again. 'Something due to the toxins etc (still not considered urgent though, still been told need to wait a year + for an op).' Sammy then shared a number of pictures of her eyes and mouth, which were clearly swollen. Ricky left the show alongside on-screen wife Tanya Franks, who played Rainie Cross, who staged a comeback for his final scenes. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who's leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale? Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers! Towards the end of his time in the Square, Stuart struggled with postnatal depression following the birth of his son Roland, all the while battling breast cancer. More Trending Stuart and Rainie reunited after a tough period in their marriage, and resolved to start afresh outside of Walford. The duo stole a hearse from Jay and rode out of Walford in a way that only Rainie and Stuart could have, saying goodbye to their loved ones in emotional scenes. View More » He's since appeared in controversial ITV sitcom Piglets, and became one of many former soap stars to appear in 2:22 A Ghost Story. MORE: EastEnders legend Sam Womack lands major new role worlds away from Ronnie Mitchell MORE: EastEnders legends reunite for night out ahead of major character's return after 20 years MORE: Emmerdale celebrates the Lionesses' Euros victory with last minute special scene


Scotsman
16 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Kanpur: 1857 preview: Fringe show about Indian rebellion has 'unavoidable' parallels with Gaza
It may be set in mid-19th century India, but Niall Moorjani's play Kanpur: 1857 has plenty of contemporary resonance, writes Joyce McMillan Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In the old colonial history British people were taught at school, it was always called the 'Indian Mutiny'. In Indian history, though, it is known as the Kanpur Uprising of 1857, one of the first stirrings of the movement against British colonial rule that would eventually, in 1947, lead to Indian independence; and Scottish-Indian theatre-maker Niall Moorjani – raised in Dundee, now based in London – was already working on the story when that period of colonial history began to take on a whole new contemporary meaning. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's the story of a people suddenly rising up in a violent insurrection against a brutal colonial power,' explains Moorjani, 'an insurrection that involved some atrocious acts of violence against British women and children; and then of the hugely disproportionate and violent response to that outrage, in which at least 100,000 people are thought to have died. The parallels to the current situation in Gaza were unavoidable; and it made me think even more deeply about how the colonial mindset never changes, through the ages.' Niall Moorjani and Jonathan Oldfield, stars of Kanpur: 1857 The result was Moorjani's play Kanpur: 1857, this year's winner of the Pleasance Theatre's £10,000 Charlie Hartill award, designed to encourage the presentation of significant new plays on the Edinburgh Fringe. Working with fellow performer and co-director Jonathan Oldfield – rising star of BBC comedy, and director of four other comedy shows on this year's Fringe – and the Scottish-Indian musician Sodhi, known as Talking Tabla, Moorjani has created a tense one-hour two-handed drama, backed by Sodhi's music, in which Moorjani's character – an Indian rebel strapped to a cannon, and about to be blown to pieces for his role in the rising – is interrogated by a British officer, played by Oldfield. 'That was a punishment widely used by the British in suppressing the rebellion,' explains Moorjani, 'so the whole thing is closely based on the history of the event. It is a fictional story, though, and it has other elements – one theme of the play is how colonial attitudes appear both at the macro level, in major political events, and at the micro level, in people's personal lives. 'So there is also a love story here, and it's one that involves a relationship between the Indian rebel and a hijra, a member of India's traditional 'third sex', neither male nor female, whose position in Indian society was always respected until the British passed a law against hijras and their culture, a few years after the events in this play. As a non-binary person myself, I'm fascinated by this aspect of Indian culture, and by how the British in India increasingly saw it as incompatible with their colonial rule.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Publicity image for Kanpur: 1857 Despite its fiercely serious themes, though, Moorjani is clear that Kanpur: 1857 is not a solemn show, to be endured rather than enjoyed. 'In fact it's quite a strongly comedic show,' says Moorjani, 'because I think that when you encounter oppressive forms of power, laughing at them is one of the best ways of opposing and challenging them. The truth is that however much pain and horror they inflict, colonial attitudes are ridiculous - they're based on a laughable set of assumptions about superiority, and so on. So why not laugh at them? 'And I should also say how wonderful it has been to win the Charlie Hartill award, and to have that support in bringing this show to the Fringe – it just transforms the Fringe from an unaffordable festival to one where you can pay people, and do the show you want to do. 'The Pleasance have been absolutely fantastic – they've given us all the support they promised and more, and without this award we simply couldn't have done a full run of this show in this form. So it's a wonderful thing that the Pleasance does every year, and there should be more of it. I know other venues also have their own schemes for supporting new work; but the more the better, because with costs soaring every year, it's desperately needed.'


Daily Record
16 minutes ago
- Daily Record
EastEnders star's wife rushed to hospital after she's left 'unable to speak'
Sammy could not see out of her swollen eyes. EastEnders star Ricky Champ has revealed that his wife was rushed to A&E after she was left unable to speak. Ricky's wife Sammy suffered complications related to an ongoing health issue and could not see out of her swollen eyes. The mum-of-two said that she had to get medical help as the family were about to head off on a dream trip to Disney, writes The Mirror. She said: 'What is the absolute one thing you don't need to happen the day before vou fly to Disney when you need to go shopping/ pack/clean/do washing. Oh that's right, wake up with your lips so swollen you can't speak and eyes swollen shut so vou're in A&E at 7am. 'One of the side effects of my gallstones and liver is severe hives all over my body every single morning that go away by bedtime then I wake up and it starts all over again. 'Something due to the toxins etc (still not considered urgent though, still been told need to wait a year + for an op).' Sammy, who is an influencer, then shared a series of pictures of her very swollen face before she returned to her normal self. Since marrying Sammy in August 2016, actor Ricky, who portrayed Stuart Highway in the soap. has built a life with their two children, daughter Beatrix and son River, while also carving out a varied career beyond EastEnders. Champ left behind his role as fan fave Stuart in the long-running BBC soap in 2022 after what he called a transformative experience. 'In EastEnders I went from villain to hero to dad,' he told Digital Spy at the time. 'It was amazing, doing that for five years with a character's arc. It felt weird leaving him,' he admitted. Though he's moved on from the soap, Champ isn't writing off a potential comeback. 'He didn't die. He rode off into the sunset. I think he's somewhere in the North Circular living with Rainie,' he said of his on-screen alter ego. Since his departure, Champ has kept busy. A year later, he joined the West End cast of 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Apollo Theatre. He's also made his way into streaming, landing a role in the Netflix period drama The Decameron, acting alongside Derry Girls star Saoirse-Monica Jackson. The show is about the plague which spreads through Italy, and a group of nobles and servants retreat to a villa, where their lavish getaway quickly spirals into chaos. In addition, Champ plays Sergeant Daz Black in ITV's police training comedy Piglets, showing his versatility in both drama and comedy roles.