Oscar Branning has been a revelation in EastEnders, hasn’t he?
Ever since he burst onto Albert Square fresh out of juvey, Pierre Counihan-Moullier has had viewers spellbound with his utterly impeccable comic timing, with Oscar emerging as a deeply-flawed yet unbelievably endearing fan-favourite character.
It’s true: Oscar lifts just about every scene he’s in. Pierre delivers his lines in a completely unique way and the relationships he’s established on the show, primarily with dad Max (Jake Wood) and sister Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa), and even eternal enemy ‘Brian’, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), have seen him become an integral part of the Branning revival in the show.
Unfortunately for ‘Enders fans, though, there’s an expiration date on Oscar’s sarcastic barbs and incredibly messy love life, with actor Pierre deciding to bow out of the BBC soap next year – and fans are not happy!
Michaela Harris said on the Metro Soaps Facebook page: ‘Noooo! Oscar is brilliant! He brings much needed comedy to the show’, and Rachel Stevens agreed: ‘No, not Oscar! He’s hilarious! He brings another dimension to the show, I love him’
Mary Murphy agreed that she show will sorely miss his comedic edge: ‘Nooooo, Oscar is a hilarious character, every scene he’s in has the comedy factor, which Eastenders needs, he’s gonna be missed big time’.
Will you miss Oscar?
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Yes! I’m gutted!
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Nah, he wasn’t for me…
Corinne Winwood said: ‘He’s a breath of fresh air! Stupid letting him go, but he’s had no decent storylines for ages. It’s all getting weird again’.
Sharon Isaacson agreed: ‘Hardly had much screen time recently so I’m not surprised he’s leaving he is a great character actor and deserves better.’
They have a point: Oscar’s last major storyline – a love triangle with twins Jasmine Fisher and Josh Goodwin (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness and Joshua Vaughan) wasn’t anywhere near as ‘controversial’ or ‘steamy’ as the show had promised.
Reactions to Jasmine and Josh have been mixed, with the former particularly struggling to land with viewers, possibly due to their origin story as Zoe Slater’s (Michelle Ryan) long lost children, a plotline which has hardly set the fanbase alight.
When the love triangle, initially teased to be a major story, came and went with little excitement, Oscar entered a quiet period, though it won’t last, what with him having played a major part in the flashforward episode, confirmed to still be with one of the twins, while ending the episode being held at gunpoint by an enemy of his dad.
There’s been somewhat of an exodus of huge ‘Enders stars recently, with both Kellie Bright and Aaron Thiara opting to exit the show, and, combined with Pierre’s exit, some fans are theorising that there’s potentially some behind the scenes issues.
Ryan Norman said: ‘Something is going on at EastEnders and they’re struggling to hide it. So many good actors and characters being either axed or leaving.’
Donna Predergrast added: ‘what is happening… Ravi, Linda, Johnny leaving, Zoe being killed off… Kat and Alfie both taking a break… There’s gonna be no1 left on square at this rate’
Tim Kemp also suggested that something was amiss: ‘That’s a real shame but why are so many leaving it’s very strange to have such a mass exodus I think they need to be doing some exit interviews here’
Diane DeAngelis theorised more departures: ‘Storylines are so crazy and so scattered that I wouldn’t be surprised at more leaving’