Jacqueline Jossa reveals that EastEnders have left the door open for her to return as she gears up for dramatic exit

JACQUELINE Jossa has teased her EastEnders exit might not mark the last time viewers see Lauren Branning.

The 25-year-old actress - who is currently expecting her second child with husband Dan Osborne - revealed that show bosses have left the doors wide open for her.

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Speaking to BANG Showbiz about her departure, she confessed: "That's the hardest part to be honest with you - leaving the character and my friends. Yeah I can go back, that is an option."

Jacqueline will bow out of the BBC soap in a typically dramatic fashion over the next few weeks, though her exit storyline is being kept well under wraps.

But unlike Jacqueline's previous departures, which have been relatively short-lived, it seems this time she might be done with the show for good.

"I would like to go into some other things. I'd love to do definitely some more drama, I wouldn't say no to a film, maybe even some theatre," she confessed.

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The star has been on the soap for seven years and previously admitted she was concerned when she first heard she was being written out.

Speaking to , she revealed her fears for her future, saying: “I had my suspicions that something might be going on because of the way my storylines were going, so I asked for a meeting to discuss what was happening.

“When they told me the plans I was really scared. Getting a job on a soap is a very comforting thing for an actress because it’s regular work, so when I realised that was being taken away, it did worry me.”

She added: "My last scene is with Jake [Wood, who plays Jacqueline’s on-screen dad Max Branning] and thankfully I was supposed to be crying because I couldn’t stop the tears from coming."

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The actress also opened up about her current pregnancy, admitting that her daughter Ella, two, is eager to meet her new sibling.

She enthused: "I've told Ella about the baby, she fully knows. She's loving it, although every morning she goes: 'Are we going to see baby today?'

"She thinks it's coming imminently. But it's very hard to explain to her that you've got to wait and there's a long time to wait.

"I don't know how aware she is but she knows there's a baby coming and she says: 'I'm going to cuddle and kiss her'."