Abigail "Abi" Branning is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lorna Fitzgerald.
[edit] Character creation
Abi Branning, played by Lorna Fitzgerald, was introduced in 2006 by executive producer Kate Harwood. She and her immediate family - father Max (Jake Wood), mother Tanya (Jo Joyner) and older sister Lauren (Madeline Duggan) - are an extension of the popular and long-running Jackson/Branning clan, who had appeared in the serial since 1993. Fitzgerald, in her first major role, began filming for the soap in May 2006 and made her first appearance on-screen in June.[1]
Lorna Fitzgerald's real-life mother, Teresa, said: "Personally, I feel I want to show how proud we are of her and to thank everyone who has prayed for her and helped her in any way." Fitzgerald was informed about the role via her agent and turned up to the BBC studios in London for the first of three auditions.[1] Mrs Fitzgerald said, "At first, it is just the look they go for. Then it is more intensive and she had to read from a script. By the second audition, she was still up against 60 or 70 people. You start thinking about it when she gets to the third audition, but when the agent rang up and said she had got the part it was an overwhelming feeling. You don't know what it means until that point. It is exciting for her to be in something her friends may be watching. In the past, she has been in programmes they couldn't watch."[1] As Lorna Fitzgerald was only 10 years old when she got the part, she was required to balance her filming requirements with schooling in Northampton, and learning lines.[1]
[edit] Storylines
Abi moves to Albert Square in 2006 along with her parents Max and Tanya and sister Lauren. She becomes friends with Ben Mitchell and is hit by Deano Wicks's car later that year, after Max, who is having an affair with Stacey Slater, fails to pick her up from school; Abi suffers a broken wrist, cuts and bruises.
At Christmas 2007, Max and Stacey's affair is revealed and Max and Tanya separate. This has a negative effect on Abi. She dislikes being separated from her father and blames Tanya for this, appearing to take her father's side. When Max leaves Walford, she goes against Tanya's wishes and asks him to return. Animosity escalates between the Brannings, and in anger, Lauren joyrides a car and hits Max. Abi is furious and attacks Lauren, but comes to forgive her sister and attempts to force a reconciliation between her parents. In november 2009, Abi and Jordan started a fundraiser to plant a tree in memory of Jordan's mum, Trina.
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