What happened to Penny in EastEnders, and who is she? Jack Branning’s daughter returns to BBC soap

EastEnders’ Penny Branning made her dramatic return to the BBC soap this week, but who is she and what happened to her?

Penny is in a wheelchair with it previously revealed on the show that she is paralysed from the waist down. Jack Branning’s daughter has been forgotten about over the years, with her not being on screen since 2008.

Even back then not everyone knew about her existence, while she was fond of her dad and was gutted when she had to move to France with her mother Selina. It was during this first stint that we found out what had happened to Penny, with Selina revealing why she was paralysed.

Penny has been in a wheelchair since she was a young child, after a horrifying car incident left her seriously injured. Back in 2008, scenes detailed that Jack’s dodgy dealings as a corrupt police officer saw a drug lord take revenge.

It was Penny and Selina who faced the wrath of the drug lord though, as one of his associates took revenge on his behalf. Jack had struck up a deal with a drug baron, that saw him tipping him off with information and arrest threats in exchange for payments.

But one day Jack was unable to tip off the criminal and he was arrested, leaving him feeling betrayed. In revenge, he got one of his associates to run over his daughter and Penny’s mother Selina, leaving them injured.

Young Penny suffered a serious spinal injury, and back in 2008 she told her cousins Abi and Lauren Branning, as well as other relatives including the Jackson kids, that her spine had been severed. Selina blamed Jack for what happened to Penny, and in a recent episode a much older Penny hinted she did too.

When Lauren told her that Jack wasn’t a bad man, Penny quipped that her spinal surgeon might not agree. The incident years earlier left Penny paralysed from the waist down permanently with her needing to use a wheelchair.

As well as being the daughter of Jack Branning and his ex Selina, Penny is the cousin of fellow returning character Lauren Branning. Sonia Fowler is also her cousin, while she is related to former characters Tiffany Butcher, Bianca Jackson, Max Branning, Jim Branning and Carol Jackson too.

In 2008, Penny was portrayed by actress Mia McKenna-Bruce, but on her return actress Kitty Castledine has taken over the role. Kitty has well known parents too, with her mother being Homes Under the Hammer presenter Lucy Alexander and her father being former professional footballer Stewart Castledine.