Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) has been at odds with cousin Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) ever since she discovered her involvement in her arrest in EastEnders.
Lauren was arrested at the airport after drugs were found in her bag, and she later learnt that Penny had been the one to put them there. This caused a major rift between them, with Penny determined to get back in her good books ever since.
Having witnessed Lauren and Peter Beale (Thomas Law) forming a truce, Penny saw an opportunity to ask for forgiveness herself, but was swiftly turned away.
Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) pointed out that she had betrayed Lauren in a big way, and it would take a lot more grovelling than that to win her back round.
However, when Penny complained that Lauren wouldn’t even talk to her, Sonia seemed to come up with a plan.
Later, Lauren arrived at Sonia’s ready to spend the evening with her, but was shocked to find that her cousins, including Penny, were all there too.
Exasperated Sonia pointed out that their parents had spent years at each others’ throats, and it was time to break the cycle with this generation.
With no choice but to sit and listen to Penny, Lauren allowed her to explain her side of the story.
Penny was quick to reveal that she never expected Lauren to be pulled aside by police, and that she thought Juliette would give her a way out of her money troubles when she first started working for her.
She explained just how frightened she was, but vowed to continue working with police to get the charges dropped and keep them both out of prison.
It seemed that Penny’s honesty softened Lauren somewhat, and soon the pair sloped off for a private drink and a chat together.
As they both shared how jealous they had been of each others’ lives, Penny suggested that they make a fresh start and get their lives back on track by moving in together in Walford.
With things looking up for them both, how long will their happiness last?
