Jim Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera
EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996
and becoming a regular character in 1999. He remained in the series
until 2011.Jim was temporarily written out of the show in August 2007
due to Bardon suffering a stroke, and a storyline was created in which
his character also suffered a stroke. Bardon returned to film four
episodes in the latter half of 2008, and returned permanently from the
episode broadcast on 20 August 2009. On 1 April 2011 it was reported
by the Daily Mirror that Bardon had filmed his final scenes and had
left. He departed on 26 May 2011, and, although it was said the
character may re-appear in the future if Bardon's health improved,
this did not happen and the actor died on 12 September 2014, more than
three years after leaving the series. Following Bardon's death, it was
announced in March 2015 that EastEnders would pay tribute to him and
the character by staging a funeral for Jim.Jim dated his first wife
Reenie (Joy Graham), with her giving birth to their oldest child Derek
(Terence Beesley; later Jamie Foreman) out of wedlock. When Reenie
became pregnant again with eldest daughter April (Debbie Arnold), Jim
settled in a loveless marriage to Reenie, having four more children
with her. A heavy drinker, Jim treated his children unfairly,
favouring some and neglecting others. When his son Max (Jake Wood) was
blamed for stealing and losing a medal that Jim's mother was given
during the World War II in honour of his late father for bravery, Jim
severed all ties with him and lost all contact with Max. It was
generally believed that Jim locked Max in a coffin on the latter’s
13th birthday in retaliation for Max being friends with a non-white
classmate. (It was later claimed by Derek that he did this, not their
father.)
EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996
and becoming a regular character in 1999. He remained in the series
until 2011.Jim was temporarily written out of the show in August 2007
due to Bardon suffering a stroke, and a storyline was created in which
his character also suffered a stroke. Bardon returned to film four
episodes in the latter half of 2008, and returned permanently from the
episode broadcast on 20 August 2009. On 1 April 2011 it was reported
by the Daily Mirror that Bardon had filmed his final scenes and had
left. He departed on 26 May 2011, and, although it was said the
character may re-appear in the future if Bardon's health improved,
this did not happen and the actor died on 12 September 2014, more than
three years after leaving the series. Following Bardon's death, it was
announced in March 2015 that EastEnders would pay tribute to him and
the character by staging a funeral for Jim.Jim dated his first wife
Reenie (Joy Graham), with her giving birth to their oldest child Derek
(Terence Beesley; later Jamie Foreman) out of wedlock. When Reenie
became pregnant again with eldest daughter April (Debbie Arnold), Jim
settled in a loveless marriage to Reenie, having four more children
with her. A heavy drinker, Jim treated his children unfairly,
favouring some and neglecting others. When his son Max (Jake Wood) was
blamed for stealing and losing a medal that Jim's mother was given
during the World War II in honour of his late father for bravery, Jim
severed all ties with him and lost all contact with Max. It was
generally believed that Jim locked Max in a coffin on the latter’s
13th birthday in retaliation for Max being friends with a non-white
classmate. (It was later claimed by Derek that he did this, not their
father.)
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