EastEnders star Jake Wood has revealed when we will see Max Branning again after his surprise return – and it’s set to be very soon.

Max made a sensational and unexpected comeback in this week’s episodes, and viewers were stunned to discover that he was trying to get in touch with Zoe Slater.

His connection to Zoe was explained in a series of flashbacks in today’s episode (4 September), with the pair meeting for the first time earlier this year and forming a romantic connection.

Max’s quest to help Zoe find her adopted son went seriously wrong, and Zoe lashed out at him when he refused to get involved in her mess.

From her hospital bed following her shooting, Zoe phoned Max and urged him not to contact her or come to see her in Walford.

But we know that Max is a character who won’t be told what to do, so while this leaves his future up in the air for now, it won’t be long at all before we see him on screen again.

Speaking exclusively to us at an EastEnders press event, Jake confirmed: “I’m back for this week, then I am going to come back imminently, before my full time return later on this year.”

Could we see Max on screen again as soon as next week? And after those game-changing flashbacks, will he and Zoe meet up in the present day?

On this surprising link between Max and Zoe, Jake said: “I think it’s a really interesting added connection. I think the feelings between Max and Zoe are genuine, I think they had a genuine connection.

“Max was helping her to find the son that she’d given up for adoption, and obviously that subject is very pertinent to Max, in terms of losing touch with his kids, that’s very personal to him. So I think he felt close to her in that sense, to help her. But we’ll see where it goes.”

Now Max is back on the scene, the other relationship that fans are interested in is with Zoe’s cousin Stacey.

Max and Stacey have a rather chequered past, what with their infamous affair that was revealed to the Brannings on Christmas Day 2007.

Stacey remains unaware that she was on the phone to Max while trying to discover who was getting in touch with Zoe in today’s episode. But will the pair actually share the screen again?

“I think everyone knows that Lacey Turner is going on a bit of a break,” said Jake during our chat. “The question is, will Max and Stacey cross paths? I don’t know, you’ll just have to keep watching.

“I’d be very excited to see it if they do and to see what happens, because as we know, there’s always fireworks between them. And just on a personal level, I just love Lacey Turner, our working relationship has always been amazing and hopefully that chemistry’s been there on screen.

“So I personally work like to see it, and I’m sure some of the viewers would too, so we’ll wait and see.”