EastEnders has aired the surprise return of a fan favourite character, for a very special Mother’s Day episode. Lauren Branning started the morning still spooked by the car theft incident, that viewers know Mark Fowler is secretly behind – but her day took a turn when she was surprised by her grandmother Cora Cross!

Beloved matriarch Cora, played by Ann Mitchell, appeared in the soap from 2011 and 2015, followed by intermittent appearances in the years following, but she hasn’t been seen on screen since November 2018.

Peter told his wife in today’s episode that he had a surprise for her at the Beale and Fowler family lunch over at No.45. But it was clear Lauren was distracted by her assault when she refused to let a customer at the car lot test drive a vehicle.

Max spotted this and gave his daughter much-needed support, so she decided to invite him to the Mother’s Day lunch, to the annoyance of others in the family. However, Max got a shock when Cora made an unexpected arrival!

Peter had invited both Tanya and Cora to the lunch as a surprise for Lauren, but Tanya couldn’t make the trip to Walford. Max was still stunned though, as he and Cora have always had a turbulent relationship…

In some hugely entertaining dinner table scenes, Cora caught up with her loved ones, was officially introduced to Cindy and continued to clash with Max – before he was asked to leave by Ian.

After an emotional speech by Kathy, Mark presented Lauren with an opportunity to sell some high-end cars at the lot. Lauren didn’t look too enthusiastic about his offer, and Cora noticed this.

Later, Cora had a chat with Lauren alone, and she admitted that she had lost her confidence following the car theft. Cora gave her granddaughter some tough love and reminded Lauren of her strength to move past any challenge she faces.

While Cora only made a flying visit to Albert Square, she thankfully managed to catch up with Oscar before she left in a taxi, with the youngster having spent the day in bed hungover.

Oscar was wary about facing his nan after the drama with his mum last year, but Cora only gave him some words of encouragement. They shared an emotional embrace, and Kathy and Ian paid tribute to Lou as they witnessed this sweet moment.

Meanwhile, having been buoyed by Cora, Lauren decided to accept Mark’s offer – and chose not to tell her dad about this. Will she discover Mark’s true criminal motives?