Jo Joyner praises 'EastEnders' live ep

EastEnders star Jo Joyner has praised her colleagues for putting in "fantastic" performances on the night of the soap's live episode.

The actress, who plays Walford's Tanya Branning, did not feature in last month's special instalment as she is currently on maternity leave, but she attended the show's Elstree Studios base to watch a screening of the broadcast on the night.

EastEnders' live transmission marked the programme's 25th anniversary and focused on Bradley (Charlie Clements), Max (Jake Wood) and Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner) as the Archie Mitchell murder mystery reached a climax.

Speaking to What's On TV, Joyner commented: "The atmosphere was just fantastic and I was so proud of them all. I was so proud of my boys especially - the Branning boys, I thought they were wonderful, and Lacey.

"I just thought they were all fantastic, and the crew - you don't see them all running about. We had nine units and all the cameramen everywhere. The whole thing was such a team effort and really special."

The star, who gave birth to twins in January, admitted that she was "truly gutted" to miss out on taking part in the episode.

However, she added: "We knew it was coming for a long time and I was pregnant for a long time, so I knew that I couldn't be involved with it.

"But that's why I went along for the screening - to not be involved and then to not be involved at all would have been awful. But to be part of the atmosphere on the night was fantastic."