Jacqueline Jossa wants petition for Ann Mitchell to make permanent return to EastEnders
Ann Mitchell made a surprise return to EastEnders on Monday (16.03.26) after an eight-year absence.
Jacqueline Jossa has called for a petition for Ann Mitchell to make a permanent return to EastEnders as Cora Cross.
The formidable character made a surprise return to the BBC soap on Monday (16.03.26) to visit her grandchildren, Lauren (Jacqueline) and Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier), after an eight-year absence from Walford.
And Jacqueline, 33, made it clear she wants EastEnders bosses to give Ann, 86, more storylines with a comment on the soap's Instagram post that showed Cora's return with pictures of the character having a Mother’s Day lunch at the Beales’.
Jacqueline penned: "Petition for her to make a permanent return anyone ? Pleaseeeeee (sic)."
And fans backed the idea, as one person typed: "My name at the top of the list !!! X (sic)"
A second user wrote: "AB-SO-LUTELY! The matriarch we all need! (sic)"
And a third person suggested: "Even if she just came round for dinner once a week ???? (sic)"
Cora - the mom of Tanya (Jo Joyner) and Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks) - was a regular face on Albert Square from 2011 until 2015, and she made guest appearances in 2017 and 2018.
The character was last seen homeless and relying on food banks before she eventually got back on her feet, and Cora looked worlds away from her past struggles on Monday's Mother's Day-set episode.
Viewers saw the Beale family gathered for lunch, and Lauren invited her self-destructive dad, Max Branning (Jake Wood), to join them.
Peter Beale (Thomas Law) teased his wife Lauren that he had a surprise for her, and when the door opened, he was stunned to see her grandmother and Max's former mother-in-law, Cora, on the doorstep.
Cora and Tanya's ex-husband, Max, have never seen eye-to-eye, and her presence at the lunch left him unhappy.
The meal turned dramatic as Cora brought up past scandals - when Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) paid Rainie for sex when she was a sex worker and drug addict in 2014, and commented about Cindy (Michelle Collins) returning from the dead.
But Cora also reminded Lauren of her strength, as well as telling Oscar how much his grandmother loves him, and the need for him to settle down with someone.
And Cora's surprise return went down a storm with fans on X, as one penned: "Would love to have Cora back - really enjoyed tonight's episode. She really lifted it."
A second user commented: "She was epic tonight, one of the best episodes for a while, well done @annie1mitchell, come back permanently please (sic)."
And a third person typed: "She was BRILLIANT! Another return soon I hope (sic)."
