Jim Branning

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Jim Branning is a fictional character from the

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soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', played by

John Bardon John Bardon (born John Michael Jones, 25 August 1939 – 12 September 2014) was an English stage and screen actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 (1987 season) for '' Kiss Me, Kate'', sharing the aw ...

, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and became 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 A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, 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 ''

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'' 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.

Storylines

Backstory

Jim dated his first wife Reenie (Joy Graham), with her giving birth to their oldest child

Derek Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of '' Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name ar ...

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Terence Beesley Terence Beesley (7 September 1957 – 30 November 2017) was an English actor. Early life Born in London to Irish parents, he studied at the City Lit in London in 1980, and then trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Ar ...

; later

Jamie Foreman Jamie Foreman (born 25 May 1958) is an English actor best known for his roles as Duke in ''Layer Cake'' (2004) and Bill Sikes in Roman Polanski's ''Oliver Twist'' (2005). Career Foreman played opposite Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke in Gary Oldm ...

) out of wedlock. When Reenie became pregnant again with eldest daughter

April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. April is commonly associated with ...

(

Debbie Arnold Debbie Arnold (born 14 June 1955) is an English actress, producer and voice artist. She is known for her portrayal of April Branning in BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' between 1995 and 1996. Arnold has portrayed regular characters in ''EastEnder ...

), 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 Jake Dylan Wood (born 12 July 1972) is an English actor and podcaster, known for his role as Max Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He has also made guest appearances in series including ''Only Fools and Horses'' and ''Red Dwarf''. ...

) was blamed for stealing and losing a medal that Jim's mother was given during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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.) Jim was an amateur boxer using the nickname "Basher" Branning, but according to Kate Lock's book ''Who's Who'', he had been a "semi-invalid" for much of his working life following a drunken fall from a bedroom window, though he managed to maintain a job collecting supermarket trolleys until he was forced to retire.

1996–2015

Jim first appears when his daughter April is supposed to marry her fiancé

Nikos Nikos ( el, Νίκος, ''Níkos'') is a Greek given name. It originates from Greek ''Nikolaos'', which means "victory of the people".Liddell & Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of t ...

(Yorgos Glastras). When Nikos jilts April at the altar, Jim's second daughter Carol (

Lindsey Coulson Lindsey Coulson (born 13 April 1960) is an English actress, known for her role as Carol Jackson in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. For this role, she won the 2000 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance. Coulson is also well known ...

) marries her boyfriend

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

(

Howard Antony Howard Antony (born 19 April 1963) is a British actor, best known for playing the role of Alan Jackson, in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1993 to 1997 and briefly again in 2010. He left ''EastEnders'' and went on to become a drama teacher ...

) instead. Jim is

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and therefore is against Carol marrying a

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

man. He storms out, refusing to give her away. Three years later, Carol visits him in

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

, and later that year, Jim moves to Walford following Reenie's death and it does not take him long to chase after an eligible widow on Albert Square,

Dot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

(

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the ''In ...

). She becomes his second wife, marrying him in 2002 after a proposal in the

London Eye The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United ...

. After a mishap with

viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...

, Dot decides that their marriage should remain purely

platonic Plato's influence on Western culture was so profound that several different concepts are linked by being called Platonic or Platonist, for accepting some assumptions of Platonism, but which do not imply acceptance of that philosophy as a whole. It ...

. Jim also has to fight off attention from several spinsters, including

Maureen Carter The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2000, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by Matthew Robinson, or his successor, John Yorke. The first character to be ...

(

Diana Coupland Betty Diana Coupland (5 March 1928 – 10 November 2006), billed as Diana Coupland, was an English actress and singer, best remembered for her role in the sitcom '' Bless This House'', as Jean Abbott, the wife of Sid James character Sid, which s ...

) and Doris Moisey (

Marcia Ashton Marcia Ashton (born 1 July 1932 in Sheffield, England) is an actress best known for her soap opera roles as Lily in '' Compact'' and as Jean Crosby in ''Brookside''. She has made numerous other television appearances including; '' EastEnders'', ...

), the latter nearly causing the Brannings' separation. Despite being overtly racist initially, these hostile feelings mellow, as shown through his close friendship with the

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

shopkeeper,

Patrick Trueman Patrick Trueman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Rudolph Walker. He made his first appearance on 13 September 2001. His storylines include being the possible father of Denise Fox (Diane Parish), to whom ...

(

Rudolph Walker Rudolph Malcolm Walker (born 28 September 1939) is a Trinidadian-British actor, known for his sitcom roles as Bill Reynolds in ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1972–76) and Constable Frank Gladstone in '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–96). Since 2001, ...

). Jim works as a potman, collecting glasses in

The Queen Victoria The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20. Appearance and developmen ...

public house, and likes to drink and

gamble Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...

, to Dot's dismay. He is initially opposed to his granddaughter

Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

's (

Natalie Cassidy Natalie Ann Cassidy (born 13 May 1983) is an English actress. She has played Sonia Fowler in ''EastEnders'' since 1993, appeared in the BBC Two sitcom-horror '' Psychoville'' and was a contestant on the seventh series of ''Strictly Come Dan ...

) lesbian relationship with

Naomi Julien Naomi Julien is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', portrayed by Petra Letang. She first appeared in the show in the episode broadcast on 15 August 2005. Her storylines include a relationship with established character ...

(

Petra Letang Petra Letang (born 4 May 1979 in Plaistow, London, England) is a British actress, probably best known for her role as Naomi Julien in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' and Adele Effanga in '' Holby City''. Biography Letang grew up in east L ...

) but later gives his blessing. He clashes with Dot after she takes in an illegal immigrant, Anya (

Olga Fedori Olga Victorivna Fedorishcheva ( uk, Ольга Вікторівна Федоріщева, Ol'ha Viktorivna Fedorishcheva; born 17 March 1984), known as simply Olga Fedori, is a Ukrainian actress who works in English language films and programmes ...

), whose baby,

Tomas Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian su ...

, they find at a church. He reports Anya to immigration and she is taken into custody, but Dot keeps Anya's baby and makes Jim promise to look after him with her. In their old age, the Brannings struggle to look after the child, and Dot eventually listens to Jim's pleas and hands the baby over to social services. Jim goes to stay with Carol after she is taken ill, but he suffers a

while he is there. Unable to take care of him, Dot has Jim admitted to a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

. He visits his family and friends in Walford several times, the first occasion being on his 75th birthday in August 2008 when his daughter Suzy (

Maggie O'Neill Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill (born 15 November 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in ''Peak Practice'' (2000–2002), '' Shameless'' (2004–2007) and ''EastEnders'' (2008). In 1986 she appeared in the music video f ...

) has come to stay. He later visits at Christmas, but continues to reject his son Max and animosity between them resurfaces. Following rehabilitation, Jim is permitted to return to live at home in 2009, now in better health. He can speak no more than a few words, but communicates through gestures and facial expressions, and uses a walking stick and wheelchair to get around. In February 2010, Dot's granddaughter Dotty (

Molly Conlin Molly Conlin (born 23 February 2001) is a former English actress, known for her role as Dotty Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Personal life Conlin was born in Canning Town, London where she lives with her mother and her brother, ...

) attempts to get Jim sent back to the care home by pouring water on his lap to make it look like he has wet himself. However, Dotty is immediately caught out. As Dot and Jim celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary in The Queen Victoria, the police arrest Dot, ruining the party and distressing Jim. He draws a picture of him and Dot as an anniversary present for her. Jim and Max bond over the death of his grandson, Max's son

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

(

Charlie Clements Charlie Clements (born 5 June 1987) is an English actor known for the role of Bradley Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from January 2006 to February 2010. He has won several soap and magazine awards for his performance. Biography ...

) and he comforts Max on the day of the funeral, kissing his hand. When Jim's youngest son

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(

Scott Maslen Scott Alexander Maslen (born 25 June 1971) is an English actor and model, best known for his portrayal as DS Phil Hunter in ITV's ''The Bill'' and Jack Branning on the BBC's flagship soap ''EastEnders'' since 2007. He also took part in the 20 ...

) is in a coma after being shot, Jim is present when he is woken up by medical staff. Jim then cries when he finds out Jack is paralysed, knowing the pain of living with a disability. Jim and Dot are later befriended by teenager Fatboy (

Ricky Norwood Richard Colin Norwood (born 15 November 1986) is a British actor who played Fatboy in the soap opera ''EastEnders'' and its online spin-off ''EastEnders: E20''. Ricky appeared on ''Celebrity Big Brother 18'' in 2016, finishing as runner-up behin ...

). A few weeks later, when his grandson

Billie Jackson Billie Jackson (credited as Billy until 2004) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Devon Anderson from 1993 to 1997, and by Bluey Robinson for a brief return in 2004. The character returned in 2010, along wi ...

(

Devon Anderson Devon Carlo Anderson (born 25 August 1987) is an English actor. Anderson's roles include Billie Jackson in ''EastEnders'' and Sonny Valentine in ''Hollyoaks''. Early life Anderson was born on 25 August 1987 in London. Acting career Anderson ...

) dies, Carol goes to visit Jim, who starts crying, and she breaks down in his arms. When Carol sees Dot and Jim have no photos of Billie, she accuses them of racism. Dot says she asked Billie for photos but was not given any, and tells Carol to leave, which she does after she sees Jim nod in agreement to Dot. When Carol later arranges a family meal, she invites Jim and Dot to attend. Dot initially refuses, but later forgives her and states that Jim is still upset about Carol's accusations, so she attends alone. However, Carol shouts at Dot after a family argument, saying that she meant what she said to Jim. Carol then spends Jack's wedding day with Jim after they have reconciled. Jim later spends time in respite care after Dot fractures her wrist. In May 2011, she hires a carer, Marta Demboski (Magdalena Kurek), and asks her to help look after Jim when he returns, but sacks her when she think she has stolen money. Dot subsequently struggles to cope with Jim and is distressed by the constant noise of his buzzer. She tells Jim that she cannot cope and later asks Carol why she had to meet Jim "so near the end". Carol, Max and Jack help Dot to make the decision to put Jim into permanent care, and he is taken away in an ambulance. Carol visited Jim in January 2014 (however, only the hand of a stand-in was seen on screen). Dot herself visits Jim very regularly in the subsequent years. In April 2015, Carol receives the news that Jim has died after suffering a heart attack. Sonia informs Dot, who is in prison, awaiting trial for the murder of her son,

Nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

( John Altman). Carol also tells Patrick that Jim is dead, while Sonia tells Max. Max and Carol struggle with the fact they disliked their father for a large amount of his life and thus having to mourn for him. Dot initially refuses to attend the funeral, believing she was negligent of him in his last days and this is what led to his death. She eventually changes her mind and the Brannings hold Jim's funeral.

Development

On the behest of producer John Yorke in 2000, Jim was paired romantically with pensioner

, played by

; a slow courtship was featured, with Dot often shown to be outraged by Jim's advances, resulting in numerous rejections. Dot finally succumbed and accepted his marriage proposal in an episode that aired in November 2001; the scenes were filmed inside one of the carriages of the

on the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. Their wedding aired on 14 February 2002,

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

. ''The Guardian'' critic,

Nancy Banks-Smith Nancy Banks-Smith (born 1929) is a British television and radio critic, who spent most of her career writing for ''The Guardian''. Life and career Born in Manchester and raised in a pub, she was educated at Roedean School. Banks-Smith began her ...

, described the wedding as "uniquely uneventful ..For Dot and Jim 'In sickness and health... till death do us part' seemed to carry more resonance than for most." Bardon has revealed that both he and Brown were sceptical about their characters marrying. In an interview with American fan-based newspaper, ''Walford Gazette'', he commented, "No way did the pair of us want to get married because we thought if we got married, we'd sit indoors and watch the telly every night. As it happened, we've had some nice things to do. And we are married, and it's worked out all right." Brown has reiterated that she feared Dot would become boring if she married Jim, but that producers persuaded her that the marriage might be a good thing. On-screen, Dot had suffered the death of her grandson Ashley, and Brown felt that a traumatic event like that would have changed her character. In her opinion, the only way Dot would have got over Ashley's death "would be to have someone else to care for and when it happened there was nobody utwith marrying Jim she gets a family - that's what persuaded me. That house will become a house again - it will have a central point, they will be able to use the house as a central point, as Dot will be there." Critic

Grace Dent Grace Dent (born 3 October 1973) is an English columnist, broadcaster and author. She is a restaurant critic for ''The Guardian'' and from 2011 to 2017 wrote a restaurant column for the ''Evening Standard''. She is a regular critic on the BBC' ...

has likened Dot and Jim to ''Coronation Streets

Hilda Hilda is one of several female given names derived from the name ''Hild'', formed from Old Norse , meaning 'battle'. Hild, a Nordic-German Bellona, was a Valkyrie who conveyed fallen warriors to Valhalla. Warfare was often called Hild's Game. Th ...

and

Stan Ogden Stanley Josiah Ogden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Bernard Youens. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 29 June 1964 and remained for twenty years until his death on 21 ...

, comparing a scene in ''EastEnders'' where Dot nags Jim and he prays for a quiet life to a similar one from ''Coronation Street'', that aired decades before. June Brown discussed Dot's relationship with Jim in 2004: "Initially, Jim wasn't the sort of person that Dot approved of. He drank, he gambled, he lied - he wasn't reliable at all. But Jim decided that he quite fancied Dot - heaven knows why! I think that you always have to work out for yourself how you can make the character work in a new situation. I could see that Jim was kind to Dot ..His kindness drew her towards him. ..Dot's definitely in control of Jim. She quite enjoys bossing him around." Brown stated that she enjoys her screen partnership with John Bardon, saying "We work very well together - he's got great timing and he can be very tender too." The on-screen relationship between Dot and Jim was halted in 2007 when Jim was written out of the soap due to Bardon suffering a stroke. In the script Jim initially visits Carol, before himself suffering a stroke and being cared for by family and later in residential care off-screen. Dot and Jim remained together, with Jim making sporadic appearances between 2008 and 2009 to visit Dot. A more permanent return for the character was hinted at in 2009, with the character returning to live in Albert Square from August of that year. It was reported in April 2011 that Bardon had filmed his exit from the series, and that the show's staff believed it marked the end of the character. A source told the ''

'': "Dot's been struggling for a while and realises that she can no longer give Jim the care and attention he deserves and is forced to make the heartbreaking decision that he should move into a home. ..It was very emotional on the set for the scenes where Dot discusses her decision and talks to Jim about him going into care for good. There were a lot of tears. ..The feeling is that this is the end of Jim as a character because he won't leave the home and won't ever be a regular in Albert Square again." It was reported that Jim could still appear on screen in the care home if Bardon's health permitted it; however, this did not happen. Jim's final appearance was aired 26 May 2011.

Reception

In 2002, Bardon was nominated in the Best Comedy Performance category at

The British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies given ...

, and along with Brown, won Best On-Screen Partnership in 2002 and again in 2005. They also won Best Couple at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards in 2005 and Bardon was nominated for Funniest Star for his portrayal of Jim. In November 2010, ''EastEnders'' won the Sainsbury's Award for Mainstreaming Disability at the 2010 Cultural Diversity Network Awards, where the judges praised the character.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Branning, Jim EastEnders characters Fictional bartenders Fictional boxers Fictional gamblers Television characters introduced in 1996 Male characters in television Racism in television