With the exits of Derek, Tanya and Jack, and the upcoming departures of Kirsty, Alice and Joey, are the days of Branning domination finally over?

I've never been a huge fan of them, and I believe it's no coincidence that as soon as EastEnders started pushing the Brannings as the 'main family' the show fell into decline - but their demise has been astonishingly fast.This time last year they truly dominated the Square and every storyline was somehow linked to Branningville, but by early 2014 we will have just Max, Lauren, Abi and Dot. Is this a sign of a new era for the show?

yes, its finally a change of era. They needed to shift focus and get a decent family in the Vic, hopefully the Carters can do that. Just watch out for Max shagging Danny Dyer's wife and their sons going for Abi/Lauren lol

We will still have Carol, Bianca, and the kids, plus Sonia on her way back. Throw David in with that lot as well, since there is no Wicks family. I don't see it as the end of an era for them at all.

I'm in a one-man minority of not minding the Branning family at all. I think some of the storyline written for them should've been tweaked, but on the whole I like them. I would even love for Suzy to come back (I would've actually preferred Joey and Alice to have been her estranged kids Kevin and Rebecca, as I think Derek worked better as being childless and wifeless, incapable of being loved and jealous of his siblings' ‘normal’ families).

Not in the minority there! I wished they had brought Suzy back instead of Joey and Alice. Fat chance of it happening now with Samantha Womack back but maybe if she does leave at the end of her contract we could get Suzy back.

I dont hate the Brannings at all, I thought Tanya was exhausted for a long time before she left and Max is exhausted too (resting in prison at least).

I see Carol et all as Jacksons really so see the bringing back of David, Sonia as building up that lot rather than extensions of the Brannings. Carol/Max/Jack never worked for me - having said that Suzy never seemed to work well with Max/Jack either. I just wished we had seen Suzy/Derek/Carol.

I agree Suzy was a great character and to be truthful before the days of Derek the Brannings were not bad at all.

I wonder if the Carters will be the new Brannings? I am looking forward to their arrival but I'm worried that they'll be forced down our throats

They will be, they are headed up by Danny Dyer after all.

No she wasn't. Suzy was awful, she is only fondly remembered because of her last scenes where she insulted the Mitchell clan. But the character was loathed as much as Derek on here prior to that.

Well other than Tanya and Jack, these were the Branning characters in it a few years ago, when they were a bit less annoying. It was mainly the Derek/Alice/Joey stuff that ruined it and Max's constant affairs. But with Derek and Tanya gone and Alice, Joey and Kirsty leaving, we won't be getting any more of that stuff.

I really hope Max stays single for a long while.

Well recently we've had 17 Brannings and lots of them were dull with repetitive storylines. There will be 4 Carters and they seem more interesting so I doubt they'll be shoved down our throat.

More than four, the Carter kids have yet to be cast.

Sadly, this tends to be the case with nearly all new families on EastEnders. We had it with the Slaters, the Millers, the Ferreiras, the new Mitchells, the new Brannings and the new Moons. The most successful introduction the show has done recently was the Masoods, who were slowly introduced over 4-5 months, in a similar vein to the Jacksons.

I do hope that the Carters won't instantly take centre stage, but with them running the Vic I fear it may be the case.

The show really needs some fresh blood so I'm hoping they will take centre stage. Plus if they just hover in the background we'll never get to know them as characters.

I'm just hoping Linda isn't a dumb blonde. we've had enough of them.

Of course, the show is crying out for new blood and I'd welcome more of it. I just hope that they aren't shoehorned into everything the way the Slaters and Brannings were. It often has a negative effect and alienates viewers.

I agree with you about the BIB Derek never really worked as a father he was better before Alice and Joey were introduced. Suzy's relationship with her estranged kids would have been far more interesting to watch.

Although technically related I don't think of the Jackson's as Brannings. The Jackson's are a family in their own right and have been around long before the Brannings, even these last few years we're they've both coexisted they've had very little to do with one another. To me the Brannings are the new family created in 2006 which has kept getting extending with new members and been the main focus of the show. The Jackson's are an independent family with a long onscreen history dating back 20 years who are criminally underused.

Interestingly I read the Carters make their first appearance Christmas week. So its going to be interesting seeing how they do the Christmas episode. It is a huge risk giving so much airtime to brand new characters during EEs biggest week or the year.

But that's what is making it exciting.

Once those that are leaving have gone, the house at number 5 could consist of Cora, Max, Dexter, Lauren and Abi.

Unconventional but enough to not be considered a demise. With Dot and the Jacksons over the road the family still has a huge presence.

Forced down is good, the reason why Brannings were unpopular because there were just too much everywhere!

.......can't come soon enough

I agree ,and am one of the few on here that didn't mind the Brannings and actually like Tanya ,and was sad to see her go

Like you i see the Jacksons as an independant Family who like you say were in it years before the Brannings arrived

I agree with both cah and Dr K Noisewater. I've been saying for ages that Carol and co aren't Brannings! They came into the show in the 90's as the Jacksons and nowadays I class them as the Jackson/Butchers. They are a separate family that have a link to the Brannings through Carol.

On the Demise of the Brannings though, I am hopeful that they will be toned down. I don't hate them as a family, I just would like others to have more screen time and storylines.

No I just think its more manageable now then before with all the add ons, Max and his girls and Carol and her family/Dot is enough Branning family related or otherwise, it got to complicated with so many add on family members, what the show needed and finally doing is fresh blood and some stable/longer lasting marriages and relationships there is too many broken ones on the square and that was a huge turn off factor.

It's risky, but could work in the shows favour, more viewers will tune in (maybe not as much as in previous years I grant you) and they will continue to watch if the new characters are likable enough.

Casting well known faces isn't a bad move either.

I hope Lauren isn't going..i like her ..her scenes are good and she is stunning