EastEnders star Jake Wood has definitely earned his break from playing Max Branning.

As executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins said on announcing the news that Max would be out of the soap for a year, Walford’s bad boy has been through a lot since moving to Albert Square in 2006.

Let’s remind ourselves of why poor Max always looks so sad – and why it’s high time he took a little holiday from the East End.

Love of his life, Tanya

EastEnders
Tanya Branning was played by Jo Joyner (BBC)

Max’s constant during his years on the Square has been his love for on-again-off-again wife Tanya (Jo Joyner). They seemed a happy enough couple when they first arrived, but that didn’t last when Max fell for Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) the girlfriend of Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements), his son from a previous marriage.

However, Stacey wasn’t the only stumbling block for the pair – Max and Tanya’s tale of love and tragedy also includes various splits and reconciliations, Tanya marrying again but continuing an affair with her ex Max, and him proposing to a new girlfriend in the hope of making her jealous.

EastEnders
Max (Jake Wood) and Tanya’s (Jo Joyner) romance was filled with misery (BBC)

When Max supported Tanya through breast cancer, it seemed as though the parents of three may finally have put their rocky past behind them, although he almost strayed again when an opportunity for an affair with Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) arose.

But the final nail in the coffin came when just as the couple were about to remarry, a blast from Max’s past turned up in Walford. Kirsty Branning (Kierston Wareing) was the wife Max had conveniently forgotten to tell anyone about and had thought he was divorced from, but she proved too much for Tanya to accept, who later moved away to try to help daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) with her drinking problem.

Stacey Slater and THAT Christmas video

EastEnders
Stacey Slater is played by Lacey Turner (BBC)

One of Max’s first ever EastEnders storylines involved Stacey when he offered son Bradley money for her to have an abortion, thinking a baby would limit their lives too much. However, the abortion ended up splitting the young couple and led to an affair between Stacey and Max.

But Tanya got pregnant with their third child, Oscar, during the affair and Max tried to stay away and play the dutiful husband and father.

EastEnders
Max (Jake Wood) experienced more misery with Stacey (BBC)

Stacey and Bradley eventually reunited and it seemed like a mistake that could be swept under the carpet, but what they hadn’t counted on was Lauren spotting the illicit lovers sharing a last kiss at Bradley and Stacey’s engagement party…

The moment was captured on video, given as an anonymous Christmas present to Bradley, and became the basis of the infamous festive episode where the Brannings sat down in a cosy cluster around the TV only to be confronted with evidence of the affair.

Danger magnet

EastEnders
Jack Branning was played by Scott Maslen (BBC)

Few soap characters have endured the number of horrifying situations Max has found himself in over the years.

In a tale worthy of a horror film, Tanya once buried him alive in a coffin in the woods for trying to come between her and new love Sean Slater (Rob Kazinsky) and expose her as an unfit mother during one of their splits, although thankfully she had an attack of conscience and dug him up again.

EastEnders
Victimised: Max Branning (BBC)

When Tanya later started a relationship with his brother Jack (Scott Maslen), Max again tried to split them up by trying to buy their house, seduce Jack’s ex Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) and frame his brother for a crime he didn’t commit. Again, Max came a cropper when he was abducted and beaten up by Jack.

But his run of bad luck didn’t end there – the flame-haired romancer shared a kiss with Tanya after his abduction and later that night was the victim of a hit and run, with the driver turning out to be their own daughter, Lauren.

Carl spells trouble for Max

EastEnders
Carl White (Daniel Connan) caused trouble for Max (BBC)

Max may have wished he could forget all about his marriage to Kirsty, but one man who didn’t want to let her out of his sight was her ex-fiance Carl White (Daniel Coonan).

Carl was determined not to let the estranged couple make another go of things after Tanya’s departure and took the crazed step of cutting his own car brakes to cause a crash that left passenger Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) in a critical condition, framing Max for damaging the car.

EastEnders
Framed: Max Branning (BBC)

However, after a messy time of Carl forcing Max to confess to the crime and break up with Kirsty by threatening to hurt Lauren, Max eventually got off and with the help of Phil Mitchell kidnapped false witness Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) as bait to lure Carl to find him.

Hard man Phil gave Max the chance to kill Carl, but he did the right thing and left Carl in one piece to try to return to his relationship with Kirsty – although that was short-lived when he discovered she and Carl had had sex while Max was in prison.

Lucy Beale number one suspect

EastEnders
Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) got involved with Max (BBC)

In the biggest storyline in recent EastEnders history, the nation was left guessing for months who may have murdered Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater), and Max was top of many people’s lists.

He and the young friend of his daughter Lauren had been having a secret affair, but when it broke off and she started seeing Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard) instead, Max flew into a jealous rage and an argument at his car lot office ended in her falling and hitting her head on the night she was murdered.

Although we now know Max was of course not the killer, the DNA left behind was a big problem in proving his innocence, as was his futile hope of keeping the relationship under wraps.

EastEnders
Ian (Adam Woodyatt) was not pleased with Max (Jake Wood) at Lucy’s funeral (BBC)

Max managed to put off accusations by starting a relationship with the investigating DC Emma Summerhayes, but when she died after finding out his involvement he destroyed evidence that she had gathered.

Even getting out of being a suspect proved too much for Max whose affair with Lucy was exposed by his own daughter Abi (Lorna Fitzgerald) and he hit the bottle to try to cope. He also pulled a stunt to get garage The Arches signed over to his name as he believed Phil was behind the crash that killed Emma, but Phil, in prison at the time, vowed to get revenge. And Phil Mitchell is not a man you want as an enemy.

Farewell, Max

EastEnders
Happy times ahead for Max? (BBC)

We don’t yet know how Max will bow out but we’ve been promised something suitably dramatic – and taking a look back over his past storylines, we can well believe it.

Have a good rest Max, you deserve it.