Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) has been pretty troublesome since she arrived in EastEnders.
She’s smuggled drugs from France and framed her cousin, Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), fiercely feuded with Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) over the managerial position at Walford’s most troubled nightclub and teamed up with Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) to blackmail her dad, Jack (Scott Maslen).
So, yeah. Penny has form when it comes to getting herself into some sticky situations, but when a rogue pregnancy test is discovered in the Branning residence, she’s not included in the suspect list.
Explaining what happens when Penny admits that the test is hers, Kitty said: ‘Nobody expects it, and there’s a lot of confusion.
‘Jack immediately can’t believe what he is hearing and wants to talk it through, but Denise wants to protect Penny’s privacy, given that they are at a family dinner and it’s an intense and private conversation to have.
‘Penny and Jack’s relationship is always rocky – one small move can offset the harmony, and, in this instance, Penny perceives Jack to be reacting negatively.’
Kitty has recently begun seeing Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) after a drunken New Years Eve bunk up. Though she initially remained determined to write the frisson off as a one-night kinda thing, Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) pushed her to reconsider when it became clear that she actually quite liked the runt of the Panesar litter.
Like, liked him.
‘Vinny’s everything Penny has never had in a relationship,’ Kitty gushed about her alter-ego’s new flame.
‘She has always gone for a bad boy, and the beauty of Penny and Vinny is that they are honest with each other. He brings out a soft, warm side of Penny, something we’ve never seen from her before. They can learn a lot from each other; they both have qualities the other could benefit from.
‘Penny is feisty, dominant, and always says what she thinks, and Vinny needs to stand up for himself against his mum and family. Penny could learn from Vinny’s kind‑natured heart and his good values, qualities she believes she doesn’t naturally possess.’
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Though they agreed to take things slowly, it appears that decision is about to be yanked from their grasp, when Penny finds out she’s pregnant.
How’s she feeling about the life changing development?
‘She’s scared,’ admits Kitty.
‘The reality of potentially becoming a disabled young mum is overwhelming and hard to take in. She goes through waves of emotion, just like many new mums do when they find out they’re unexpectedly pregnant.
‘The more she opens up to people, the more she realises she has a support network around her. She also wants to buy herself some time to process everything and figure out how she truly feels about it and what she plans to do.’
Already facing an enormous hurdle in their fledgling relationship, will this bring Vinny and Penny closer? Or blow them apart for good?
