Max Branning is in for a hell of a year on EastEnders – with the BBC soap confirming a show first for New Year’s Day.

In an episode set to air on January 1st, 2026, viewers will be treated to the first ever flash forward episode showing Max Branning’s life one year into the future.

Max, played by Jake Wood, will be seen on January 1st, 2027 as he finds himself in a situation that will have massive consequences for his entire family as secrets come boiling to a head.

All the events that lead up to the episode’s events will then play out across 2026, with viewers slowly finding out what led him into the situation at hand.

While the long-running soap has played with flash forwards in the past – notably revealing elements of their 2023 Christmas Day storyline the February before – this is the first time the entire episode will be set in the future.

EastEnders executive producer Ben Wadey said: “2026 is going to be full of drama in Walford, especially for the Brannings, and the episode is sure to raise plenty of questions on how Max has got himself, and his family, into such predicaments, but all is not what it seems, so stay tuned for 2026 to find out how and why…”