Abi Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lorna Fitzgerald.

Her storylines involve her friendships and relationships with Ben Mitchell (Charlie Jones/Joshua Pascoe/Harry Reid) and Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), her toxic friendship with Babe Smith (Annette Badland), faking a pregnancy so that Ben would not leave her for Paul Coker (Jonny Labey), being a suspect in the murder of Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater), her affair with Lauren's fiancé, Steven Beale (Aaron Sidwell), and falling pregnant by him.

[3] A writer from the Western Mail said that Abi's relationship with Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) is "Walford's answer to Romeo and Juliet".

[4] However, some critics were less positive, with one saying in 2012 that the audience were "not nearly" seeing as much of the "classic characters" due to the younger cast receiving more screen time.

Abi starts to take an interest in Max's lodger Darren Miller (Charlie G. Hawkins), who is left uncomfortable when she tries to kiss him, telling her she is too young.

Jay proposes to Abi and she accepts, but she is faced with a dilemma when she is offered the chance to go to Costa Rica to help with sea turtle conservation.

Abi meets her cousin Dexter Hartman (Khali Best), not knowing they are related, and this causes Jay to be jealous until the truth of their relationship is revealed.

Max is framed for causing a car crash that leaves Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) hospitalised.

Ben returns from prison and reveals he thinks Jay is in love with Lola, and he confesses this to Abi when she confronts him.

Devastated, she wants to leave for Bolton immediately, but when Max refuses to take her, she drives the car herself, accidentally running over Tramp, killing him; she callously declares that "things die".

Abi and Babe discover that Ben's half-sister Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper) has been using Phil's credit card, so they force her to return everything she has bought.

Abi tells Lauren's boyfriend, Steven Beale (Aaron Sidwell), that they would make a good couple during a heart-to-heart.

Lauren recovers but Dr. Harding (Nick Waring) tells Max that Abi is brainstem dead and has no chance of regaining consciousness.

After her funeral Max names her baby Abi Branning, in her memory and she is toasted in the Vic while her friends let off balloons.

Fitzgerald, in her first major television role, began filming for the soap in May 2006 and made her first on-screen appearance in July.

[7] Fitzgerald's mother commented on her daughter's casting: "Personally, I feel I want to show how proud we are of her and to thank everyone who has prayed for her and helped her in any way.

[9] In 2014, she told BBC Radio 1 that when she met Wood and Joyner, her on-screen parents, she realised it did not matter that she had messed up her lines in her last audition, because she looked like them both.

[8] Fitzgerald was required to cry on her first day of filming, and admitted in 2014 that this was embarrassing, and she was unable to produce tears, but was "just making noises".

Water off a duck's back when you're Derek Branning's niece, though.Abi has been described by the official EastEnders website as the family's "golden girl" compared to Lauren, hinting that she knows how to get her own way.

[12] In 2012, Fitzgerald told Inside Soap's Laura-Jane Tyler that Abi has grown up in her first six years on screen, and is now sensible, "like a mother hen" and has had to mature quickly because of the dramatic situations she has been involved in.

[21] In December 2012, Fitzgerald conducted her first magazine interview and spoke of a storyline where Abi comforts Lauren over a relationship break up, saying "It's nice to see the little [sister] taking care of the bigger one.

Speaking of his role, newcomer Harry Reid stated that Ben would "manipulate" Abi in his attempts to prove that he is straight.

[23] On 10 September 2017, it was announced that Fitzgerald had been axed from the show by executive consultant John Yorke, along with Jacqueline Jossa.

[25] At the end of the episode, instead of the usual closing title sequence, the image, focused on Abi's face, fades to black and no theme music is played.

[26] Fitzgerald was nominated for the "Best Young Actor" at the 2010 Inside Soap Awards for her portrayal of Abi [27] though lost out to Coronation Street's, Alex Bain, who plays Simon Barlow.

[30] A writer from the Western Mail said that the Branning/Mitchell Feud makes Abi and Jay feel like "Walford's answer to Romeo and Juliet".

One said, "An extreme case of soap agoraphobia as brilliant Abi sensibly turns down the chance to spend eight weeks in the tropical paradise of Costa Rica.

[33] However, Abi, along with the younger members of the cast were thought to be the blame of declining ratings for the show; "In the last two months, viewers have seen lots of Lauren, Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater), Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), Fatboy (Ricky Norwood), Ben Jay, Abi and Anthony Moon (Matt Lapinskas) – but not nearly so much of the classic characters".

[9] The 2016 storyline in which Abi lies that she has suffered a miscarriage to cover up a pregnancy lie was criticised by Zoe Clark-Coates, co-founder and CEO of The Mariposa Trust, who said, "To regularly see TV shows using fake miscarriages as light entertainment could make people question genuine losses.

[35] Fitzgerald made the viewer-voted shortlist in the "Best Bad Girl" category,[36] but lost out to Gillian Kearney, who portrays Emma Barton in Emmerdale.