The family becomes a more dominating presence in 1999, when Carol's father Jim Branning (John Bardon) moves to Walford following the death of his wife Reenie (Joy Graham) due to cancer.
Max's son with his ex-wife Rachel (Sukie Smith/Pooky Quesnel); Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements) was introduced earlier in 2006.
Jim's son Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and his daughter Penny Branning (Mia Mckenna-Bruce) were introduced in 2007 and 2008, as well as Bianca's children Liam Butcher (James Forde), Tiffany Dean (Maisie Smith), Morgan Jackson-King (Devon Higgs) and her adoptive daughter Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) in 2008.
More recently, Lauren and her son Louie have been reintroduced, as well as Jack’s daughter Penny (now played by Kitty Castledine).
Since their re-development in 2006, other significant storylines include Max's affair with his son Bradley's wife Stacey (Lacey Turner), Max's spurned wife Tanya burying him alive before digging him back up again out of guilt; the death of Max's son Bradley by falling from the roof of Albert Square's public house The Queen Victoria; Jack's wife Ronnie (Samantha Womack) swapping their deceased infant son James with Tommy Moon, cousins Lauren and Joey's relationship, Lauren's alcoholism, Max's relationship with Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) and being framed for her murder; Max's subsequent revenge which leads to him losing another child from a fall from the roof of Queen Victoria (Abi), and Whitney being stalked by Leo King (Tom Wells), the son of Bianca's ex Tony King (Chris Coghill) who sexually abused Whitney.
Other notable storylines to happen more recently include Max’s affair with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Jack’s daughter Amy’s self-harming, his son Ricky impregnating Stacey’s daughter Lily at twelve years old, and Jack’s eventual affair with Stacey.
When Max was young, he made friends with a black child at school, leading to Jim and Derek burying him alive as punishment.
When April's fiancé, Nikos (Yorgos Glastras), jilted her at the altar in 1996, Carol and Alan married in their place.
However, after a test it was discovered that the unborn baby was suffering from spina bifida and Ricky and Bianca made the heartbreaking decision to abort it.
In 2000 Sonia had underage sex with Martin Fowler and she gave birth to baby Chloe in her living room, not knowing she was pregnant.
Margaret later died and Rebecca went to live with the Fowlers, but Pauline's meddling ways stopped Sonia building any sort of relationship with her daughter.
Max moved his family to Walford later that year, wanting to build a relationship with Bradley again, which he did despite his rivalry with his father Jim.
In 2008, he had a fling with his girlfriend Ronnie Mitchell's sister Roxy she became pregnant and later gave birth to a premature baby girl telling everybody that the father was her husband Sean Slater.
He told entertainment website Digital Spy: "By the middle of February, the Branning-Jacksons become the biggest family on the Square.
This led Carol to self-destructive grief where she turned to Connor Stanley and began a relationship whilst he was seeing her adoptive granddaughter, Whitney.
However, James dies of sudden infant death syndrome and in a panic Ronnie switches her dead child with that of Kat Moon.
He is portrayed as violent, causing fights with Phil Mitchell and Tanya Cross, as well as tormenting Michael Moon and Pat Evans before she dies.
She eventually suffers kidney failure and leaves Walford with Tanya and Oscar to receive treatment and counselling for her addiction in Exeter, but returns several months later alone.
On the wedding day though things don't go to plan and David ends up suffering a heart attack whilst looking for a gift for Carol.
The family briefly suffer financial difficulties without David looking out for them, but bailiffs are paid of Dot's grandson, Charlie Cotton (Declan Bennett), in return for Carol keeping quiet that Dot's son and Charlie's father Nick Cotton (John Altman) is still alive.
When Max and Lucy's affair is exposed, Lauren and Abi briefly move out, but return home when their anger subsides.
Carol's father Jim Branning, played by John Bardon, had appeared in the show in 1996 as a guest character and was reintroduced in 1999 as a regular by Matthew Robinson.
Jim was paired romantically with Dot Cotton (June Brown), and the couple married on screen in February 2002.
The BBC responded by saying that Tring was chosen following a storyline conference in the town, where the production team enjoyed their stay, saying that Bradley was not a snob but was portrayed as a character who led a sheltered life because his father left him when he was young.
Max, a serial womaniser, had left Bradley with his mother Rachel Branning, played by Sukie Smith in 2006 and Pooky Quesnel from 2007 onwards, after an affair with Tanya, and had not seen his son for several years.
The affair ended when Stacey issued Max an ultimatum and he quickly rushed his wife and daughters away to Spain on holiday.
Wood took paternity leave in 2008,[8] facilitated in the show following an episode where Tanya buried Max alive, but later dug him up after a change of heart.
In 2010, Max and Bradley start their own business, Branning and Son, and rent the car lot as premises.
Jack later co-owns the boxing gym, Basher Branning's, with Michael Moon, but sells his share to Janine Butcher in 2013 to work back at the car lot.
Max regains control of the business for a year in 2018 until it's discovered Jay Brown owns the land and he's evicted.