Joseph "Joey" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by David Witts.

He also had relationships with Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater), Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) and Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks).

Joey arrives in Walford to persuade his sister, Alice Branning (Jasmyn Banks) to return home.

Later, he meets his cousin Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) and takes a liking to her friend Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater).

Joey becomes increasingly concerned about his sister Alice, and the way she is involved in a bitter custody feud between Michael and his wife Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks).

Joey is mentioned in 2024 when Lauren is making a point about Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) boyfriend calling him a "red flag."

"[1] The character's arrival meant that Derek would have to "face up to his past", and that Joey was eager to show his sister, Alice, what her father was really like.

The character was also easily able to attract girls, but likes to make them feel as though they made the first move – even if he has nudged them into it.

Upon his exit in 2013, she said, "While Joey will be remembered for his physique, he has been an excellent character, with just the right amount of hardman swagger to offset his sweeter, romantic side.

A lot of characters come in and stay in the background for a long time, but with Joey, I was lucky enough to come in and really get some good stuff.

But I was really pleased to see that once Joey and Lauren's relationship ended after the car crash, people had changed their minds and said, 'Well actually, they're so good together that we want them to get back together!'

An insider for EastEnders told the Daily Star, "This is going to be a huge storyline across the autumn [...] the more time they spend together the more they start to realise their feelings for each other are not just that of cousins.

[10] Derek suggests to Joey that if he tells the police that he was driving the car that drunken Lauren crashed, she can avoid a prison sentence.

[10] Joey agrees to the deception to help Lauren but is later horrified when Derek threatens to tell the police the truth unless he gets his own way.

[10] Speaking to Soaplife, Witts said "Joey must either move in with Derek and be a respectful and loving son, or dump Lauren.

If Joey takes either of those options, Derek won't tell the police that Lauren was driving the car.

From an actor’s point of view you don’t take it personally; you look at it and think this is a situation which is difficult for people but good for me.

Witts commented, "When Joey joins the Square, he finds out very quickly that Derek is being a real git to Lucy.

Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy said, "Although Whitney is hoping to forget the mistake ever happened, Lauren convinces her that she should come clean with Lucy rather than deceiving her.

[13] In October 2012, a revenge plot against Joey is shown in which Lauren, Lucy and Whitney decide to "teach him a lesson".

[15] David Brown of the Radio Times said, "You’d have thought that Joey and Janine wouldn’t be in the mood for passion.

After all, Joey’s sister, Alice, is currently languishing in jail for killing Michael – a crime that Janine actually committed!

Rachel Lucas of What's on TV explained, "Determined to get the truth out of Janine, Joey corners her in the Vic, demanding she reveal what happened the night Michael died.

"[18] On 20 October 2013, it was announced that Witts had decided to leave EastEnders as Joey Branning and would depart at Christmas.

Joey was set to be featured prominently on-screen for the rest of the year as he gets involved in the climax of his sister Alice's dark storyline with Michael Moon.

"[19] Witts told Radio Times "It’s been a really quiet year [...] There have been lots of scenes of me just walking into the café and saying ‘all right’.

[21] In 2018, Witts expressed an interest in returning to EastEnders as Joey Branning, saying it would be "hard" to turn down the chance.

"[5] He also admitted to being "surprised" to win 'Sexiest Male' at the Inside Soap Awards, teling Digital Spy "I think it's utterly ridiculous and I disagree with the decision entirely!

[28] Reflecting back at his time on EastEnders, Witts opened up and admitted that he struggled with all the fan attention that came with the role.

"You can't go anywhere without people rushing up to you and wanting to take pictures and stuff and that's just so strange", he told Digital Spy.