A "dynamic and assured" businesswoman, Vanessa was created by series consultant Simon Ashdown to be "a Zöe Lucker-type".

Concurrent to their romance, which was extended to span Lucker's increased tenure, Vanessa separates from her husband Harry (Linal Haft), and reveals that he is not the father of her teenage daughter Jodie (Kylie Babbington).

She received critical praise for her comic timing in the role, and was nominated Most Popular Newcomer at the 2010 Inside Soap Awards.

Max's employee and lodger Darren Miller (Charlie G. Hawkins) begins dating Vanessa's daughter Jodie, unaware of the connection between them.

Suspicious that Max may still be in love with his estranged wife Tanya (Jo Joyner), Vanessa returns to her controlling husband Harry (Linal Haft) in Chigwell.

Jodie plans to separate from Darren, as she feels uncomfortable spending time in his and Max's home while her father is alone in Chigwell.

Harry's attacks continue: he throws a brick through their window, slashes the tyres at Max's car lot and all of Vanessa's clothes, and kills Jodie's cat.

When Max's daughter Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) overhears this, she informs Vanessa, along with the rest of the family, that Tanya is the other woman.

Vanessa was created by EastEnders series consultant Simon Ashdown, who wanted a "Zöe Lucker-type" character in the show.

[2] Her impending arrival was announced by media entertainment website Digital Spy on 20 March 2010, at which point Lucker deemed herself a "huge fan" of the series, eagerly anticipated working alongside Wood.

"[4] Lucker was the third signing of new executive producer Bryan Kirkwood, following the reintroduction of Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie).

[3] After filming began, Wood called Lucker a "fantastic addition" to the show, "fabulous" in the role and "a joy" to work with.

[4] Four days after her arrival, it was announced that Lucker's performance had so impressed the series producers that she had signed a new contract to appear more permanently.

[3] In an interview with Digital Spy, Kirkwood said Vanessa was strong-minded and quite positive, and they wanted a female character with a different energy to the many "strong, feisty, shouty" women in the show.

"[1] Lucker described Vanessa as savvy,[8] strong, stylish,[9] glamorous, a risk-taker who gets bored very easily, complicated, hard-working, laid-back, a doting mother,[4] and opined that she looks out of place in Albert Square.

[13] Lucker later said that she hoped Max and Vanessa would stay strong despite Harry's threats for revenge, calling them a "lovely couple".

It kicks off over the summer and there's a big change of direction for the character that will really give Vanessa some momentum for the time she's got left in Albert Square.

A spokesperson told Digital Spy: "Zöe was brought into EastEnders for a storyline playing Max's love interest and will go out with a bang.

Zöe has done a fabulous job of bringing the character of Vanessa to life and the door has been left wide open for her return.

"[19] An EastEnders insider said "Vanessa has proved to be a popular character and although her exit storyline will be explosive, there is every belief that she may return to the Square in the future.

Drawing her inspiration in equal parts from whipped cream and Logan's Run, Vanessa's retro-futuristic look revolves around her signature white trouser suit, evidently versatile and stain-resistant enough for shopping, cooking, cleaning and servicing Max on the car lot desk.

She then dwells on this back at Max’s home, before then flying in a fit of rage and destroying the living room, tearing curtains from their hooks, swiping everything from a sideboard, tipping over a coffee table, and then stabbing a photo frame.

"[25] The newspaper held an online poll, which revealed that 80% of those who took part would follow in Vanessa's footsteps if they discovered their partner was cheating.

[28] The scene became a standalone meme in animated GIF format and the phrase gained an entry on Urban Dictionary and became a technical expression among television viewers for any character in any soap opera who has a similar meltdown.

Lucker discovered it had become a meme in December 2017 and revealed that people were still quoting the phrase to her, and that "Bubbly's in the fridge" post-it notes had been placed in the toilets of gay nightclub G-A-Y.

Lucker said the scene was "relatable" because "we all have moments when we're angry or frustrated, but we tend to internalise it because our subconscious tells us it'd cost a fortune to replace everything, and, we'd potentially get arrested for being a psycho.

"[29] Writer of the episode, Jesse O'Mahoney, said the note was "designed as [a] window into the casual indifference Max and Tanya had towards Vanessa.

She played the role of Vanessa with such confidence and poise and style that to see her properly lose it, with such authenticity, was a just joyful shock to the system.