Carol Jackson

Carol Jackson (also Branning) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lindsey Coulson. The character was introduced in 1993 as the mother of the Jackson family. Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned temporarily in 1999 within a storyline that contributed to both the introduction of her boyfriend Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) and the departure of her daughter Bianca (Patsy Palmer); in the storyline, Carol discovers that Bianca had previously had a relationship with Dan and they resumed their affair – which prompted her to end her relationship with Dan, disown Bianca, and leave the square on her own. On 25 October 2009, it was confirmed that she would return along with other members of the Jackson family – Sonia (Natalie Cassidy), Robbie (Dean Gaffney) and Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson) – on 15 February 2010, although her first appearance in 2010 is in EastEnders: Last Tango in Walford, an episode released exclusively to DVD on 8 February 2010. Coulson chose to leave the show for a third time in June 2015, with her exit airing on 2 October 2015. Carol is depicted as a tough, working-class grafter, fiercely defensive of her four children. Her storylines include relationships with several men including David Wicks (Michael French), eventual husband Alan Jackson (Howard Antony), Connor Stanley (Arinzé Kene), Eddie Moon (David Essex) and Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra), the death of her youngest son Billie, and her breast cancer diagnosis in January 2014.