EastEnders fans in tears over Jacqueline Jossa's 'phenomenal performance' in moving episode

It was an emotional night in Albert Square tonight, as aired a stand-alone episode in which Lauren Branning () and Peter Beale () learnt their son Jimmy was severely sight impaired.

Lauren had known there was something wrong with her son for days, although it seemed like no one was listening. Even her husband Peter wouldn't listen. After a heart to heart chat with Linda Carter (), Lauren decided to take action. However, the struggles didn't stop there, as she was even being brushed off by the hospital receptionist.

A midwife then made a phonecall to Peter to inform him on what had happened, asking him to pick her up from the hospital. However, Lauren still wasn't taken seriously, and Jimmy's eyes were yet to be checked.

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Her partner then told the midwife he feared she was suffering from post-natal depression, and that their son Louie had seen her taking pills from under the sink. When the family, plus Linda, turned up at the hospital, Lauren explained that the pills were in fact folic acid, a supplement pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers take.

Lauren still wasn't being taken seriously, and it wasn't until Linda asked what was wrong with Jimmy's eyes that a consultant examined the newborn. It was then heartbreakingly revealed their son was severely sight impaired. They were told that Jimmy’s eyes hadn’t developed, and as a result, .

A heartbroken Lauren felt like her previous addiction was to blame, and in emotional scenes, she was seen pleading her son for forgiveness and that they would be together for life. The screen then faded out and a slow theme tune was played, opposed to the original.

The emotional episode left fans in tears, as they took to social media to praise Jacqueline on her outstanding performance. "Really powerful performance from today," said one, while another echoed: "Jacqueline Jossa is going to be amazing during this storyline, I was in tears the whole time.

"Phenomenal episode," said a third, while a fourth agreed: "Jac really is phenomenal." Another emotional fan penned: " writers do everything in their power to make me cry. And it works every time."

It was revealed last week that the (RNIB) on the upcoming storyline.

Speaking of the storyline, EastEnders Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw said: “It was imperative that we worked with RNIB and experts in the field when consulting on Jimmy’s visual impairment storyline to ensure it was portrayed sensitively and accurately. The story will continue to develop over time as we look to focus on how the diagnosis affects Lauren and Peter as parents, their family and later, the effects this will have on Jimmy.”

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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