Original Penny Branning star looks worlds away from EastEnders role 16 years on as she lands new ITV acting gig

THE original Penny Branning star looks worlds away from her EastEnders role, 16 years on, as she landed a new ITV acting gig.

Mia McKenna-Bruce starred as Penny Branning, daughter of bent copper Jack Branning, in EastEnders in 2008.

Short-lived roles in The Bill and Doctors followed, before she starred as Tee Taylor in Tracy Beaker Returns in 2010, a part she also played in the spin-off series The Dumping Ground.

Now, as she lands a new telly role, the star looks worlds away from her EastEnders days.

Mia is now 27-years-old, and could be seen posing in a stunning promo shot with her natural beauty on show, and brown hair down.

“Mia McKenna-Bruce, Natalie Dormer, and Ed Speleers will lead an all-star cast in ‘The Lady,”; the ITV announcement read.

Continuing: “It’s a new 4-part drama series about Jane Andrews, a former royal aide whose rags to riches fairy tale fell apart when she was convicted of murder. Coming soon to ITV.”;

Fans in the comments said how excited they were for the new 4-part drama, and Mia also shared the post to her socials.

Mia is a very talented actress, who clutched her Rising Star trophy at the Bafta Film Awards last year, after attending the ceremony with her parents Angela and Wayne.

The 27-year-old lead from 2023 film How To Have Sex has received huge praise for her role.

And she overcame the odds to win her break-out role in the movie — and her drive to become an actress was born out of a “dramatic”; childhood.

Mia was forced to change schools at a young age when her mum relocated from Chislehurst, in South East ­London, to nearby Eltham, while her dad Wayne spent time away from the family home.

A friend said: “It had a big impact on the family.

“Mia was performing in Billy Elliot in the West End so it was an important time for her.

“But she has overcome what was a trying time with such strength. She is amazing.”;

She’s also a mum to a son named Leo, and she shares rare glimpses of him on social media.

Mia has previously talked about how she struggled after leaving the popular CBBC series The Dumping Ground, after six years aged 19.

The stress led to panic attacks that were so upsetting that she considered quitting acting for good.

She told Charlie Brooks’ Iampro podcast: “When I left, I was auditioning as an adult and not a child.

“I would be asked, ‘Tell us what you think about the character’, and I would be like, ‘What?’

“It was stuff that you don’t necessarily think about as a child.

“The further I went along, the more pressure I would put on myself and the more nervous I would get.

“And then I had to strip it back and think, ‘Why am I doing this?’

“The actual audition would be fine. I would be in there and I would be loving it.

“But I would come out and have a panic attack because of how much I had worked myself up beforehand.”;

Thankfully, Mia stuck it out and in 2021 she auditioned for How To Have Sex, about three teenage girls who are celebrating the end of their GCSEs, in Malia, Crete.