EastEnders' Big Mo spends Christmas with his real brother Gary Oldman

Sunny California is a long way from wet Walford, which is probably why EastEnders actress Laila Morse – who plays Big Mo – decided to spend the festivities this year with her brother in Palm Springs Gary Oldman. Fans are often still surprised to learn that Laila's brother is Hollywood star Gary, so they were delighted to see rare photos of the siblings together on Instagram. The Oldmans' Christmas was well documented by Gary's wife Gisele Schmidt, who shared a collection of spontaneous snaps over the festive period. In one photo, Laila – whose real name is Maureen Oldman – helped prepare Christmas dinner before joining the rest of the extended family to pose for another photo before they tucked into the turkey. In another hilarious image, Laila photobombed Gary and Gisele as they kissed.

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Lalia helps Gary in the kitchen

Excited fans wrote humorous and heartfelt comments on the photos. One joked: “It's a bit sunnier there than Albert Square!” Another wrote: “Love you big Mo. You're a legend.” A third added: “Lots of love to you all and a special hug to Mo! X” One fan even referenced Laila's appearance on TV cooking show Come Dine With Me, commenting on the photo of her helping to prepare dinner in the kitchen: “Reminding me of Laila in Come Dine With Me. Good luck guys.”

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Cute family photo!

Laila and Gary were also joined by their sister Jackie and Gary's youngest sons Gulliver, 21, and Charlie, 19, as well as his wife Gisele's son William, 10, and their parents. Gisele is Gary's fifth wife and they married in September 2017 after Gary proposed to her on the set of the series while dressed as Winston Churchill. Darkest hour. It certainly looked like the whole family had a lot of fun together and celebrated Christmas in the best way possible – with lots of good cheer!

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