In a July 2008 interview with the Sunday People, Joyner revealed that she was disappointed that Tanya's wild child past had not been explored more in the aftermath of her character burying Max alive, saying "I didn't think Tanya would be as mumsy at first. She was quite hard in her past and it would have been fun to have that side come out. Tanya has a really naughty side. When she was young she was a lot like Stacey Slater. That hasn't really come out yet but she definitely has it in her." Joyner temporarily left the show in December 2009 for maternity leave. Her departure was facilitated through a storyline in which Max hid financial problems from the family and Tanya left him. The show's executive producer Diederick Santer revealed that some planned storyline material for Max and Tanya was put on hold until Joyner's return from maternity leave. On 6 May 2010, Joyner filmed a single episode that was broadcast on 23 June, and she made her full-time return on 27 September 2010.
