This article contains spoilers from Monday’s (March 11) EastEnders, which has not yet aired on TV but is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
Eddie Knight (Christopher Fairbank) is due to stand trial for the murder of Henry Kofi Asare in EastEnders, and recent scenes have seen him find a way ensure he gets away with it.
George Knight (Colin Salmon) was left horrified when he discovered that his adopted dad had been charged with a racially motivated murder and wanted him to stand up in court as a character witness.
He was even more stunned to discover that the man Eddie had been accused of murdering was George’s birth father.
This left George with a lot of questions about his birth family, and led him to take a DNA test in the hope that he would be able to track down some of his other relatives.
Unfortunately, recent scenes revealed that the DNA test had offered no answers, leaving George disappointed.
With encouragement from Elaine Peacock and Cindy Beale (Harriet Thorpe and Michelle Collins), George finally worked up the courage to reveal the truth about Eddie’s murder trial to a shocked Gina and Anna (Francesca Henry and Molly Rainford).
When Gloria Knight (Elizabeth Counsell) later called the pub hoping to speak to George, a devastated Anna put the phone down, insisting that George didn’t want to speak to her.
This left Eddie furious, as he had hoped that Gloria would have been able to persuade George to be his character witness the following day.
Determined to draw a line under his relationship with his adopted parents, George paid Eddie and Gloria a visit with the intention of telling them that he wanted nothing more to do with them.
However, Eddie managed to stop him from leaving by revealing that he had information about George’s birth mother.
George was left stunned as Eddie promised to tell him what he knew, but only if George agreed to be his character witness.Is George set to free Eddie in a bid to find his birth mother?
EastEnders‘ George Knight was given a huge ultimatum in the show’s latest episode.
George has been struggling to cope ever since discovering that his father Eddie had murdered his biological father and was due to stand trial for the crime.
George was in further despair in Monday’s episode, having been informed that no DNA matches had been found for him and there’s no trace of his birth family.
Worried, Elaine and Cindy insisted that the time had come for George to tell the girls the truth about his heritage as they excitedly prepared for their trip to Jamaica.
George reluctantly agreed, leaving Gina and Anna horrified when he shared his story. They were even more furious to discover the truth about Eddie and the trial.
Gloria later rang the pub after being coerced by Eddie into begging George to give a defence statement in court.
Wanting to set the record straight, George went to see them and warned them to not contact him or his daughters again.
Eddie was quick to turn the tables, telling him that he had information about George’s birth mother and would only hand it over if George gave him a character witness in court the next day.
While fans will have to wait until tomorrow to see what George decides to do, spoilers for this week have already revealed that he ultimately decides to head to the trial after all.
Colin Salmon, who plays George, explained: “George is in a desert of knowledge, and he was hoping to find some connections. Suddenly, he’s got West African roots, but he doesn’t know anything about his heritage.
“I quite like that he’s totally oblivious about this and has to look it up. I also like that George knows what he doesn’t know and is prepared to find out but not getting any DNA result matches leaves him with a massive hole because he hoped to find something.”
“It’s crucial [he gets answers] because now George knows that his birth father came back for him, and that changes things. Now, he realises that his parents wanted him back, and they were always his people,” he added.
“This opens up a whole new avenue of discovery for George, and he’s grateful for the opportunity to have a family. What’s sad is that he’s always had them, but he was manipulated into believing he didn’t.”
EastEnders actor Colin Salmon has revealed a sad aftermath for his character George Knight following the upcoming trial.
Over the last few months, George has learned the truth about his parentage, that his adoptive parents Eddie and Gloria actually illegally purchased him and he might not be from Jamaica. He also learned that Eddie is facing trial for racially aggravated murder and has been emotionally blackmailing him to give a character witness in court.
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In the upcoming days, Eddie will dangle a carrot of information about George’s birth mother in order to secure his testimony, and Salmon has now revealed that the whole ordeal will leave his character in an awful state.
“George is a boxer, and he’s been trained to be self-sufficient, so he’s trying to deal with everything in his own head,” the actor said.
“He’s becoming isolated and self-contained, and it’s very hard for George to ask for help. It’s all becoming too much for him, but he knows where to go to let the pressure off – the boxing ring.”
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Salmon also called the scene where Eddie plays the trump card of information “a beautiful piece of writing.”
“I like to think of George and Eddie as always in the boxing ring, testing each other out,” he added. “Eddie knows George’s buttons, so he’s making a play in doing this. It’s a brilliant war strategy that leaves George with no choice.”
