George’s discovery continues to weigh heavily.

By Laura Denby

Published: Thursday, 07 March 2024 at 19:56 PM


Warning: This article contains discussion of racist hate crimes and murder.

Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) warned ex-husband George Knight (Colin Salmon) to be honest with their daughters about his heritage in tonight’s EastEnders (7th March 2024).

Recently, George was shellshocked when his adoptive parents Eddie (Christopher Fairbank) and Gloria Knight (Elizabeth Counsell) revealed that they had gained custody of him through farming, a process where children were sold illegally.

Then came the bigger bombshell: George’s father, Henry Kofi Asare, had wanted him back, but was murdered by vile racist Eddie 40 years ago after Gloria begged her husband to do whatever it took for them to keep George.

Through all this, George finally learned that his biological parents were Ghanaian, and that he was of Caribbean descent. Eddie and Gloria wanted George to give Eddie a positive character reference for the murder trial, but disgusted George disowned them.

A scene in the Queen Vic pub with Christopher Fairbank leant back against the bar of the Queen Vic in a suit, Colin Salmon sat a table as George Knight in a blue jumper handling photographs and Elizabeth Counsell as Gloria Knight in a cream cardigan with her hand on Salmon's shoulder as Gloria Knight in EastEnders.
George was shattered by the truth about Eddie and Gloria
BBC/Kieron McCarron

Meanwhile, George awaited some DNA results to see if he could trace his mother or any other biological family members, and kept the news about Henry from daughters Gina (Francesca Henry) and Anna Knight (Molly Rainford), who know only that Eddie murdered a young Black man.

Cindy accosted George about the holiday to Jamaica that Gina had booked, urging him to tell the girls why he had rejected the idea. George wanted to wait for the results, hoping to get answers about his birth family.

While Cindy insisted that their girls weren’t stupid, and would eventually figure out there was more to the story about Eddie, George said he would feel a fraud in Jamaica, now knowing that the country wasn’t part of his heritage as he had previously believed.

At The Vic, George’s fiancée Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) was not impressed when Cindy put her foot in it about the “family holiday”, which no one had told her about.

George braced himself to tell Gina and Anna the truth, but when Gina revealed she had spent £5k on their flights and it was non-refundable, George had a change of heart and agreed to go to Jamaica after all.

After the girls confirmed the holiday was back on, George invited Cindy and Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) over for Sunday lunch for Mother’s Day, much to Elaine’s annoyance.

In a furtive chat, Cindy called George a “soft touch”, and reminded him that, regardless of the DNA results, he would need to tell Gina and Anna everything sooner or later. With Eddie’s trial set to take a shocking turn next week, where does this leave George?

If you have been affected by the issues in this article surrounding racism and hate crime, please visit the website Stop Hate UK for independent and confidential support to people affected by hate crime, including confidential hate crime reporting services in various parts of the UK. For more support, see BBC Action Line.

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