"It had to be something of that size to get that engine going," says showrunner Suzanne Heathcote **CONTAINS SPOILERS**
The third season of Killing Eve opened with the shocking exit of a popular character as Kenny (Sean Delaney) was spectacularly killed off.
Kenny, son of Carolyn (Fiona Shaw), was investigating assassins guild The Twelve and his inquiries apparently led to his death, with his body being found by Eve (Sandra Oh) after an apparent fall from the offices of his website The Bitter Pill.
Explaining the decision to kill off "a beloved character", Suzanne Heathcote – new head writer on Killing Eve – told TVLine: "I really don’t want people to think it was a coldhearted decision. We mourn the character, too… Kenny is a fantastic character, he’s beloved, and Sean [Delaney] is a fantastic actor."
Heathcote - who follows in the footsteps of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Emerald Fennell as showrunner - suggested that a twist as "monumental" as Kenny's demise was necessary to bring Eve (Sandra Oh) back into the fray following the events of the second season, which saw her step away from MI6.
"It couldn’t just be professional," she said. "It had to be a personal reason. So the fact that his death means so much is because he’s so beloved."
With Eve and Carolyn at odds following the latter's decision last season to use unpredictable assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) to execute an MI6 target, Heathcote also hinted that Kenny's death could be what brings them back together.
"It has a huge impact on both of them," she said. "It had to be something of that size to get that engine going."
New episodes of Killing Eve will be available on BBC iPlayer every Monday. The third season airs on BBC One from Sunday (19th April) at 9pm on BBC One.
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Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
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