EastEnders' Colin Salmon teases Cindy importance after devastating Eddie trial

After trying to find his biological mother, George is left with no choice when his dad offers him a bargaining chip – testify, and he'll give him information about his mum.

What will George decide to do? And how will it cause him to run back into the (open) arms of Cindy?

RadioTimes.com and other press heard from Salmon about the latest storyline development.

This week, George gets the results from his DNA tests and there are no matches. Is that a big disappointment to him?

Colin Salmon: Yes it is, because 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.

Why is it so important for George to get the answers he's looking for?

CS: It's crucial 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. 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.

How does he feel towards Eddie at this point?

CS: It's a hard question because George loves Eddie, and some people will think that's bonkers, but this is still his dad. However, in George's mind, he's now thinking, 'I knew you were a wrong 'un and I didn't like the way you treated Mum, and you bullied us all our lives.' Growing up, George thought this was acceptable, but now he knows as a man and a father that it's not, and nobody needs to be like that. So, George is struggling to understand what Eddie did. However, he gets that Gloria loved George so much, and he realises that Eddie must have loved Gloria to do what he did for her so she could keep this baby. It's love, but twisted love.

Gloria is being coerced to pressure George to testify. Does she have any influence over George at this stage?

CS: She does because Gloria is his mum and the only one that he's ever known. Theirs was a household of 'don't upset him', and we intimate so much without saying anything. We don't talk about domestic violence or any of that, but it's implicit. George just wanted his mum to be safe, and he became the toughest of the tough to protect his mum as much as anything else. Gloria is a cockney sparrow – a fragile bird, and she's just managing to keep out of the cat's mouth.

Why does George decide to visit his parents the night before the trial and tell them to leave him and the girls alone?

CS: George's girls embolden him. It's traumatic for George to go to the flat and the estate, as we saw the other week, but Gina is the one who encourages him to stand up and say, 'This can't go on'. Thankfully, George is one of those guys who listens to his girls. He goes there to protect them, his family but he does know that his mum is in trouble, and it's hard for him to leave her with Eddie.

Eddie plays a trump card by revealing he has information about George's birth mother but will only share it if George testifies. What is his reaction?

CS: It's a beautiful piece of writing because George now feels he has no choice because all other avenues are closed, and Eddie has this nugget of information to share. I like to think of George and Eddie as always in the boxing ring, testing each other out. 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.

Is George willing to testify for Eddie to get this information?

CS: He speaks to Johnny about the legal implications of giving the statement and if it would set Eddie free. After that conversation, he briefly thinks that it won't do any harm and change the verdict one way or the other. George is just so desperate for this information. He wants to do the right thing, but he's now got another excuse to prevaricate. Don't forget that he's a witness to this murder, and Eddie's ultimatum gives him a reason not to tell the court what he saw. George is also being bullied by Eddie, and the bully always holds the power until you stand up to them.

Following the court case, George is in a really bad state. Can anybody reach him?

CS: 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. 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.

Can you tease what's ahead for George?

CS: One of the things that becomes clear is how important George's relationship with Cindy is to him. I think it can get confused with romance, but actually, it's Cindy's knowledge of him, Gloria and Eddie that matters. George's world suddenly becomes very small, and Cindy becomes very important spiritually. She has the ability to talk him down because she understands him better than anyone does right now.

Read more:

• Did Dean Wicks steal the missing murder weapon in EastEnders?
• EastEnders airs distressing cliffhanger for Denise Fox in early BBC iPlayer release
• EastEnders airs twist for Johnny Carter and The Six in anniversary episode early release
• EastEnders airs horrific revelation in George Knight special episode early release
• 6 EastEnders spoilers: Denise Fox’s mental health reaches crisis point

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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