EastEnders' Danny Walters: 'Christmas body could be someone not attached to The Six'

After all, he executed a fake kidnapping of his son, sick of Sharon (Letitia Dean) holding Albie against him.

But while they're playing happy families, he's keeping his dreadful secret hidden – and Sharon's keeping hers (that Albie isn't biologically Keanu's!).

Walters spoke to press including RadioTimes.com about the upcoming Christmas drama for Keanu, and whether him and Sharon can really go the distance.

Keanu and Sharon are set to say ‘I do’ this Christmas after almost a year of trying to get their relationship back on track. Will this be the happily ever after they’re both hoping for?

DW: I think with Keanu and Sharon, as we can see, it’s not a smooth relationship and probably is quite toxic at times. However, there is a deep lust and love for one and other. Unfortunately, external factors in their relationship always seem to create dramas.

Viewers know that Keanu was responsible for Albie’s fake kidnapping. Where do we find Keanu at this point in the storyline and how is he feeling?

DW: I think in Keanu’s head, he’s trying to play the whole ignorance is bliss card, and he thinks ‘what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her’. His original intention was to obtain his son, so in Keanu’s mind he was always doing it for the greater good. He’s not an evil character, he just makes really poor decisions and, unfortunately, his love for Albie took precedent. Keanu wants to hold on to this secret and never let it get revealed.

I’ve always played the character as someone who makes poor choices along the way, and he's someone who doesn’t think before his actions. He’s very emotionally led.

Keanu did feel completely, wholeheartedly guilty for the emotional damage that he had caused to Sharon through that process, and what transpires through it is that Keanu realises how much Sharon and Albie mean to him as a package, and he doesn’t want to let either of them go. From the whole ordeal he realises how much he loves Sharon, so it’s a bit of a bittersweet feeling because the damage has been done.

Unbeknownst to Keanu, Sharon is also holding in a massive secret. How do you think Keanu would react if he found out Albie wasn’t his son?

DW: I think if Keanu was to ever find out, his whole world would be crushed. It would be so devastating and heart-breaking.

What has it been like working up to this storyline since February?

DW: It’s been an absolute rollercoaster ride of a journey what with his relationship with Sharon, his relationship with his mum, and the relationship with Phil. There’s been ups and downs, there’s been highs and lows, and as I say, the relationship with Keanu and Sharon is so complex and complicated, but it’s beautifully toxic.

It’s the light and the shade, and a grey relationship between the characters. I think the audience like the push and pull between them. There’s been a lot of betrayal from both characters over the year, but it’s been very interesting to play.

Do you think Keanu will be wearing the dreaded cufflinks at Christmas?

DW: I think there are multiple characters that are potential players for the cufflinks. This is what’s great about the storyline, there’s so many players involved, and anyone attached to those six women, or maybe not even attached to those six women; it could be any of us.

Read more:

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• EastEnders couple face split after outburst in early BBC iPlayer release
• EastEnders airs dramatic Christmas teaser for Sharon
• EastEnders boss explains Dean Wicks return to Walford in Halloween shock
• Who was Tom Banks in EastEnders? Sharon’s tragic lost love explained
• EastEnders boss teases "huge consequences" for Reiss Colwell lie
• EastEnders' Lauren Branning "won’t be returning on her own", teases soap boss
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EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

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