George’s world implodes in EastEnders as he is hit with a sinister blast from the past

George Knight’s (Colin Salmon) life has changed exponentially in EastEnders recently, with the birth of a brand new baby girl.

Much of last year saw George in deeply turbulent waters, beginning when he discovered that his ex-wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) was embroiled in an affair with his son, Junior Knight (Micah Balfour).

He later endured the breakdown of his marriage to Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe), before becoming utterly panicked over his brother, Kojo Asare (Dayo Koleosho), who was cuckoo’d as part of Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) and Tobias ‘Okie’ Okyere’s (Aayan Ibikunle Shoderu) drug enterprise. Kojo had his flat infiltrated, taken over and used as a base by the nefarious gang to conduct their illicit activities from.

When Kojo did finally escape with the help of his best friend and fellow victim, Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway), George stepped in to help his brother heal after the trauma he endured, while also showing up to help his former fling and Harry’s mum, Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington).

While their romantic relationship stalled prior to the discovery of the drug operation, George’s fondness for Nicola never faltered, and when he learned that she was pregnant and when they decided to keep the baby, it seemed there was light at the end of the tunnel for them.

In a cruel turn of events, as George celebrated the opening of his new restaurant, Knight’s Fusion, Nicola went into premature labour, and suffered an incredibly tumultuous birth.

She was heartbroken when her flu symptoms meant she’d be unable to visit her daughter, yet George stepped in again as a tower of support.

Nicola was rocked when George declared his love for her and immediately shut down the idea that there could be a future between them, demanding that they focus on their baby instead. It took intervention from Harry to force her to face her true feelings, and she later told George that she reciprocated, leading them to formally reunite.

Next week sees teething problems in their relationship, though, when George and Nicola come home with baby Ivy. Faced with a welcome home party, Nicola is instantly overwhelmed and demands that everybody leave, leading George’s daughter, Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), to take a more tender approach to cool her down.

The couple clash again when Nicola discovers a ton of missed calls on George’s phone, railing at him for being so careless when the calls could be from the hospital regarding Ivy. When she discovers the true source of the calls is Eddie Knight (Christopher Fairbank), George’s evil adoptive-dad, she’s stunned.

Nicola decides to keep what she’s learned to herself, though when George finds a parking ticket from the hospital, she’s forced to reveal all to him, and he heads to the hospital to face off with the man who raised him.

Viewers will remember what a cruel, vicious man Eddie is. He and his wife, Gloria (Elizabeth Counsell) had adopted George through a grotesque ‘baby farming’ plot, and George witnessed him beat a Black man to death as a child, unknowing at the time that the victim was his biological dad.

Eddie slithered into Walford with a scheme: he wanted to use George as a witness in his impending murder trial, though when George finally discovered the true extent of Eddie’s evil, he testified against him, with Eddie sentenced to prison for the brutal slaying.

Gina and Kojo deeply troubled to learn that George has gone to visit Eddie, and when he returns home, conflicted, they implore him to deeply consider what he’s doing.

With his families words ringing in his ears, he heads back to the hospital, but what does he have to say to Eddie?