EastEnders airs huge George and Eddie Knight twist after villain's return in early BBC iPlayer release

George Knight (Colin Salmon) may have just made a huge mistake in EastEnders, after agreeing to give his racist adoptive father a second chance.

Vile Eddie (Christopher Fairbank) returned in yesterday's instalment after a two-year absence, revealing to Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) that he'd been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

Eddie, as viewers will recall, has been in prison since 2024, when he was sent down for the historic murder of George's birth father, Henry Asare. Initially arriving in Walford alongside wife Gloria (Elizabeth Counsell), it quickly transpired that their motives for reuniting with their son were deeply sinister.

George discovered that he was adopted from West Africa as part of a baby farming agreement, and when Henry was sent to the UK to collect him, Gloria pleaded with Eddie to do whatever it took to stop him.

In court, George gave Eddie a damning character reference, and he was put behind bars. On the same day, Gloria became unwell and passed away.

He took control of the funeral arrangements, banishing George from attending the ceremony and not telling him when it was taking place.

Nicola had assumed that several missed calls on George's phone were from a midwife, though was shocked to hear Eddie's husky voice echoing down the line. She headed to the hospital, and branded him a scumbag, saying that as far as George was concerned, he was still inside and that wasn't about to change.

She had to prioritise their new family dynamic following the arrival of baby Ivy, and in today's episode, it seemed like she had no intentions of telling George what had happened.

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However, shortly afterwards, he found a parking ticket for the hospital and questioned why she had it. She claimed that one of Ivy's prescriptions had been forgotten about, and she'd been sent down to collect it.

George knew that given she wouldn't want to be separated from Ivy, this wasn't the case, and she was forced to come clean. He then had no option but to go and visit Eddie himself.

There, Eddie pleaded for forgiveness – saying he was sorry for everything he'd ever put him through – and that he was a changed man. The atmosphere was frosty as George stood over the bed, with Eddie claiming that his cancer diagnosis was karma for his wrongdoings.

In disbelief at his words, George wanted to know whether there was an ulterior motive for him reaching out. Eddie said he'd received counselling, and he'd admitted the fact that he is racist and that he hated George because he is Black.

Back at home, George told Nicola that he was prepared to give Eddie a second chance. However, little did he realise, Eddie hadn't changed at all.

After brushing a Black nurse's hand off his shoulder, he told her that his plan was to spend his final days living with George.

How will George react?

Read more:

• EastEnders confirms return of S Club 7 star for Nigel Bates's emotional funeral scenes
• EastEnders first-look pictures reveal Grant's return – and Mitchell family reunion after 10 years
• EastEnders reveals Vicki and Zack's blackmailer in early BBC iPlayer release - and it's not who you'd expect

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