User:FishLoveHam/Gina Knight

Gina Knight
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Francesca Henry Kristen-Leigh Petit (2023 flashback)
Duration	2023–present
First appearance	Episode 6708 1 June 2023 (2023-06-01)
Classification	Present; regular
Introduced by	Chris Clenshaw
In-universe information Other names Georgina Knight Occupation Barmaid Father George Knight Mother Cindy Beale Sisters Anna Knight Half-brothers Junior Knight Steven Beale Peter Beale Half-sisters Lucy Beale Cindy Williams Grandfathers Henry Kofi Asare Eddie Knight (adoptive) Tom Williams Grandmothers Margaret Abena Asare Gloria Knight (adoptive) Bev Williams Aunts Gina Williams Nephews Xavier Knight Louie Beale Nieces Beth Williams Abi Branning Other relatives Gordon (adoptive)

Gina Knight is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Francesca Henry. Gina was introduced by executive producer Chris Clenshaw in episode 6708, broadcast on 1 June 2023. She was introduced as a member of the Knight family; the daughter of George Knight (Colin Salmon) and older sister of Anna Knight (Molly Rainford). Her storylines in the series have included her arrival, the reveal that her mother Rose is actually Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), her cocaine addiction, her relationship with Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), suffering racial discrimination from her grandfather Eddie (Christopher Fairbank), and supporting Anna through her abortion.

Storylines

Backstory

Gina is the oldest daughter of George (Colin Salmon) and Rose Knight. She has a half-brother named George Jr (Micah Balfour) from George's previous marriage. Shortly after Gina was born, George and Rose had another daughter, her younger sister Anna (Molly Rainford). While she grew up, she noticed that her grandfather Eddie (Christopher Fairbank) would often look at her with contempt and disappointment. In 2014, Rose abandoned the family, leaving George broken and making Gina responsible for taking care of him and Anna. As George slowly recovered from his heartbreak, Gina developed a deep hatred for her mother. She and Anna adopted a chihuahua named Tyson before the family moved to Marbella to run a bar. While there, George meets Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) and they begin a relationship.

2023–present

When Elaine's estranged daughter Linda (Kellie Bright) asks for help to run The Queen Victoria public house in Walford, Elaine, George, Gina, and Anna move there. Linda is unhappy to see her mother's new family, and Gina and Anna initially anger several residents. This is worsened when they unintentionally disrespect people mourning the recent death of Lola Pearce-Brown (Danielle Harold). After they apologise, they begin flirting with Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) and Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier). When Gina learns that George proposed to Elaine, she is upset about the prospect of Elaine replacing Rose, but George comforts and assures her. When Elaine takes the girls out for food, she attempts to set Gina and Freddie up, but Gina shows an interest in Zack Hudson (James Farrar).

After George discovers Rose was using a false identity and tells Elaine, Gina learns this and begins using cocaine for the first time since she overcame an addiction to it. Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) begins supplying Gina with cocaine as it is later uncovered that Anna had stolen money from the pub to hire a private investigator for information about their mother. During Anna's twenty-first birthday party, Rose reappers, leaving Gina and Anna shocked. Rose tells everyone her name is actually Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and that she used the false identity after faking her death and entering witness protection years before the girls were born. She explains that she left the family after learning of her other daughter being murdered in Walford and returning in secret, worrying that breaking her conditions could mean harm for her new family. Taken aback by the news, Gina overdoses on cocaine. After this, she decides to stop taking it.

Gina spray paints the word 'rapist' on a shop owned by Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) after learning he raped Linda years ago, despite this, Gina bonds with his daughter Jade Masood (Elizabeth Green) as they both grew up with an absent parent. She grows to believe Dean over Linda and begins a secret relationship with him. After it is exposed, to her family's fury, they break up following an argument. When Gina's grandparents Eddie (Christopher Fairbank) and Gloria (Elizabeth Counsell) arrive to visit George, Gina clashes with Eddie as it is revealed that he is racist and was paid to adopt George and felt shame raising a black child. After Gina and Anna overhear them talking, they argue in the barrel store about how Anna has faced much less racial descrimination than Gina throughout life due to being able to 'pass' as white. George later informs Gina and Anna that Eddie also killed his biological father, Henry Asare.

After the news begins causing George to self-destruct, he runs into his son, Junior, while underground boxing. Gina is happy to see her brother again, and bonds with his wife Monique (Busayo Ige) and son Xavier (Chase Dean-Williams). However, they leave him after Junior cheats. When Anna falls pregnant, Gina supports her through her decision to have an abortion.

Development

Casting and characterisation

Gina was announced to debut alongside the rest of the Knight family, which included her father George (Colin Salmon), his girlfriend Elaine (Harriet Thorpe), and Gina's younger sister Anna (Molly Rainford), on 28 March 2023. Henry was excited to join the cast of EastEnders as she watched the show growing up, commenting that it was "surreal" to be on set. She added that it was a "true privilege to be trusted to bring Gina to the Square" and was thrilled to be introduced as a member of the new family unit. Gina, accompanied by the Knight family were set to arrive on the show in early Summer. The family were confirmed by Salmon to debut on 1 June 2023. Zaraah Abrahams, who plays Chelsea Fox on the show, acted as an on-set mentor for Henry. Clenshaw revealed that the family were created in January or February 2023, and commented that "they've been on paper for a hell of a long time". Gina made her first appearance in episode 6708, originally broadcast on 1 June 2023.

Upon the Knight family's announcement, executive producer Chris Clenshaw billed Gina as "feisty", "determined", "demanding", "sharp", and "cool as cut diamonds but with a temper that blazes like fire". Radio Times added "she's got her dad's personality and is strong-willed to the point of no return" and that Gina is "not a girl to be messed with". He teased that the family's arrival would incite a "new dawn" for the soap, and added that the Knight family had been "bound together for years" and arrived in Walford in hopes of a "fresh start", only to be quickly "thrown into the heart of the Square". Commenting on Gina's backstory, Henry revealed that Gina had to grow up much quicker than Anna. Salmon echoed this, explaining that Gina "got [George] through what [he] went through", forcing her to mature quickly.

When asked of Gina's character, Henry expressed excitement, describing her as "really funny" and "really spiky". The actress continued by commenting that while Gina sees the best in people, she is less open than Anna and wants to be more like her. Henry described her character as being "difficult" but "kind", explaining that Gina "meets the world with a bit more difficulty than the rest of her family". In comparison to her sister, Gina is considered to be more difficult to get along with. Henry shared that Gina, deep down, wanted to be more like her sister and wished for her care-free attitude, but struggled as "she finds it hard to meet the world in an open-hearted way". Henry teased that Gina and Anna would "[break] hearts" and pursue "anything with a pulse". Regarding Gina's relationship with Elaine, Henry commented that the characters would not get along, as Elaine threatened to overtake Gina's position in the family, adding "the eldest sister often takes on a lot of caregiving and emotional baggage of the family". Despite this, Henry believed Gina would put her father's happiness before her dislike of Elaine. Clenshaw explained that as the family would be moving into the show's central pub, The Queen Victoria, they would be at "the heart of the Square". He added that while everything may initially seem calm, the family had "a lot of baggage" waiting to be exposed.

'Rose Knight' reveal

After being told by Elaine that Rose used a false identity while Gina grew up, threatening to tear the family apart. Henry explained Gina's feelings of "pain and resentment" towards her estranged mother, as Rose's departure left her to be a maternal figure for Anna. Gina was the last member of her family told, due to her "volatile nature". When asked who will face Gina's wrath after her discovery, Henry responded that while Gina blames herself, she would feel resentment for George due to how he handled the situation, which the actress said was "[not] as well as he thinks he has". The actress teased that Gina's emotional state would shine light on her inner stuggles, explaining: "Gina is a lot more sensitive than she appears and I think she's absorbed a lot of the emotional damage that's happened to them [Gina and Anna] before they arrived in Walford. She's been like a bit of an emotional punch bag growing up which is why she is quite front-footed and defensive in situations where she doesn't have to be".

In a Digital Spy interview, Henry confirmed that Gina would begin a "self-destructive" path following the news. She explained that this was as Gina didn't allow herself to "feel anything", so the overwhelming news would cause her to become a "powderkeg of emotions". The actress added that Gina has to "shake pain off" and prefers to "[burn] through" her emotions, rather than reflect on them.

Explaining why Anna initially wanted to hide truth from her sister, Rainford said: "Throughout their lives, Gina has always been the one that’s been mothering Anna and protecting her. But I think actually if you look deep down, Gina is the one who is slightly more scared by the whole thing, perhaps because she’s seen a bit more and because she’s a bit older when it all happened. Anna will take being mothered from Gina for as long as she needs to, but actually she’s there to step up when Gina is a bit more vulnerable."

When trying to console his daughters, George reveals the full truth about transpired between him and their mother all those years ago, sending Gina on a downward spiral. "For Anna and her dad, unfortunately it’s not something that they haven’t seen before, so they know she does have the tendency to spiral out of control," Rainford continued. They're both doing everything in their power to stop that, but when feelings and people are involved, that’s never the case. Anna is more concerned for her sister’s safety and her wellbeing. All she wants is her family to be happy. As for what we can expect to see from Anna moving forward, the soap star teased: "Viewers can expect to see a different side to Anna – a slightly more 'Knight' side. I think they can expect to see Anna being a bit more determined and a bit more mature as she steps into a different role in her family dynamic."

Clenshaw said of Gina coping with the dramas surrounding Rose: "Basically, life carries on in Walford. So George now has this knowledge that his wife of 15 years, who walked out nine years ago, isn't who she said she was. That obviously turns his world upside down and very quickly... the girls, Gina and Anna, discovered this too, and they have very different reactions... I think Gina is a chip off her mother's block. She takes after her mother; she's very impulsive, and her and Anna have quite different reactions. What does this mean? One of the girls begins a journey to reach out and to find out. But will they become successful?”

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See also

• List of EastEnders characters (2023)

References

Category:EastEnders characters Category:Television characters introduced in 2023 Category:English female characters in television Category:Fictional Black British people Category:Fictional Ghanaian people Category:Fictional cocaine users Category:Fictional bartenders