Tony King (Chris Coghill)

[Lennie]

I am loving the build up to Tony, also like the guy who will be playing him Chris Coghill


I thought he went to prison for getting caught in a buglary or something not for hitting a lad who was trying it on with Whitney

Spoiler:

Also on another forum, we came with the theory that he might have been grooming her and making her feel good about herself (like a little fling), and yet not had a physical relationship and then when she realises its wrong what they are doing she says no and he then rapes her as there's been rumours that he brutally rapes her

[Lennie]

Finally he is arriving on 12th Sept - cant wait


Tuesday 9th September
Bianca is frustrated that she doesn't have enough money to throw a big party, in tonight's visit to Albert Square.

Friday 12th September
Bianca gets everything ready for the homecoming party.

[walsh2509]

Is this Bianca jail bird lover getting out and coming to the square, is this the guy I read about that had been interfering with her oldest daughter. And starts it all but up again when he comes to the square.

[sindydoll]

Is this Bianca jail bird lover getting out and coming to the square, is this the guy I read about that had been interfering with her oldest daughter. And starts it all but up again when he comes to the square.

its rumoured he has sexually abused whitney!

[di marco]

i know ee are going to do the whole sexual abuse storyline between whitney and tony, but does anyone know if he was abusing her before he went to prison or does it start after he comes out? just wondered cos whitney seems to like him and i dont think she would if he was abusing her beforehand as well

[sindydoll]

i know ee are going to do the whole sexual abuse storyline between whitney and tony, but does anyone know if he was abusing her before he went to prison or does it start after he comes out? just wondered cos whitney seems to like him and i dont think she would if he was abusing her beforehand as well

im sure it was that he abused her before he went in

[di marco]

i know ee are going to do the whole sexual abuse storyline between whitney and tony, but does anyone know if he was abusing her before he went to prison or does it start after he comes out? just wondered cos whitney seems to like him and i dont think she would if he was abusing her beforehand as well

im sure it was that he abused her before he went in

thats what i thought had happened but i thought id got it wrong seeing as whitney seems to have missed him and seems to like him. surely if he was abusing her she wouldnt want him to come back, seems weird

[sindydoll]

when does he come into eastenders?

[bakedbean]

I think it will be a very intresting and intense storyline and i think that the Jackson family are the right family for it. They seem to be the ones that face the most issues in life. And also wont it be charma for Bianca after what she did to Carol???

[Perdita]

This Friday's episode of EastEnders sees the arrival of Bianca Jackson's (Patsy Palmer) current boyfriend Tony King to Albert Square after serving a stretch for ABH. In one of Walford's biggest storylines of the autumn, Tony - played by 34-year-old Chris Coghill - returns to his family and it soon becomes apparent that he is abusing his step-daughter Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty). Here, Chris chats to us about the challenging nature of his role, his research and his sinister look.

What were your immediate thoughts when you first discovered the nature of the character?
"My first thought was that it's only acting and I'm not who I'm portraying. My second thought was whether the character and storyline was going to be portrayed responsibly. I'd only looked over two scenes, but had to be reassured that it would be done sensitively and not sensationally. I went in to speak to [our executive producer] Diederick [Santer] and Julia Crampsie, the casting director, and they reassured me quite quickly."

Is Tony a slow burner of a character?
"Not really, no. You saw almost straight away the nature of Tony and Whitney's relationship - it was the last scene of his first episode. But the true nature of it all isn't revealed until a bit further down the line."

What's the mood like on set when you're filming scenes with Shona McGarty? It must be difficult with it being such a delicate issue.
"The final scene of my first episode was one of the scenes which I read in my audition. Shona's fantastic to work with. She's very natural, very instinctive and a natural actress. There isn't any uncomfortable feeling at all."

Does Tony love Bianca? Or Whitney? Or both, but in different ways?
"Unfortunately, Tony doesn't really love Bianca at all. Bianca is a cover for him to give this picture of a 'normal existence'. What's very important is that abusers do tend to groom a whole family, rather than just the victim. That's the backstory for Tony. He entered the family as a hero figure. He told them all that he'll look after them, even to the extent that when Bianca was pregnant with Morgan, he said that when the child was born, he'd be the father. He's actually named on Morgan's birth certificate, but clearly he's not his biological father. From the beginning, Tony was building up the picture that he was the family's saviour. So for those reasons, his relationship with Bianca gives him the cover he needs to the rest of the world."

What kind of research have you done for the part? It must have been a huge undertaking.
"At first, I had a couple of very long meetings with the writers and Diederick. We talked a lot about a backstory for Tony which had been talked through with the NSPCC. From talking to the them and reading case studies, it became apparent that the way the story was being written was very true to life."

Did you watch EastEnders prior to landing the part?
"Yeah. Over the years, I've always dipped in and out. One of the things that I was so pleased about when I landed the part was that I was going to be working with Patsy Palmer (Bianca), Sid Owen (Ricky) and Pam St Clement (Pat). They're old school EastEnders, the people who I feel are the heart of the show."

And what about Maisie Smith (Tiffany)? She's such a fantastic young actress.
"She's hilarious. I'm not entirely sure how old she is, but if I'd been given the lines to learn that she has and delivers them the way she does at her age, I wouldn't have been able to do it. All the kids are great and having them on set can be hilarious. Especially 'Crazy Maisie', she's bonkers."

Have you prepared yourself for the backlash on the streets when Tony becomes the most hated soap character in Britain?
"I haven't prepared myself yet, but I'll be going out to buy myself a very large hat, wig and a false moustache! Obviously there's a small proportion of the public that believe soaps are real, but I do put my faith in the other 99.9% of the population that would probably just say 'oh, there's that actor who plays Tony' rather than 'there's that nasty man from EastEnders.'"

From the publicity shots, it looks like you've got your sinister look down to a tee already!
"I've always been able to turn on the sinister look. Sid Owen said to me that all I had to do was tilt my head down and look up and it's there."

Roll on Friday, can't wait to meet this guy