Tony King (Chris Coghill)

[miccisy]

So basically he is having an affair with Whitney and not in the sense of the word 'abusing' her because she is consenting to it. Or thats what she thinks.

She is still underage so it is still technically child abuse but in her mind they are just having an affair and nothing is wrong.

More than likely he will have groomed her into thining it is ok for them to be together and probably told her that when she is old enough he will dump Bianca and be with her.

I think the storyline could be less to do with the actual abuse but more to do with how someone can mess with your head so much and make you think something is right when its not. And how he actually groomed her into thinking this way and thinking it is ok. How a child can be trusting in the adults around them. And how a peadophile works. Making her beleive that someday they will be together properly.

[sindydoll]

i know this wasnt underage sex but didnt bianca have an affair with carols boyfriend?

[Lennie]

Yes someone called Dan

Tony/Chris pics released
http://www.walfordweb.co.uk/walfordw...?tag=Tony+King

I much prefer Chris with his long hair that was in Burn It and in Doctors few months ago

[Lennie]

The Sun paper
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1638026.ece

[Bryan]

I think it's an interesting way to approach it, with Whitney consenting, makes it all the more sinister that he's groomed her.

Chris is a great actor, I remember him when he was in Shameless!!!

[sindydoll]

ive just been reading about this in whats on tv magazine!

[Lennie]

I think it's an interesting way to approach it, with Whitney consenting, makes it all the more sinister that he's groomed her.

Chris is a great actor, I remember him when he was in Shameless!!!

I loved Chris in Burn It that was on BBC 3 couple of years ago and then recently i saw him on Doctors

[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

[Katy]

I loev Chris i can't wait to see him in this.

[Lennie]

Chris is a great actor, i loved him in Burn It - so cant wait to see him