Angie Quinn Screen Time Reporter

EastEnders baddie Eddie Knight has made an unexpected comeback to BBC One, leaving some viewers less than thrilled.

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The sinister OAP, played by Christopher Fairbank, was last seen on the BBC soap in 2024, after the horrifying truth emerged that he had killed his adoptive son George’s biological father, Henry Asare, during the 1980s.

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In a heartbreaking discovery, Eddie and his wife, Gloria (Elizabeth Counsell), had brought George (Colin Salmon) into their home through a disturbing scheme called child farming.

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In a further revelation, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) assisted George in uncovering his genuine African roots after he’d spent his entire life thinking he was Jamaican, sparking uncertainty about his identity.

While his adoptive parents disclosed some aspects of his past, it quickly became crystal clear they were hiding considerably more from George, reports OK!.

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Eddie had killed Henry in a vicious attack to prevent him from reconnecting George with his birth relatives. As a young boy, George had witnessed the terrible incident but assumed it had been a random violent crime.

George later learned that Eddie was simply preparing him to testify after being charged with the racially motivated killing. Following the trial, Eddie was found guilty of beating George’s real father to death and was handed a life term.

After the court proceedings, Gloria died from a fatal heart attack with George by her side. However, that wasn’t George’s last meeting with Eddie.

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On Monday (May 4), Eddie rang George from his hospital bed, but Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) answered instead.

She was left gobsmacked and dashed to the hospital to challenge Eddie, who disclosed he’s terminally ill with cancer.

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Although Nicola kept her encounter with Eddie under wraps from George, he quickly sussed out the truth after stumbling upon a hospital parking ticket, forcing her to come clean.

George visited the hospital and was shocked by Eddie’s weakened state, while back on the Square, the rest of the Knight clan were astounded by Eddie’s reappearance.

Eddie now intends to spend his remaining time with George to prevent being sent back to his prison cell, where he faces dying alone.

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Beyond the BBC soap, Eddie actor Christopher Fairbank has featured in numerous other well-known programmes, including Coronation Street.

In an episode broadcast in October 1981, Brian Tilsley (Christopher Quinten) is shown working at the motor garage with another mechanic, Ginger, portrayed by Fairbank.

Brian was embroiled in a serious plotline where he faced charges of unlawful wounding after a robbery, but the garage’s owner declined to support him.

In the sequence, Fairbank appears youthful and speaks with a pronounced Northern dialect, a stark contrast to his East End character.

Fairbank, 72, hailing from Hertfordshire, featured in Weatherfield from August to October 1981, before he notably portrayed Albert Moxey on Auf Wiedersehen, Pet from 1983 through to 2004.

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He also appeared in numerous other television programmes, including Silas Wegg, Vera, Sapphire and Steel, and Crocodile Shoes.

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and iPlayer