Anna Knight (Molly Rainford) decided several weeks ago that she wanted to track down missing mum Rose in EastEnders, and her search is set to have far reaching consequences for Walford.
Rose Knight was recently revealed to be the identity adopted by Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) after entering witness protection back in 1998.
George Knight (Colin Salmon) was shocked to learn that Rose Knight had never existed after embarking on a search for his missing wife, who had disappeared nine years previous.
Though George and Gina (Francesca Henry) agreed to drop the topic altogether, Anna remained curious about her mother’s whereabouts, and in upcoming scenes she will take serious steps to find her.
‘I don’t think Anna has ever stopped hoping her mum would come back,’ actress Molly Rainford revealed.
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‘I think she, out of her and Gina, has always been the one to hold on and champion her mum. She’s always been the one to wonder the reason why she left as she believes their mum wouldn’t have just left with no explanation. I think she’s always been so curious and always hopeful.’
When Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) finds that there is £200 missing from the Queen Vic takings, suspicions quickly fall on party girl Gina.
She is disgruntled as the family question her, and soon forms suspicions of her own.
It isn’t long before Gina discovers that the culprit was actually Anna, who had stolen the money to hire a private investigator to aid her search for Rose.
Actress Molly explained that stealing the money was ‘100% out of character’, but came from a place of desperation.
‘Anna isn’t a dishonest person at all and I think it just shows that desperation even more. It’s definitely not something that she would do and I think that’s why her family don’t believe it’s her at first, because it is just so out of character. Deep down, she of course didn’t want to do that but it is the last resort for Anna.’
Before Gina has chance to reveal the truth to George, Anna swoops in with an excuse of her own, claiming that she left the money on the bar and it was stolen.
When the girls are alone, Gina gives Anna an ultimatum: Her or their mum.
Torn by the decision, Anna has a heart to heart with Bobby Beale and Freddie Slater (Clay Milner Russell and Bobby Brazier) and ultimately decides to continue with the search.
‘Anna has a lot of conversations with Freddie and Bobby about finding people in their families and I think their curiosity to find their loved ones massively plays a part in Anna wanting to find her mum,’ Molly explained.
‘That idea of having nothing to lose, in the sense of if she doesn’t find her then she’s no worse off, but if she does, she’ll get more information about herself and her identity.
‘I think that’s the thing that overrides it and persuades her to reach out to the investigator.’
When Anna later secretly meets with the investigator, tensions rise between her and Gina.
George senses that something is going on between his daughters, and soon catches Anna’s lie out, leaving Anna with no choice but to admit the truth about the missing money.
He implores her to end the search before she gets hurt, before taking out his own emotions on a punch bag in the Boxing Den.
However, things take a turn when Anna’s decision to call of the search is thwarted by a call from the private investigator, revealing that he has had a positive lead in his search.
Could Anna be about to bring Cindy Beale back to Walford?
Her arrival will surely cause shockwaves, given that those who remember her believe that she died over 20 years ago.
With countless enemies on the Square, and a fair few relatives who will be wanting answers, the consequences of Anna’s search will no doubt be huge.