BBC EastEnders fans in tears over heartbreaking baby farming storyline as George struggles
EastEnders fans were left in tears tonight as George Knight opened up about his experiences of racism as a child as the truth of his parents involvement in baby farming was revealed
EastEnders fans were left in tears this evening as George Knight opened up about his experiences of racism.
George – played by Colin Salmon – is the centre of a huge baby farming storyline, after he learns from his parents that they were actually paid to take him rather than adopt him of their own choosing. Tonight, as he met up with his ex Cindy Beale to explain to her what they told him, Cindy did some research and soon realised that it was happening to the 1990s.
She also discovered that lots of African parents had posted these adverts in the newspaper before it dawned on George that his heritage was not Jamaican like he thought it was, and instead that his parents were from Africa.
George recounted to Cindy about what he experienced as a child and teenager (
BBC)
As he explained to Cindy what he’d experienced as a young boy, when his school dinner lady suddenly shunned him when she saw him when he was 15 years old and suddenly looked “scared” of him, viewers found it a tough watch.
Speaking about the storyline, one fan wrote: “I’m really invested in the farming storyline. I had never heard of farming before and Colin Salmon’s performance has been so heartbreaking to watch,” whilst a second added: “The farming storyline is actually really interesting, definitely a unique storyline.” Sharing their thoughts on the storyline, a third shared: “Scene in tonight’s #EastEnders in the café and it looks like George is making a speech down the camera. It’s quite moving actually.”
The storyline has been worked on with experts and those who have experienced farming for themselves.
Speaking about the storyline, Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw said: “EastEnders has a rich history of telling challenging yet truthful stories which reflect past and present events. George Knight’s storyline will force him to question the identity his parents gave him from childhood as he discovers the true means by which he was adopted. It was imperative that we worked with experts and people with lived experience of farming to ensure the storyline is handled as sensitively and as accurately as possible.”
The storyline comes just after a huge Christmas for EastEnders when Keanu Taylor was killed in shocking scenes in the Queen Vic on Christmas Day. He was stabbed to death with a carving fork by Linda Carter after trying to kill her best friend Sharon Watts.
Nish Panesar was also injured and is still in hospital. Unsure what to do, The Six hid the body in the ruins of Kathy’s café but there’s no doubt that a lot more is to come for The Six as they navigate past the murder.
