Keanu Taylor is set to be left ‘crushed’ in EastEnders when the truth about Albie Watts not being his child is eventually revealed, according to star Danny Walters.
A shock twist in the BBC One last month saw Sharon (Letitia Dean) make the discovery for herself, with a doctor confirming that, despite a previous paternity test result, Keanu is not the father of her three-year-old son.
Sharon, as viewers will recall, embarked on a passionate affair with Keanu back in 2018 while married to Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), which means that the legendary hard-man is actually Albie’s father.
Keanu remains in the dark about such a thing, believing Albie to his son. Sharon contemplated telling Phil the truth but ultimately reconsidered, believing that Keanu would be a better dad to her son than Phil ever could be.
But this is EastEnders we’re talking about here. Despite Sharon’s desires to keep the truth hidden, it’s inevitable that it will come out at some stage.
The question is: just how will Keanu react?
‘I think if Keanu was to ever find out, his whole world would be crushed,’ actor Danny Walters told us. ‘It would be so devastating and heart-breaking.’
Sharon will certainly have some explaining to do when this all plays out but she’s not the only one keeping a secret, with Keanu having recently staged Albie’s kidnap in a bid to prevent Sharon from taking the little boy out of the country.
He regretted his decision soon afterwards when he saw how devastated Sharon was to lose her son, with Karen (Lorraine Stanley) playing the hero as she ensured Albie was returned home safely.
But, as we established before, the truth will out.
Keanu has no idea that beloved boy Albie is actually Phil Mitchell’s son (Picture: BBC)
‘I think in Keanu’s head, he’s trying to play the whole ignorance is bliss card, and he thinks “what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her”.’ said Danny.
‘His original intention was to obtain his son, so in Keanu’s mind he was always doing it for the greater good. He’s not an evil character, he just makes really poor decisions and unfortunately his love for Albie took precedent. Keanu wants to hold on to this secret and never let it get revealed.
‘I’ve always played the character as someone who makes poor choices along the way, and he’s someone who doesn’t think before his actions. He’s very emotionally led.
‘Keanu did feel completely, wholeheartedly guilty for the emotional damage that he had caused to Sharon through that process, and what transpires through it is that Keanu realises how much Sharon and Albie mean to him as a package and he doesn’t want to let either of them go.
‘From the whole ordeal he realises how much he loves Sharon, so it’s a bit of a bittersweet feeling because the damage has been done.’
One to watch: Monday December 11 at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
