Rocky Cotton (Brian Conley) may be set to become Albert Square’s latest killer in upcoming EastEnders scenes, ahead of his exit from the BBC soap.
Rocky’s finances are practically non-existent at this point, and with Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) expecting repayments on his loan, Rocky is driven to the very edge.
Fully aware that Rocky has no means of paying him back, Nish demands that he steal a car from the car lot in order to cover some of the debt.
With no other choice, Rocky agrees to do Nish’s bidding, but a chat with Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) about life following his near-fatal car accident leaves Rocky unable to go through with it.
It becomes all too clear that Rocky’s time is running out, and he soon decides that the best course of action is to reveal the full state of his debts to wife Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth).
However, as he’s about to head to the Vic to break the news – and her heart, no doubt – he is stopped by Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), and their conversation sparks an idea.
In a moment of madness, Rocky decides that he will set fire to the café. In Rocky’s mind, it’s a sure fire (if you’ll pardon the pun) way to earn the cash to pay off Nish. All he has to do is start the fire and blame it on the electrical faults they were already having and claim the damage on the insurance.
Rocky believes it’s a perfect plan, but best friend Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) is quick to warn him off it, promising that he will tell Kathy everything if Rocky decides to go through with it.
Though Rocky continues to dwell on the idea of starting the fire, Harvey’s words hang heavy in the air, so instead he turns back to the bookies in the hope of getting lucky.
Unfortunately, a flurry of win is followed by a huge loss, and when Harvey learns that Rocky has been gambling again, he withdraws a previous offer to take out a loan.
With nowhere left to turn, Rocky goes through with his plan and sets fire to the café, before heading off to meet an unsuspecting Kathy.
What Rocky doesn’t anticipate is that Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) spots the fire and is quick to attempt to put out the blaze, though things end tragically as the café explodes, leaving poor Bobby trapped inside.
Has Rocky killed Bobby with his dangerous plot? And how will Kathy react if she ever finds out?
Could this be what leads to Rocky’s exit?
