Anna Knight

Creation and casting portrays Anna Knight. The casting of Molly Rainford was initially reported on 1 March 2023. Rainford was "tipped" to join the soap opera after newspaper The Sun reported her apparent role as "the daughter of a new family set to 'come in' and run the Vic". Viewers would see the Knight family make their debut in early Summer of that year. Upon her casting, Rainford was delighted to be joining the soap opera, she said in a statement: "I'm SUPER excited to be joining the cast of EastEnders. It's such an iconic show which myself and my family love, so it's an honour to bring the character Anna Knight to life who is set to stir up drama upon her arrival. I've already met a few familiar faces from my time on Strictly and I can't wait to meet and be a part of the EastEnders family." Rainford again spoken out prior to her debut on joining the programme, she referred to the whole experience as "nuts" and had previously "resonated" with the show as she and her family watched EastEnders prior to her joining. When asked if the sisters are looking for love, she enthused that both Anna and Gina are excited to "explore the new eye candy on the Square rather than look for something too serious too soon", adding "the girls are typical 20-somethings and are just excited to be there". When asked if she would stay in the soap opera, she responded: "I'm hoping to be a legacy character. I love the show. I've always loved it since I was little and just to be on it with people that I've watched for that long is an honour." Role in the Knight family Rainford spoke out about her role in the family dynamic whilst teasing a "change" in Anna's character. Viewers were set to see a "different side to Anna" when she is revealed as the daughter of Cindy and Gina is sent on a "downward spiral". She continued on: "I think Anna appreciates that but I don't think she feels it's fair as she wants to know more about her mum. I think that's the thing that overrides it and persuades her to reach out to the investigator." The announcement came to light on 2 July 2024. The story is dubbed "Spiked". When her behaviour does not equate to the amount of alcohol she has had, the night out was set to turn south. The night takes a "terrifying turn" and Anna awakes in hospital, where she is given the information that her drink was spiked. The plot twist allowed Collins' to facilitate her return to the soap opera after her character, Cindy, was killed off in 1998 by childbirth. When asked if she was excited about the Rose Knight twist, Collins said: "Yes, I was really excited. She's complex, obviously Cindy is incredibly complex, but she's not the same as before. It's 26 years later and she's been through quite a lot. I can't believe how many children she had – I'm still getting my head around that." A flashback episode revealed Cindy had not walked out on the family, she had received the news of the death of her daughter Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater; see "Who Killed Lucy Beale?"). She traveled back to the United Kingdom to Albert Square where she had broken her cover from Witness Protection after taking a plea bargain. She said: "I literally found out the same week that the viewers did! We had our inklings, and we were all trying to guess, because they did say that there was someone coming back to be our mum. We only met Michelle a couple of days before her episode aired. It felt like the Knight puzzle had been put together, and Michelle was just really cool – she's so iconic in EastEnders. It just felt as if this was going to be something really special." Anna decides to hire a private investigator in order to track her mother down – much to the dismay of George and Gina. When asked about the lengths Anna would go towards to obtain the private investigator, Rainford replied that stealing money is "100% out of character" for Anna, noting that she "isn't a dishonest person at all" and "it just shows that desperation even more". Bobby tries to adapt to a new personality for Anna – pushing her to Freddie. They bond over a drink as they share experiences of feeling let down by parents. Anna is pushed to her limit and decides to later sleep with Freddie – cheating on Bobby in the process. Rainford noted the circumstances between Anna and Bobby is "hard" due to the confusing nature of their familial ties. Rainford hinted at a future for Anna and Bobby in October 2023. A love triangle was once again hinted at by EastEnders post-exit announcement. Bobby attempts to step up for Anna and support her when she is spiked to no avail as he continually misspeaks. Freddie Slater Rainford shared her thoughts on her new romances with Freddie to Inside Soap in July 2023. She found it hard to think of an answer which out of Bobby and Freddie she would more than likely enter a relationship with as she believed "there's traits in both of them that she's suited to", when speaking about Freddie, she continued: I think she likes how Freddie doesn't have a filter and just does stuff. He makes her laugh. So I don't know yet, I'm still trying to work it out myself!" EastEnders placed Anna and Freddie closer to each other as Anna loses interest in Bobby. They bond over a drink sharing experiences of feeling let down by their parents. Cindy's abrupt return in Anna's life led her to sleep with Freddie – cheating on Bobby in the process. Rainford threw Freddie's name "into the mix" when talking of a future with Bobby. She conveyed that whilst Freddie may "be the obvious guy for her", she believed Bobby would have Anna in the end. A relationship for Anna and Freddie was hinted at once again in June 2024 after Freddie joins the date of Bobby and Anna. Freddie "steps up" and supports Anna through her spiking ordeal as she can not connect with Bobby. Freddie advises her to tell George about her spiking, she takes his advice and George is made aware days later. ==Storylines==

Anna, along with sister Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) and father George Knight (Colin Salmon) arrive onto the square. They move into The Queen Victoria public house but are not expected by Linda – Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) did not alert Linda of her fiancé and his family's arrival. They go to the café where they clash with Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), unaware of the recent death of Lola Pearce-Brown (Danielle Harold) the previous day. The sisters achieve romantic attention from Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) and Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier). Anna decides to hire a private investigator to find where her mother Rose Knight is. George and Gina have a very bad reaction to this news, so Anna fires him. She embarks on a romance with Bobby. The private investigator finds Rose's phone number so Anna leaves her a voicemail suggesting she wants Rose returning to her life. "Rose Knight" is revealed to be Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), who was thought to have died in childbirth 25 years ago. Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) – Cindy's ex-husband who she has reconnected with over the past year – sees the left voicemail and deletes it once Peter Beale (Thomas Law) had seen it. Peter returns to the square for Gina and Anna and they briefly interact. Cindy follows Peter back to Albert Square and she is re-united with Gina and Anna in a public reveal in front of the residents in The Queen Vic. Everyone in The Queen Vic gossips and learns of Cindy's backstory and they later find out Cindy had taken the identity of "Rose Knight" and emigrated to Marbella, where she had Gina and Anna. Anna struggles to come to terms with Cindy's nine year absence and strides along with Gina to Peggy's wine bar. She bumps into Freddie and has sex with him in the fish and chip shop owned by Ian. Ian learns of Freddie's deceit and fires him before revealing to everyone in The Queen Vic about their one-night-stand. Gina punches Ian for badmouthing Anna and Bobby is inconsolable. Bobby does not talk to Freddie and Anna for quite some time. Anna supports Freddie when he meets his rapist father Graham Foster (Alex McSweeney). Graham and Freddie argue over his conception and Graham takes it to the extra step of insulting Anna, causing Freddie to freak out. They both later leave and Freddie enters home to Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis) attempting to rape Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner). Freddie leaves the square and he is forgiven by Bobby. Bobby later forgives Anna and the pair strike up their romance once again. Both of them go out for a meal with Cindy, Ian and Peter. They believe it's a dinner date and it goes well until Bobby orders lobster and Anna discovers the lobster is boiled alive. Anna and Bobby take the lobsters and free them back into the sea. They plan to go onto another date but Cindy does not approve and is not willing to warm to the idea of Anna and Bobby dating after Bobby killed Lucy in 2014. This does not affect the way Anna perceives Bobby as she tells Elaine she has feelings for him. Elaine jokingly tells her to marry him and they both kiss in front of their families. Anna supports George throughout the baby farming revelation. It is later revealed that George's adoptive father Eddie Knight (Christopher Fairbank) murdered George's biological father in a racially aggravated attack almost 40 years prior. Eddie and his wife Gloria (Elizabeth Counsell) invite George along with Elaine, Anna and Gina to a party at their apartment, where Gina quickly picks up that George, Anna and herself are the only black people there. One of Eddie's friends reveals to George the true intentions of Eddie's motive – a positive character statement to prove he's not racist and taken George in by the kindness of their heart. This causes a huge revelation in The Queen Vic that causes multiple arguments within the family. Anna and Gina argue over their experiences of racism, Anna stated she is the exact same heritage as Gina. Gina then tries to make Anna realise that because Gina didn't bleach her hair nor take after her mother, she experienced a heavier tone of racism. Anna argued this – Gina mentions the difference in treatment they receive from Eddie. Eddie said Gina's hair needs to be "tamed" and continuously makes racist comments towards her that is always brushed off by George. The girls learn of the ordeal currently going on in their family only days before the trial. The family attend Eddie's trial to support George. When leaving the court room, George is encouraged to go after Gloria. He finds her but she has had a heart attack and is laying unconsciously on the floor. Gloria dies in hospital and Eddie bans George from the funeral – Anna catches wind of this and contacts Eddie to try and see if he would give any information on Gloria's funeral date, time or location (Eddie favourably treats Anna better as she is perceived to act more white whereas Gina is of darker complex). Eddie reveals George had already missed Gloria's funeral and this stirs George on a downward spiral. He starts going to illegal boxing fights where he eventually meets a match in his son Junior (Micah Balfour), Anna's older half-brother who she starts to bond with alongside his wifeMonique (Busayo Ige) and son Xavier Knight (Chase Dean-Williams). Monique and Xavier later leave after Junior cheats on her with Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer). Junior later comes to Anna's rescue after she was mugged. Junior begins an affair with Cindy. She goes on a date with Bobby and Freddie ends up joining them, where its clear there is romantic tension between her and Freddie and it's clear they miss each other when Freddie is absent from the Square after attacking Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis) for attempting to rape his cousin, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and their attractive grows upon his return, upsetting Bobby when he catches them sharing a kiss in the Vic after she reveals she's pregnant with Bobby's baby and wants an abortion. Despite Anna's attempts to convince Bobby their relationship could work, he breaks up with her and leaves the Square with his adoptive mother Jane Beale (Laurie Brett}. During Christmas 2024, Anna and the rest of her family disown Cindy when her affair with Junior is revealed and Anna becomes a prime suspect when she is attacked on the Square that night though Anna is cleared when the culprit is revealed to be Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). She falls out with Gina temporarily when she discovers she slept with Freddie on the night of Cindy's attack and is visibly affected by the death of Martin Fowler (James Bye) when her home is destroyed by an explosion caused by Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) during the 40th anniversary live episode. Anna and her family eventually leave the Queen Vic during the summer of 2025 when George, Elaine and Linda sell the pub to Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) & Alfie Moon (Shane Richie). Later in the year, Kat's daughter Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) helps Anna & Freddie reconcile with each other. They admit their feelings and Anna asks Freddie to join her travelling the world, leaving together to go backpacking with the blessings of both of their families. ==Reception==

Prior to the Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) plot twist that revealed she was in fact Anna and Gina (Francesca Henry)'s mother, many viewers had previously speculated whether this was the case of Cindy's return. Dan Seddon of Digital Spy predicted a "bruising love triangle storyline" for Anna, Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) and Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) after EastEnders' production team "hinted at heartbreak" for Bobby as Anna and Freddie get close. Brenna Cooper of Digital Spy branded the scenes of Gina and Anna sharing experiences of racism as "powerful". Maisie Spackman from Metro cited Anna as a "beloved character" after she was robbed in violent scenes. A scene of Freddie joining Anna and Bobby's date with clear tension between Anna and Freddie left viewers to predict Anna and Freddie would have an affair behind Bobby's back; causing his eventual departure. Helen Daly of Radio Times referred to Anna's issue-led based storyline dubbed "Spiked" as a "one-of-a-kind storyline". She was also nominated for "Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series" for her work in EastEnders at National Film Awards UK 2024. ==References==