EastEnders star Colin Salmon has been married for 35 years and has previously credited his beloved wife as his motivation for joining the BBC One soap as George Knight in 2023

Colin Salmon only joined the EastEnders cast as George Knight in June 2023 but he has already made a huge impact on the BBC One soap. Former boxer George was reunited with his supposedly deceased wife Cindy Beale (played by Michelle Collins) after it emerged she had been living under witness protection for nine years, having faked her death a quarter of a century ago.

Despite an initially chilly reunion, the estranged couple seems to have buried the hatchet and are now neighbours, growing closer on several occasions.

However, George’s world is set to be ripped apart on Christmas Day as he learns that his son Junior Knight has been having an affair with Cindy behind her husband Ian Beale’s back.

Colin is a real East End boy as he hails from Bethnal Green. He launched an acting career in the early 1990s and played DS Robert Oswalde for two episodes of Prime Suspect 2 in 1992, before appearing in Lovejoy.

Following his success playing Sergeant Dennis Ryan in Soldier Soldier, Colin made the transition to feature films, appearing in no fewer than three Bond movies, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day, playing the role of Charles Robinson.

Colin Salmon took part in Strictly Come Dancing

Over the past three decades, Colin has carved out a very successful acting career starring in a very long list of popular TV series, including Midsomer Murders, Silent Witness, 24: Live Another Day, Law & Order UK, Death in Paradise, Doctor Who, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Judge John Deed, and more.

His other film roles have included: London Has Fallen, Resident Evil, and Blood: The Last Vampire – to name a few.

Colin also starred in the tenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff. He was eliminated as a result of the “dance-off” in Week 5, in which he competed against Richard Arnold.

Colin’s family life

Colin has been married to Fiona Hawthorne since 1988(Image: Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)

Colin has been married to artist Fiona Hawthorne since 1988, and the couple have four children, Sasha, Rudi, Eden and Ben. Fiona was born in Northern Ireland, grew up in Hong Kong, and lives and works between London and New York, according to her professional website.

Fiona’s delicate drawings have graced the pages of Tatler, the tearooms at Harrods, and she has even had a solo exhibition at The Royal Festival Hall. Her digital portrait of Barack Obama hangs in the Library of Congress.

However, last year Colin opened up about his motivation behind joining EastEnders, revealing that he “can’t be far from home” due to his wife’s illness. Speaking to OK! at an EastEnders event, Colin said his wife’s health problems were a factor in taking on the soap role.

Colin’s wife Fiona was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease — a rare lung condition — two years prior, leaving her dependent on an oxygen tank.

Colin landed the role of George in 2023(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

When asked what drew him to the soap, Colin said that it was executive producer Chris Clenshaw before adding: “My wife’s not well so I can’t be far from home and so the universe has brought something quite extraordinary and my agent said, I think you should talk to Chris.

“Chris was passionate, he was clear, he was progressive, had a vision, and a clear and clear love for the show. And the people who watch it.

“So I find that to be the requisite for any job. I just like to work with people who are passionate because we give 100%. When we jump, we jump. That’s the rule. So to have somebody like guiding us, it’s really important.”

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer