Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) has made quite the impression on EastEnders viewers when he became the most unlikely killer ever to grace Albert Square.
When the character arrived in Walford for the funeral of Dot Branning (June Brown) in 2022, nobody expected shy and socially-awkward Reiss to turn into a murderer.
Fiancée Sonia Fowler’s (Natalie Cassidy) life came crashing down in episodes that aired last week, as she was charged with the murder of his wife Debbie at their engagement party.
Defenceless Debs had spent years in a private hospital receiving round the clock care after suffering a stroke whilst taking a bath. With his wife in a coma, Reiss doted at her bedside despite forming a new life with Sonia.
After scamming Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) out of significant sums of money, he went on to kill wife Debbie in shocking scenes, smothering her with a pillow in a bid to get out of paying her care home fees.
Devious!
While we’re used to how Reiss presents himself, in his knitted vests and chequered shirts, fans recently discovered a picture of Jonny not in character – and he looks completely different!
‘Very handsome, should have kept him like that!’, one person joked on social media.
‘What a difference…shocker!’, another added.
Jonny is known for his roles in Silent Witness, Holby City and Top Boy, and viewers of a certain age will have grown up watching him in CBBC’s M.I High.
The school-based spy drama followed a set of teenagers who were recruited by fictional MI9 and trained to become secret agents.
Jonny’s character, Frank London, worked as a caretaker at the school, undercover from his real job – the leader of the team of spies.
With Sonia sent down in EE, Reiss continues to evade justice.
‘To the point where she’s going to go down for it, and he doesn’t say, “This was me, I did this.” You are like, ‘Oh my god, he’s a psycho,’” actress Natalie Cassidy told us, adding that her character ‘absolutely 100%’ believes he is innocent.
‘It’s really shocking and dark; I look forward to seeing what happens next.’
Asked if anyone can save Sonia, Natalie added: ‘Who knows? But she’s got a lot of champions there on the Square…’
One of those champions could be sister Bianca Jackson, as it has been announced Patsy Palmer is returning to the role for another stint, following her guest appearance earlier this year.
This article was originally published on 12th May 2024.
