Under the influence
EastEnders News Team
With Kathy back on The Square and upsetting the equilibrium of the lives of just about everyone she cares about, we decided to meet up with Gillian Taylforth and Harry Reid to discuss Kathy’s impact and… “Tweety”!
“I don’t do Tweety… Twitter? Twitter!” chuckles a bemused Gillian when asked about the online reaction to Kathy’s return. “I was worried coming back how people would react, but it’s been wonderful for me that people have accepted the reasons why. And it’s a great reason why she’s back, the guy with the canoe and all that. So it fell in to place and it’s great.”
Although Gillian may be happy with Kathy’s return, the baggage she brings certainly doesn’t have the same effect on a certain Mitchell.
“That is a shock to her. She has no idea what’s going on. And she still doesn’t believe it,” reveals Gillian on the impact Gavin’s had on Phil – who returns to Walford in a bad way this week.
“What happens with Phil is that it takes a really strong character and really brings him down,” Harry tells us. “And so it gives Ben the oomph to get him back on track. He sees that weak bit of Phil and it gives Ben a bit of a backbone. Because although he hasn’t seen what’s happened he would have heard, it would have been discussed. He knows what it means. He will react. He’ll man up.”
“There’s a lovely moment when Ben says ‘You’re being brainwashed by him [Gavin],’” adds Gillian. “And she is being completely brainwashed by this man. It’s very hard when you think someone controls you so much, so my sympathy is with her still. If you think about the situation where you have been controlled so much by somebody with a mind that’s been telling you you’re worthless, you’re nothing. And so I do understand the reasons why she told Ben she was leaving - to save him.”
As Halloween approaches, it all seems doom and gloom for Kathy, but Gillian reveals that there may just be a flickering light at the end of the tunnel for Kathy.
“I think she wants to get things right with the family. You know, get back with Ben, get back with Ian, make sure Jane’s okay with Bobby. She’s got a grandchild to get used to and everything. She makes a big decision.”
Don’t miss the hour-long EastEnders Halloween special this Friday from 7:30pm.
