EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders star Harriet Thorpe has reacted to the devastating twist for her character Elaine Peacock.
In the lead up to her and George Knight’s wedding, Elaine’s hen night took place this week and Johnny organised a drag queen for the entertainment.
But Elaine was horrified when she recognised drag queen Drew Peacock, and Linda and Johnny wanted to know why she was so affected by seeing this face from her past.
In Tuesday’s episode (November 19), Elaine explained that her late husband John, Linda’s dad, was gay and she accepted he was in a secret relationship with Drew while they were still married – until his death from a heart attack.
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Speaking to Digital Spy and other press, Thorpe described how her character felt when she came face to face with Drew for the first time in decades.
“This is her dream coming true, she’s having her hen night, it was all going to be fun and lovely,” she explained. “Then suddenly there’s this person who was part of this thing which she had to pretend was normal, to support her daughter and her husband.
“This comes up before her new wedding, which is such a shock, because it came out of nowhere, from leftfield. It triggered feelings of, ‘Does she have value?’”
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As she recounted the story to her daughter and grandson, Elaine said that John was scared and ashamed to be honest about his sexuality, especially as he wasn’t “effeminate” or “flamboyant” like others he saw around him.
“I think what’s really important for me and for the woman that Elaine is today, is that she had no shame about it,” Thorpe said. “She loved her husband and she wanted to support him in his choice.
“He was scared, he was frightened of people knowing. But Elaine wasn’t trying to put a mask up, she wanted to honour her husband. And had he been in another place, she would have.
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“But he wasn’t able to, because he couldn’t deal with the judgment from men. But what’s so important to me is Elaine was there for him.”
Linda reacted badly to the revelation, remaining adamant that her dad would have told her if he was gay. The tense confrontation ended with Elaine slapping her daughter, with their relationship left hanging by a thread.
Thorpe said: “Linda loved and idolised her father. She feels Elaine was never there for her, but she was – she was just also trying to support her husband. So hopefully Linda can realise that her mother is there, and actually always was.”
EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.