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Gina Knight is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Francesca Henry. Gina was introduced by executive producer Chris Clenshaw in episode 6708, broadcast on 1 June 2023. She was introduced as a member of the Knight family; the daughter of George Knight (Colin Salmon) and older sister of Anna Knight (Molly Rainford). Her older half-brother Junior Knight (Micah Balfour) was later introduced.
Her storylines in the series have included the reveal that her estranged mother Rose is actually established character Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and therefore discovering that Peter Beale (Thomas Law) is her half-brother; her cocaine addiction; her relationship with rapist Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo); suffering racial discrimination from her adoptive grandfather Eddie Knight (Christopher Fairbank); her friendships with Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) and Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway); supporting Anna through her abortion and after she is drink spiking; being a suspect in the "Who Attacked Cindy?" storyline; sleeping with Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) behind Anna's back; and a relationship with Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway).
When asked of Gina's character, Henry described her as "really funny" and "really spiky". The actress continued by commenting that while Gina sees the best in people, she is less open than Anna and wants to be more like her. Henry described her character as being "difficult" but "kind", explaining that Gina "meets the world with a bit more difficulty than the rest of her family". In comparison to her sister, Gina is considered to be difficult to get along with. Henry shared that Gina, deep down, wanted to be more like her sister and wished for her care-free attitude, but struggled as "she finds it hard to meet the world in an open-hearted way". Henry teased that Gina and Anna would "break hearts" and pursue "anything with a pulse". Regarding Gina's relationship with Elaine, Henry commented that the characters would not get along, as Elaine threatened to overtake Gina's position in the family, adding "the eldest sister often takes on a lot of caregiving and emotional baggage of the family". Despite this, Henry believed Gina would put her father's happiness before her dislike of Elaine. Clenshaw explained that as the family would be moving into the show's central pub, The Queen Victoria, they would be at "the heart of the Square". He added that while everything may initially seem calm, the family had "a lot of baggage" waiting to be exposed. Henry detailed in an Inside Soap interview that she admired how Gina "sticks to what she thinks is right", even if she is in the wrong, but criticised her character for her occasionally selfish behaviour, concluding she probably would not get along with Gina in real life.
Clenshaw teased that as "life carries on in Walford", Gina, who he opined "takes after her mother" would react very differently than Anna. In a Digital Spy interview, Henry confirmed that Gina would begin a "self-destructive" path following the news. She explained that this was as Gina didn't allow herself to "feel anything", so the overwhelming news would cause her to become a "powderkeg of emotions". The actress added that Gina has to "shake pain off" and prefers to "burn through" her emotions, rather than reflect on them. This path was later revealed by the soap to be Gina's return to cocaine abuse. Following the reveal that Rose was in actuality a former established character who was believed to be dead, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), Gina initially disowns her mother for what she put the family through.
After George discovers Rose was using a false identity and tells Elaine, Gina learns this and begins using cocaine for the first time since she overcame an addiction to it. Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) begins supplying Gina with cocaine as it is later uncovered that Anna had stolen money from the pub to hire a private investigator for information about their mother. During Anna's twenty-first birthday party, Rose reappears, leaving Gina and Anna shocked. Rose tells everyone her name is actually Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and that she used the false identity after faking her death and entering witness protection years before the girls were born. She explains that she left the family after learning of her other daughter being murdered in Walford and returning in secret, worrying that breaking her conditions could mean harm for her new family. Taken aback by the news, Gina overdoses on cocaine. After this, she decides to stop taking it.
Gina spray paints the word "rapist" on a shop owned by Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) after learning he raped Linda years ago, despite this, Gina bonds with his daughter Jade Masood (Elizabeth Green) as they both grew up with an absent parent. She grows to believe Dean over Linda and begins a secret relationship with him. After it is exposed, to her family's fury, they break up following an argument. When Gina's grandparents, Eddie and Gloria Knight (Elizabeth Counsell), arrive to visit George, Gina clashes with Eddie as it is revealed that he is racist and was baby farming George and felt shame raising a black child. After Gina and Anna overhear them talking, they argue in the barrel store about how Anna has faced much less racial discrimination than Gina throughout life due to being able to "pass" as white. George later informs Gina and Anna that Eddie also murdered his biological father, Henry Kofi Asare.
After the news begins causing George to self-destruct, he runs into his son, Junior, while underground boxing. Gina is happy to see her brother again, and bonds with his wife Monique Knight (Busayo Ige) and son Xavier Knight (Chase Dean-Williams). However, they leave him after Junior cheats on Monique with Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer). When Anna falls pregnant, Gina supports her through her decision to have an abortion. When George ends his relationship with Elaine the day before their wedding, Gina convinces George to reconcile with her; she then encourages the couple to go on their honeymoon after George's brother Kojo Asare (Dayo Koleosho) is injured in an accident. Gina is disappointed when Cindy reveals she is moving to France, unaware that she is being blackmailed into it by Elaine, who has discovered that Cindy is having an affair with Junior. When Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) publicly reveals the affair on Christmas Day 2024, Gina is disgusted and disowns Cindy. Later that night, Gina sneaks out of The Queen Vic; at the same time, Cindy is viciously attacked by an unknown assailant. Gina returns and is informed by Elaine of the attack; she subsequently accompanies Cindy to hospital, where she accuses Cindy's fiancé Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) of being responsible. It is later revealed that Gina was having sex with Anna's boyfriend Freddie at the time that Cindy was attacked, removing her as a suspect in the investigation.
In September 2023, Grace Morris of What's on TV reported fans of the soap accurately predicting Gina's ex-boyfriend being Dean. Denby also reported the predictions, adding that some viewers had speculated that her boyfriend was deceased character Fatboy (Ricky Norwood). Digital Spy writer Stephanie Chase reported similar predictions, considering Dean to be "the number one suspect" in the mystery identity of Gina's boyfriend. A scene where Gina opens up to Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) about a previous ex dying of an overdose, and her feelings of guilt towards what happened, was labelled "tragic" by Christine Maguire of Digital Spy. As fan theories surrounding Gina and Dean's relationship strengthened, Tamzin Meyer of Entertainment Daily reported that viewers were against the possibility of the characters being in a relationship. After scenes aired of Gina turning on Linda, believing Dean to be innocent, she reported that fans had heavily criticised Gina's writing, calling her believing him "ridiculous". Denby commented: "Gina can't see what's right under her nose". Morris wrote that fans had reacted positively to a scene where Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) scolds Gina for dating Dean, as Dean had attempted to rape her mother, Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons).
Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy praised the show's wardrobe department, writing that Gina and Anna, despite causing "chaos", had delivered "a handful of stylish outfits" during their time on the soap. Lewis Knight of Radio Times listed Gina Knight as one of eight EastEnders character he hoped would be central to the show in 2025. He wrote "Gina is the most complicated and fiery member of the Knight clan" and praised Henry's performance as the character as "natural".
For her portrayal of Gina, Henry was nominated for the "Best Soap Newcomer" award at the 2023 I Talk Telly Awards. She won the award for "Rising Star" at the 2023 Digital Spy Reader Awards. She was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Radio Times soap awards in 2024.
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