EastEnders star Shona McGarty has admitted that her character Whitney Dean may become the next victim of abuser-turned-killer Gray Atkins (Toby Alexander-Smith).
Upcoming scenes will see Whitney get close to Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami), but the spark between them will be noticed by an increasingly jealous Gray.
Asked whether Whit will end up in peril, McGarty said to Metro.co.uk: ‘Obviously Whitney doesn’t know that Gray is jealous at all. But as a viewer, we can tell. So, yes, in the words of Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost, you in danger, girl!’
Whitney does, of course, have one of one of the soap’s most traumatic backstories, having been groomed at the age of 12 by mum Bianca’s then-boyfriend Tony King.
And it’s this experience in the character’s formative years that McGarty believes makes her more vulnerable to the machinations of a controlling manipulator like Gray:
‘It’s damaged her as a person. When I did that storyline, I had a lot of letters from people telling me their real-life stories and explaining that the experience had never quite left them.
‘So that’s a really important thing to play throughout Whitney’s journey on the Square, no matter how long she’s there for. Especially when it comes to men and relationships. I think she’ll always be slightly vulnerable.’
EastEnders viewers have already seen Gray’s abusive behaviour lead to the death of his wife Chantelle (Jessica Plummer), while scenes aired over Christmas appeared to show him also taking the life of Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) after she vowed to expose his crimes.
Now, McGarty believes that Whitney’s essential good nature and desire to help lawyer Gray with his childcare following his successful defence of her in court will make her a target:
‘Whitney’s always wanted to be part of a family. She’s the babysitter of the Square, if you like. Everybody’s happy to leave their children with her because she’s so good with kids.
‘Gray’s got a really lovely house and two beautiful kids and Whitney just fits right in there. It’s only a friendship and she doesn’t see it as anything else with Gray.
‘Plus, Whitney remembers just how vulnerable and manic Gray was at the time of her court case and how, despite everything, he turned up and saved the day for her. So she’s forever grateful for that. She’d do anything to make sure that he’s OK. She cares about him deeply.’
But with Gray’s possessiveness having already resulted in bloodshed, will Whit manage to wise up to his true intentions before she too is added to the body count?
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