EastEnders tackles paedophilia with horrifying child abuse plotline

Tony King, played by 34-year-old Chris Coghill, will be introduced to viewers in tonight's show. But he will soon be revealed as a paedophile who intends to abuse stepdaughter Whitney Dean, played by Shona McGarthy.

In shocking scenes the 15-year-old will be abused after King, the boyfriend of Bianca Jackson, returns to live with the redhead and her children after serving a prison sentence for GBH. The plot is the latest in a series of controversial storylines which have drawn complaints from viewers.

Controversial storyline: The character of Tony King, left, will abuse his stepdaughter Whitney Dean in a new EastEnders plot

Actor Coghill told digitialspy.co.uk that before taking the role he has sought assurances from BBC bosses that the storyline would be handled responsibly.

'We talked a lot about a backstory for Tony which had been talked through with the NSPCC,' he said.

'From talking to them and reading case studies, it became apparent that the way the story was being written was very true to life.'

King's relationship with Bianca, played by Patsy Palmer, will soon be revealed to be simply a front to hide his interest in her stepdaughter.

Coghill said: 'What's very important is that abusers do tend to groom a whole family, rather than just the victim. That's the backstory for Tony. He entered the family as a hero figure.

'He told them all that he'll look after them, even to the extent that when Bianca was pregnant with Morgan, he said that when the child was born, he'd be the father. He's actually named on Morgan's birth certificate, but clearly he's not his biological father (as the child is black).

'From the beginning, Tony was building up the picture that he was the family's saviour. So for those reasons, his relationship with Bianca gives him the cover he needs to the rest of the world.'

And King admitted that he expected there to be some backlash from viewers upset by the controversial subject matter.

'I haven't prepared myself yet, but I'll be going out to buy myself a very large hat, wig and a false moustache,' he said.

'Obviously there's a small proportion of the public that believe soaps are real, but I do put my faith in the other 99.9 per cent of the population that would probably just say "oh, there's that actor who plays Tony" rather than "there's that nasty man".'