| Anna Knight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Molly Rainford[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2014-present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 6708 1 June 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Chris Clenshaw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Anna Knight is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Molly Rainford. Anna first appears in episode 6708, originally broadcast on 1 June 2023, introduced alongside the Knight family. The newcomer family consisted of youngest daughter Anna, "fiery" and "demanding" older-sister Gina (Francesca Henry) and "old-school gent" and "charming rogue" father George (Colin Salmon), all set to join Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) in running The Queen Victoria public house, alongside Elaine's daughter Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), who is struggling to cope following the loss of her husband Mick (Danny Dyer) on Christmas Day 2022. Rainford's casting was initially reported on 1 March 2023 – speculated until the production team for EastEnders confirmed the family were set to join the show on 28 March 2023. The character's backstory states that Anna's mother ran out on her family when Anna was only eleven. In a plot twist from episode 6719, originally broadcast on 21 June 2023, it was revealed Anna was in fact the daughter of Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) to facilitate Collins' "return from the dead", after she was killed-off in 1998 from an off-screen childbirth that resulted in the birth of Anna and Gina's older half-sister Cindy Jr (Mimi Keene). It was later revealed in a flashback episode Cindy did not walk out on Gina and Anna – Cindy received the news over the death of their other older half-sister, Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) in 2014 (see "Who Killed Lucy Beale?"), and returned to Albert Square – breaking her cover of witness protection that gained her the identity of "Rose Knight". Rainford did not initially know of the plot-twist – she found out within the same week it was transmitted. Rainford has also said she plans to become a "legacy character". On September 2nd 2024 Rainford appeared in her 1000th Episode, it was also announced that day that she had overtaken Mark Fowler,Alfie Moon, Mick Carter and Bianca Jackson-Butchers Episode Count
Her storylines since joining the show have focused on her arrival and moving into The Queen Vic pub to Linda Carter's (Kellie Bright) dismay; her relationships with Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) and Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier); being revealed as the daughter of Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and subsequently coming to terms with Cindy's abrupt return into her life after a nine-year absence; dealing with the family's troubles when it is revealed that George was baby-farmed and Eddie (Christopher Fairbank) murdered his father in a racist attack; being violently mugged and later being spiked; and a love triangle with Bobby and Freddie.
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