EastEnders newcomer Francesca Henry teases "spiky" role as Gina
EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders newcomer Francesca Henry has revealed what fans can expect from her character Gina Knight.
Gina will be moving to Walford next week as part of the exciting new family who'll be taking over at the Queen Vic.
It's all change at the iconic pub, as Linda Carter's mum Elaine Peacock has recently taken over as co-owner.
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On Thursday, June 1, Linda is stunned as Elaine welcomes in her partner George and his daughters Gina and Anna, who've been living in Marbella. It dawns on her that Elaine has been secretly planning this for weeks.
Speaking at an EastEnders press event this week, Francesca shared: "Gina is really spiky. I think she sees kindness in everyone and wants to be more like her sister Anna, but she finds it hard to meet the world in an open-hearted way.
"She is difficult and sometimes I think: 'Oh God, that could have been an easy interaction as they're trying to be your mate!'
"Gina meets the world with a bit more difficulty than the rest of her family. But I think she's kind deep down – and she is dealing with stuff."
Related: EastEnders star Kellie Bright teases Linda Carter's big new shock
Asked about Gina's relationship with Elaine, Francesca explained: "Gina is relinquishing a lot of her position in the family to Elaine. The elder sister often takes on the caregiving and emotional baggage of the family.
"Elaine even existing in their dynamic is a bit of a step back for Gina. George is happy now and that's what she's trying to put to the front."
Francesca also opened up about how she's finding life on the show's set now that she has been filming for a few weeks.
She laughed: "At the photo shoot for the Knight family I was frozen to the spot! Kellie [Bright, who plays Linda] was like: 'Are you alright?'
Related: EastEnders boss reveals surprising friendship for newcomer George Knight
"Sometimes in life you get smacked in the face with how amazing it's turned out. There have been lots of grateful moments.
"My mentor on set is lovely Zaraah Abrahams [who plays Chelsea]. She has answered many a text at 1am! Because it's such an ensemble and we're in the pub and work with new people every day, everyone does it differently with their own little mantra. They hold on to the thing that makes it click and makes the show work in their lives, and they're all very forthcoming with that.
"It's really cliché but everyone is your mentor. I did a scene with Tameka [Empson, who plays Kim] who's really great on character, Clay [Milner Russell, who plays Bobby] is great about living your life, getting the train in – the little stuff you don't think about.
"They all want the show to be good and everyone to be happy. If you're pulling in different directions that doesn't work for anyone."
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
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