EastEnders star Jonny Freeman has weighed in on the extreme lengths his character Reiss Colwell is
willing to go to pay for Sonia Fowler’s IVF.
Reiss is swamped with debt after using his wife Debbie’s hospital care fees to cover the cost of his
partner’s IVF.
Cornered, Reiss feels like the only way to do right by both Debbie, who’s in a coma, and Sonia is to try and make more money — even if it means continuing to scam Sharon Watts and facing Phil Mitchell’s wrath.
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“Reiss previously got extra cash by helping Sharon chase money owed by various clients for the rental of the gym when he fabricated a series of late payment fines that were paid directly into his business account,” the soap star explained.
“When Reiss needs even more money, having already crossed a moral threshold, he finds it easier to go further. Having already done something he is disgusted by, he has increasingly less to lose.”
With Sharon trusting him and reminding him how much Keanu Taylor valued him, Reiss feels increasingly guilty, but knows the scam is his only chance to keep Sonia in the dark about his money problems.
“Reiss instantly regrets his actions and backtracks by vowing to help Sharon find a loophole to avoid the debt, but Reiss is out of options, and soon realises that he has no other option but to continue to scam her,” Freeman said.
“I think there are probably many other things Reiss could have done in that moment, but he’s not thinking straight and is trying to fix things as quickly as possible.”
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The situation reaches breaking point when Phil intervenes, demanding to see proof of Sharon’s debt at the gym.
“[Reiss]’s terrified,” Freeman said. “Sharon implicitly trusts Reiss, but Phil is going to take much more convincing so his perceived simple plan has just got a whole lot more difficult.”
Will Phil see right through Reiss’ deceit?
