EastEnders Welcomes New Characters as Reiss Faces His In-Laws After Murdering His Wife

Two new faces will soon arrive in Walford, and Reiss Colwell will certainly not be pleased to see them. In the episode on Wednesday, July 24, viewers watched as Reiss murdered his comatose wife, Debbie. Next week, her grieving parents will turn up following her death. Reiss’s in-laws will be played by Michael Bertenshaw and Nichola McAuliffe. Viewers may recognize Michael from movies like The Da Vinci Code and the period drama Another Life.

He has also appeared in Doctor Who and The Crown. Michael has previously popped up in EastEnders in small roles in 2000, 2004, and 2008. Nichola, meanwhile, is best known for her roles in TV dramas The English and Victoria, and for movies including Living and Bedrooms and Hallways. She also supplied the voice for James Bond’s hi-tech BMW in Tomorrow Never Dies, as per a report in The Sun.

A synopsis for Debbie’s parents’ arrival next week reads: “The net is closing in on Reiss as he comes face-to-face with his in-laws next week following Debbie’s death. With Reiss currently hiding a killer secret, he will undoubtedly have a lot of questions to answer, but he first needs to overcome the hurdle that Debbie’s parents have no idea about Sonia’s existence, or that she is Reiss’ new girlfriend…”

Viewers know exactly what secrets Reiss has to hide from his in-laws. He has been stealing Debbie’s money, meant for her care home fees, to fund IVF with his girlfriend Sonia Fowler. Now that Sonia is pregnant, he has become obsessed with making enough money to support both his and Sonia’s soon-to-be expanding family and Debbie’s care.

After one of his money-making plans was uncovered by Phil, Reiss went to his wife’s bed intending to kill her, unaware that Sonia had recently visited and plumped up his wife’s pillows, leaving some DNA and possible fingerprints on the bed. He spoke to his comatose wife, saying, “If you were here, properly here, you’d want to help me. Being sentenced to this pitiful pointless half-life.”

“It’s not fair, is it? You lingering on in here while me and Sonia lose everything. I’ve only got one chance Debbie and I know, I just know you’d tell me to take it. If you passed away, I could start again. I’ve lost you, I can’t lose Sonia and the baby as well.” He then smothered his wife to death with her pillow. Only time will tell whether Debbie’s parents uncover the truth about their daughter’s demise.