EastEnders actor Danny Walters has insisted that his character Keanu is not a bad person but is guilty of making "really poor decisions".
Last month Keanu staged a kidnap of his own son Albie with the assistance of his mother Karen (Lorraine Stanley) - and in the process managed to secure a 50 grand fee for his safe return, with Phil (Steve McFadden) stumping up the cash to help a distressed Sharon (Letitia Dean).
The whole ordeal brought Keanu and Sharon closer together, however, and he decided not to run away with Albie after all - instead choosing to focus on having a family with Sharon and Albie, all the while harbouring the terrible secret about what he and his mum did.
"I think in Keanu's head, he's trying to play the whole 'ignorance is bliss' card, and he thinks 'what she doesn't know won't hurt her'," explained Walters.
"His original intention was to obtain his son, so in Keanu's mind he was always doing it for the greater good.
"He's not an evil character, he just makes really poor decisions and unfortunately his love for Albie took precedent. Keanu wants to hold on to this secret and never let it get revealed."
He continued: "I've always played the character as someone who makes poor choices along the way, and he's someone who doesn't think before his actions. He's very emotionally-led.
"Keanu did feel completely, wholeheartedly guilty for the emotional damage that he had caused to Sharon through that process, and what transpires through it is that Keanu realises how much Sharon and Albie mean to him as a package and he doesn't want to let either of them go.
"From the whole ordeal he realises how much he loves Sharon, so it's a bit of a bittersweet feeling because the damage has been done."
Sharon, meanwhile, is keeping a secret of her own as she recently found out that Phil, rather than Keanu, is Albie's biological father.
"I think if Keanu was to ever find out, his whole world would be crushed," added Walters. "It would be so devastating and heart-breaking."
EastEnders continues Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and from 6am on iPlayer.
> Picture Spoilers: Next week on EastEnders (Dec 11-14)
Neil Wilkes
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