Rocky is in a difficult position (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Rocky Cotton (Brian Conley) has managed to back himself into a corner in EastEnders as his money troubles continue to get worse.
Things took a nosedive for him and wife Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) on the day of their wedding, when ex-wife Jo Cotton (Vicki Michelle) arrived and announced that they were still married, before demanding £50,000 to keep quiet about his bigamy.
Since then, Kathy has been trying her best to pay off loans to keep the debts from wracking up, while Rocky has been gambling behind her back.
Recent scenes saw Kathy and Rocky go house hunting, but they hit a wall when Rocky realised that they couldn’t afford the deposit for the studio flat they had put an offer on.
Desperate, Rocky agreed to take a loan from sinister Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry), which seems set to end in disaster for poor Rocky.
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In upcoming scenes, Rocky will fret about how he is going to pay off the loan, leading friend Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) to advise him to talk to Nish about lower repayments.
‘[Rocky] hopes Nish might be reasonable because it’s not long until Christmas so he might be lenient,’ actor Brian Conley explained.
‘Rocky thinks, “Maybe he’ll see the light and feel sorry for me.” That would be very unlike Nish, but Rocky hopes he can use a bit of his charm.
‘Of course, it backfires because Nish sees straight through it, and once again, Rocky is between a rock and a hard place!’
Nish makes it clear that he won’t be messed around (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Though Rocky tries his best to win Nish over, the businessman makes it clear that there will be severe financial penalties for changing the terms of their contract.
‘Nish treats him with utter contempt,’ Brian revealed. ‘Now Rocky is really worried because it underlines how Nish thinks of him, and he knows he’s in a terrible position.
‘By this point, Rocky is grasping at straws and trying to turn to gambling to sort it, but it won’t work. He should know that there’s only one winner in gambling, and that’s the bookies. I suppose in his heart he does know that, but Rocky thinks he’s got no other way of escaping this.’
Unfortunately for Rocky, Nish soon discovers his gambling problem and promises to tell Kathy everything if he doesn’t pay up, which leaves Rocky ‘scared’.
Harvey tries to advise Rocky (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
‘He’s scared because Nish holds all the cards now and has a huge game plan.
‘We’ve had lots of these great scenes where Nish wanders up and threatens Rocky. Navin Chowdhry is great, and he’s nothing like Nish! We have a lot of fun when we are on set – he’s a lovely guy. Nish is a great villain, so intimidating and very good to play against because you feel a bit scared of him.
‘I’m not sure if Rocky knows, but I think Nish hopes Rocky’s got a gambling problem because if he has, he’s got him right where he wants him. Nish knows more than anyone that the bookies always win, and it’s only a matter of time before the house of cards comes tumbling down. It’s all going to fall apart for Rocky.’
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Brian went on to explain that Rocky knows ‘without doubt’ that Nish will tell Kathy everything if he doesn’t tow the line – something that he is desperate to keep from happening.
‘He knows that Nish has got him over a barrel now.
‘Rocky is a people pleaser, and he’s so optimistic that he believes things will sort themselves out in the end. He thinks, “It’ll be alright, it’ll be okay, it’s fine.” That’s his mantra so he’s plodding along, thinking he can sort it in the end.
‘But yes, of course, he should have told Kath, and he should have told Kath so many things. The trouble is he just looks on the bright side.’
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‘He’s in a terrible position.’