Why EastEnders star Danny Walters loves #SHEANU!

EastEnders Sharon Mitchell in bed with Keanu Taylor
(Image credit: BBC / Jack Barnes)

With Danny – who plays EastEnders' Keanu – set to bow out of the soap, and the #Sheanu storyline revving up again, it's about to get messy...

It was one of the best kept secrets in EastEnders. But when Keanu Taylor and Sharon Mitchell's age-gap affair was discovered by her husband Phil and co, the consequences were epic.

And Danny Walters - who's leaving the soap after two and bit years as Keanu - says he's loved every minute of the twisting plot.

"My favourite storyline has to be #Sheanu – for me it’s been brilliant," he reveals. "The storyline had time to breathe, the audience got an insight into the characters and the relationship.

"It went from pink fluffy handcuffs to staging Keanu’s death. There were so many opportunities to show different aspects of the relationships and the pay off at Christmas was just fantastic. And to work with Letitia Dean is a joy."

Keanu and Sharon kiss

Sharon Mitchell and Keanu Taylor had a high-stakes fling and are now back on! #Sheanu (Image credit: BBC / Jack Barnes)

And we're still not done yet! #Sheanu has become a thing again as this week's episodes have revealed.

Since Keanu made a deal with Martin Fowler (James Bye) last Christmas – who was tasked by Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) to kill him – he's been on the run. But the mechanic has now returned to the Square, a man on a mission.

He's told his former lover Sharon (Letitia Dean) he wants them to be together again and t0 make a fresh start with their yet-to-be-born baby and her teenage son Dennis.

He's kidnapped Ben Mitchell's boyfriend Callum Highway (Tony Clay). He's also confronted Ben who now knows he's not dead. Gawd only knows what the rest of the week will bring.

But with the finale fallout of #Sheanu currently ramping up on screen, it's set to explode during next Thursday (20 February) when Keanu, Ben and Phil (Steve McFadden) come face-to-face at the Carters' boat party on the Thames.

Billed as the 'ultimate showdown' the explosive scenes are part of a week of special episodes celebrating EastEnders' 35th anniversary which will see huge storylines collide.

EastEnders 35th anniversary

Ben and Phil Mitchell are set to have an epic showdown with Keanu Taylor at a boat party on the Thames (Image credit: BBC/Kieron McCarron/Matt Burlem/Amy Sharp)

How will the trio's face-off will end is a secret, which is being kept under wraps at EastEnders HQ in Elstree where the soap is filmed. With many storylines colliding during this special week, all that has been confirmed so far is that someone will die.

EastEnders Queen Vic boat tragedy

Someone is set to die in EastEnders during a week of special episodes celebrating the soap's 35th anniversary (Image credit: BBC/Kieron McCarron/Matt Burlem/Amy Sharp)

EastEnders Keanu Taylor

EastEnders' Keanu Taylor had it baaaad for older woman Sharon Mitchell. Here he sends her a saucy selfie (Image credit: BBC)

#Sheanu intially divided audiences, with some viewers finding the age-gap pairing implausible and others loving their dangerous saucy fling. It got all the more messy, of course, when Keanu got into a relationship with Sharon's stepdaughter Louise (Tilly Keeper) and got her pregnant only for Sharon to discover she was pregnant too. And sure enough the baby was Keanu's not her husband Phil's.

But what will become of #Sheanu?

Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) warned and warned her son not to get involved with the wife of Walford's most ruthless man. Didn't listen though did he?

Will #Sheanu get a happy-ever-after… or is the writing on the wall?

Karen sees Keanu and Sharon kiss

Karen Taylor was horrified when she found out her sonKeanu was having a fling with Sharon Mitchell (Image credit: BBC / Jack Barnes)

The EastEnders 35th Anniversary week begins on the 17th February on BBC One.

EastEnders airs Monday and Friday at 8pm and Tuesday and Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.

 

Sarah Waterfall
Soaps Editor at What's On TV

Sarah has been writing about soaps for over 20 years! She’s worked for Hello!, WOMAN, PA News, Closer, TVeasy – and is currently What’s On TV's Soap editor as well as writing for WhatToWatch.com 


She’s interviewed tons of famous people from movie stars to pop stars, TV stars and of course, soap stars. The soaps have always been at the heart of Sarah's work; visiting the sets, getting the goss, and writing about all the soapy shenanigans week in week out, earning her a place on the judging panel for The British Soap Awards in 2017 and 2018 and on the BAFTA TV Awards in 2022 … and the nickname Soapbird!