EastEnders has finally called time on George Knight and Elaine Peacock's relationship, with the couple officially splitting in Thursday night's episode. This won't come as a huge shock to fans of the soap as Elaine had recently overheard George and his ex-wife Cindy talking about a secret kiss they had shared.
The landlord and landlady of The Queen Vic faced off in a dramatic confrontation as Elaine ( Harriet Thorpe ) implored George ( Colin Salmon ) to open up, having struggled with the loss of his mum, reuniting with his estranged son Junior and learning that his adopted dad had murdered his real father. When George refused, Elaine blurted out: "You kissed her!" referring to his smooch with ex-wife Cindy.
"My head has been all over the place, I'm sorry. Everything's been such a mess. I love you, Lainey," he said, before Elaine jumped in: "And I you and I want nothing more than to hold you and fix this and move on. Cindy threatened to tell me. I know because I was there. I heard it. And you said, 'Go ahead.' You didn't care because I don't matter."
She added: "That's what hurts the most. Because we're not real are we? Secret looks between you and Cindy tonight. Junior running off. And you...hiding things from people."
While George tried to tell her that it was only one kiss with Cindy and that it won't happen again, Elaine told George to leave The Vic. "I'm sure you'll find some warm bed to sleep in. See me, my pain, what you have done. Because I do have worth, value and I do matter," she said. "Be gone by last orders, please."
Many fans weren't particularly heartbroken to see George go and cheered Elaine on for putting herself first. "So proud of Elaine #EastEnders," one viewer wrote, while another tweeted: "George treats Elaine like absolutely s**t, I'd run a mile if I was her #EastEnders."
Another EastEnders fan was looking forward to Elaine confronting Cindy, writing: "Waiting for Elaine to expose Cindy and George and then cat fight with Cindy." Others hoped that Elaine could move on and find someone who treated her better.
"Elaine really cared for George...bless her she deserves someone who's all in for her #EastEnders," one viewer wrote, while another said: "I'm so excited for Elaine's villain era #EastEnders."
Earlier this month, EastEnders introduced George's estranged son Junior, with Micah Balfour joining the cast to play the role - although many viewers were confused about the characters' age difference as they didn't look too different in age.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
