EastEnders gran Vi Highway made her mark on the Square as soon as she arrived.
Sharp-tongued and straight-talking, her hard exterior is hiding a heartbreaking secret that’s finally been revealed.
What has Vi been hiding all this time? And what does it mean for her future in Walford?
Who plays Vi Highway in EastEnders?
Vi – or Violet – Highway is played by legendary actress Gwen Taylor. Gwen’s long and varied career has seen her appear in films including Monty Python’s The Life of Brian and a list of television shows as long as your arm!
Gwen made her name in the 1980s sitcom Duty Free. She was nominated for a TV Bafta for her role in A Bit of a Do, and starred as the title character in Barbara. She’s been in Midsomer Murders, Wycliffe, Inspector Morse, Doc Martin, Trollied and Heartbeat, plus many more.
In 2011, Gwen joined Coronation Street playing Anne Foster, the mother of Frank Foster, who raped Carla Connor. Anne was revealed to be Frank’s killer after a whodunnit storyline.
And now she’s brought her expertise to Albert Square.
Gwen is married to playwright Graham Reid and she is stepmum and stepgrandmother to his three children and two grandchildren.
Who is Violet Highway in EastEnders?
Vi is the gran of Stuart and Callum Highway. She is mum to Stuart and Callum’s dad, Jonno, who is a nasty piece of work. He came to Albert Square in July 2019 having been invited by Whitney.
He insulted both Ben and Callum, with his homophobic views. And when he returned to Albert Square a couple of months later, he wasn’t impressed to hear Callum had called off his wedding to Whitney.
When Callum came out to his dad, Jonno reacted badly. He accused Ben of turning Callum gay, and was rewarded for his nasty opinions with a punch from Phil Mitchell. Yay!
Vi arrived in time for Callum’s wedding to Ben and decided to stick around, moving in with Stuart and Rainie.
She had previously been living with Jonno but it’s been obvious for some time there’s more to her turning up than we knew about.
Why did Violet come to Walford?
On Monday (November 1) Rainie noticed something wasn’t right with Vi, and her gran-in-law admitted Jonno had sold all of her belongings.
Despite begging Rainie not to tell Stuart, by Tuesday (November 2) he had seen all his gran’s stuff on Billy’s market stall. Stu took it all back and was raging when Violet admitted the truth.
She begged him not to go after Jonno for fear her secret would be revealed, but once alone she realised an antique children’s book was missing. Billy had sold it to Kim, who refused to return it.
In tonight’s episode (Thursday, November 4) Patrick discovered a photo in the book and Vi finally confided her secret.
What secret has Vi been hiding in EastEnders?
The photograph – of a pregnant Vi – finally exposed what she had been hiding. She broke down to Patrick and told him everything.
Following a fling, Vi had a later-in-life pregnancy and gave birth to son.
The little boy, named Christopher, has Down’s Syndrome.
With Patrick now in the know about her past, will he convince Vi to open up to her grandsons about it? And will she find the courage to track down her son after all these years?
Want more spoilers from EastEnders? Entertainment Daily has a dedicated EastEnders spoilers section for you to get your fix before the latest episodes air.
EastEnders usually airs Mondays at 8.05pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.35pm and Fridays at 8.30pm on BBC One.
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