Tony King is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Chris Coghill. He was the partner of established character Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), and a father-figure to her four children. Tony sexually abused Bianca's stepdaughter, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), and began grooming her school-friend Lauren Branning (Madeline Duggan), before his predatory nature was uncovered and he was arrested for his crimes. Tony appeared between 12 September and 12 December 2008 and returned in December 2009 to stand trial.The child sexual abuse storyline marked the first time the subject matter had been broached in a UK soap opera, and was researched and developed with advice and approval from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The abusive nature of Tony and Whitney's relationship resulted in over 200 complaints being made to the BBC and television regulatory body Ofcom by members of the public, with the storyline deemed "horrifying" by the Daily Mail's Lizzie Smith, and "one of the darkest and most disturbing storylines EastEnders has ever attempted" by The Mirror's Beth Neil. The NSPCC however praised the storyline for "helping to raise awareness of the hidden nature of sexual abuse". The storyline also gained EastEnders a Royal Television Society Programme Award in March 2009 in the Soap and Continuing Drama category.
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