Georgina "Gina" Knight is the daughter of George Knight and Cindy Beale and the sister of Anna Knight. She is also the half sister of Junior Knight, Steven, Peter and Lucy Beale as well as Cindy Williams Jr. She made her first appearance on 1 June 2023. She is portrayed by Francesca Henry.
Backstory
When Gina was a child, her grandfather Eddie would always look at her like a disappointment. Gina and Anna are the daughters of Cindy Beale, however the girls and their father, George, knew her as her alias, Rose Knight; she had this alias as she was under witness protection for giving police information about her dangerous cell mate. When Gina was Six or Seven, she fell off a wall at her friend's house. Cindy thought she was going to die. On her and Anna's birthdays, Cindy would make treasure hunts for them. Cindy left the Knights overnight in 2014 and never messaged them out of fear they would be in danger as she may have been seen travelling to Walford after she left. After Cindy left, George would often get drunk, leaving Gina to put Anna to bed. The two also had to make George eat, making him live off cheese sandwiches. As a result of this overnight disappearance, Gina—who had the more solid memories between her and Anna—grew to resent her mother and vowed to have nothing to do with her. In 2021, the two adopted Tyson, however they lost him once.
Doted on by her father George, Gina is feisty, determined, demanding and as sharp as cut diamonds, however she has a temper that blazes like fire. George, Gina and her big-hearted sister Anna have been bound together for years and arriving in Walford is the fresh-start the Knights are looking for. Gina previously lived in Marbella with George and Anna and worked in George's bar as a barmaid.
Storylines
2023 to present
Gina arrives in Walford with Anna and George, they move into The Queen Victoria to run the Vic with George's girlfriend Elaine Peacock and her daughter Linda Carter. Linda is furious as Elaine had never told that George and the girls would be running the Vic with them, Linda later gets angry with the girls when they play loud music which upsets her autistic son Ollie Carter. The girls also annoy Kathy Beale when they bring their pet dog Tyson in to her Cafe, the girls are unaware that Kathy and other residents are upset because Lola Pearce-Brown had passed away the previous night. The girls anger the residents of Walford further when they play loud music in the Vic while the residents are mourning Lola, George later comes into the pub and tells them to turn the music off and tells them about Lola's death. Anna and Gina then apologies to Kathy and the others, the girls later catch the eye of Bobby Beale and Freddie Slater. However, when Freddie and Bobby creepily wave at them the two girls laugh.
When Linda discovers that George hasn't actually sold his bar in Marbella yet, she attempts to throw him, Gina and Anna out and accuses George of being after Elaine's money. George later proposes to Elaine, Elaine initially says no as she wanted him to ask but wanted it to be perfect. George goes to The Boxing Den and begins punching a punch bag, Phil Mitchell spots him and asks George if he's okay. George tells Phil about what happened and Phil advises him to fight for her, George proposes to Elaine again and this time she says yes. George and Elaine then go back into the Vic and announce their engagement, leaving Linda furious. Gina is upset by the news and storms off but is followed by George, Gina says to George that he never talks about her mother anymore. George tells her Elaine will never replace her mother and she can go back to the bar in Spain if she's not happy in Walford, Gina says that she's not going back to the bar just to leave when George sells it. George then tells Gina that he is not selling the bar any time soon, Linda overhears the whole conversation and begins doing research. Linda finds out George's bar is only worth £255,000. Linda once again confronts George and accuses him of having no intention of selling his bar, George then threatens Linda telling her to mind her own business as he is sticking around.
Linda later pretends to make peace with the girls in order to get information about George, Linda takes them for food at Walford East, however the girls quickly clock on to what Linda is doing and leave. Later, after Gina is hungover, Linda suggests for Elaine to make more of an effort with Gina and Anna. Elaine takes them for a meal at Walford East, where Zack Hudson catches the sisters' eye. Elaine attempts to set Gina up with Freddie later in the pub, however unbeknownst to Elaine Freddie thinks that Elaine is flirting with him when she asks if he's single. Gina starts flirting with Zack, but he tells her that he‘s dating Whitney Dean. Elaine believes that Gina is flirting with Freddie and tells her she has a chance, believing that she has set them two up.
Anna and Gina check Lola's husband Jay Brown is okay when he gets drunk in the Vic the day before Lola's funeral. Linda approaches Phil and asks him to find out what happened to Rose, Phil eventually discovers that no one with the name Rose Knight exists. Phil tells George this and curiosity gets the better of George and he plans to find out who Rose really was, George books a holiday to Marbella but tells Elaine that he's going there because he's received an offer for the bar and he is going to meet his son George Jr while he is out there. However later on Gina and Anna reveal that George Jr is in Dubai, Elaine confronts George and demands answers. Elaine knows George is going to find Rose, when George refuses to talk Elaine tells him she's no ones second best and threatens to cancel the wedding. George then tells Elaine and Linda that Rose never existed and reveals everything that Phil told him. However, Anna overhears some of the conversation, George also tells Anna about Rose but tells her not to tell Gina. Anna tells Gina that she needs to know something about their mother but Gina doesn't want to know, Gina later decides she does want to know and asks Elaine what the secret about her mother is. Elaine tells Gina and Gina takes the news badly, Gina steals money from the Vic and goes to PPeggy's and gets drunk. Gina later buys cocaine and it's revealed that Gina used to take it, George and Anna find Gina and bring her back to the Vic. George reveals that it's his fault Rose left as on the day she left he had caught her packing a suitcase and they had a row, in which George told her if she leaves to never come back. The girls are furious with George and storm off. The girls prepare to move out because of George's lie but in the end are convinced by Elaine to stay.
On 31 July 2023 the Knights realise £200 has gone missing with Anna secretly confessing to Gina that she stole the money to hire a private investigator to find their mother. Gina is furious and tells Elaine and George that Anna took the money, however Anna lies to them and tells them she simply lost it. Anna later texts Gina and tells her she is still going through with the investigation, Gina sees a drug dealer outside Walford East and goes to buy drugs off him. However Ravi Gulati tell him to go away and threatens to put him in hospital, Ravi then gives Gina drugs himself.
Anna is given her mother's number by Gabriel and she informs her family, George reveals that the number she has been given is the number that Cindy has had all along and reveals he has called her himself many times but she doesn't care. Anna then leaves the room and begins crying, after a heart-to-heart between George, Gina and Elaine they decide to give Anna their blessing and Anna calls Cindy leaving a voicemail. Cindy's son and Gina and Anna's half-brother Peter Beale hears this voicemail and discovers that he has two sisters that Cindy kept a secret, Peter then returns to Walford against Ian's wishes to meet his sisters. The next day Bobby finds Peter on the sofa and Peter apologises to Bobby for stealing from the family and his general antics before he left, Peter goes to the Vic and begins talking to Gina and Anna with both of them unaware than he is their brother. Ben Mitchell later sees Peter and attempts to square up to him but is ordered to leave the pub by George, Peter is then concerned when he finds out that Bobby and Anna have been getting close and attempts to put a stop to it, however despite Peter's best efforts Anna and Bobby later kiss leaving Peter horrified. Peter is left horrified again when Gina flirts with him and attempts to kiss him and he backs away knocking over a glass, George turns around and assumes Peter was harassing Gina and throws Peter out of the Vic and tells him to stay away from Gina.
George organises a twenty first birthday party for Anna along with Elaine and they invite multiple residents to the Vic for the party, Anna and Gina then go out for drinks at The Prince Albert for drinks before arriving back at the Vic and Anna is touched by the birthday party. Cindy returns to Walford to find Peter and Ian also turns up to try and get Cindy to come back to France however Cindy runs in to George and the two are shocked to see each other again. George and Cindy talk in the barrel store, where we are shown a flashback from 2014, revealing that the reason she walked out on the Knights was because of Lucy’s death. She had gone back to Albert Square where she was found by Mary. Mary tells her that she can’t go back to Marbella because Jackie Ford’s people might find her, so Cindy goes to France. Back in the present, the talk is interrupted by Linda Carter, coming to get some prosecco for the party. George had lied and said that Gina and Anna were still in Spain, however Linda gives away that they are in the Vic. Cindy tries to go to see them but George stops her. However, she eventually pushes past him, making her way into the Vic and seeing Gina and Anna for the first time in nine years, as well as Sharon Watts, Phil Mitchell and Sonia Fowler for the first time in twenty five. Cindy asks to speak with the girls upstairs and meets George's fiancée Elaine, the girls agree to hear Cindy out and she tells them everything. Just as it looks like Cindy is winning them around George tells then that Cindy never came back to find them but that she in fact came back to find Peter and didn't know they were their, the girls then reject their mother and go for drinks at the Albert. Later on Anna has a one-night-stand with Freddie and Gina takes drugs and subsequently overdoses before Cindy and George find her and call her an ambulance.
Gina is taken into hospital and George and Cindy come to visit her. George forbids Cindy from seeing Gina and when Anna arrives, Cindy makes up with her. Cindy is later furious with Ian when she finds out that Ian knew George and the girls were in Walford, Cindy tells Ian that if he wants to make it up to her then they need to stay in Walford and not go back to France. Ian agrees and later tells Kathy that he will be taking his businesses back from her and that he will be moving back into his house with Cindy and that if Kathy doesn't like it then she needs to move out. When George gets back to the Square, Cindy and George have an argument and George calls her Rose. She tells him that 'it's not Rose, it's Cindy'. When Ian is told by Alfie that Anna slept with Freddie he exposes her to Bobby and the whole Vic and is punched by Gina as a result.
Cindy later finds out from Anna that George is selling their bar in Marbella, Cindy tells Ian that she plans to demand half of the money from the sale from George. When Cindy tells George that she wants half the money he reluctantly agrees, Cindy later kisses George but he pulls away but both are seen by Gina who believes they both kissed. Gina later tells Elaine about George and Cindy's kiss but George tells Elaine that Cindy kissed him, Elaine forgives him but tells him to prove that he doesn't still love Cindy, George later tells Cindy that he will not be giving her half of the Marbella bar. Cindy declares war on the Knights and they tell her to bring it on.
Cindy and Ian later go into business with a silent partner to run the pie and mash shop, Ian and Cindy are horrified to discover that their silent partner is Dean Wicks who raped Linda in 2014. Peter later creates some logos for the pie and mash shop but Gina refuses to talk to him, insisting he's going into business with a rapist. Peter later speaks speaks to Dean and tells him he wants no part of it, to which Dean I'd understanding but later speaks to Peter again and tells him it will cost his parents to find a new logo. Peter agrees to let Dean have the logo but says he won't take any further part in the pie and mash shop, however Gina sees Peter and Dean talking.
When Dean continues to harass Linda she and Alfie begin to put fliers around the square, Dean threatens to sue Linda if she doesn't take them down. Elaine later convinces Linda to take them down to avoid being sued however Gina later spray paints 'rapist' on the pie and mash shop (now named Beale's Eels). When Dean, Cindy and Ian later confronts Linda she denies being behind the spray painting. Gina then admits that she was behind the spray painting, Linda thanks Gina for having her back. Dean later tries to talk to Linda however George and Cindy see him, when Dean tells George to mind his own business and accuses Linda and George of sleeping with each other George hits Dean, causing Dean to fall down the stairs knocking him out.
Dean's daughter Jade Masood visits the square to see Zaair Kazemi's tree. Dean attempts to spend time with Jade but she tells him to leave her alone, angry at Dean for being an absent father. Despite Gina's feud with Dean because of him raping Linda, Gina gets along with Jade as they both relate to one another with having absent parents, Gina later gives Jade one of her bracelets. Gina later betrays Linda and tells Dean that she doesn't believe he raped Linda. Jade gives Dean a present to give to Gina, Dean breaks into to the Vic and drops off Gina's present. The next day Gina unaware that Dean broke into the Vic thanks Dean for the present. Elaine notices Gina is texting on her phone a lot but does not make anything of it, however it's later revealed that Gina and Dean have started a secret relationship together. Dean enters the Vic with flowers and kisses Gina in front of Elaine, George and Linda. Dean reveals he and Gina are in a relationship leaving the three furious. Cindy offers Dean £60,000 to leave Walford and Gina but Dean turns the offer down. Gina later goes to Dean's House for a date but when the two argue Gina tries to leave, Dean grabs Gina's arm and in retaliation Gina punches Dean in the face.
Gina clashes with her adoptive grandfather, Eddie Knight, when he repeatedly makes nasty remarks about her hair and her behaviour, stating that she needs to be put on a leash. Troubles stir for the Knight family when George and Eddie discuss the events of George’s true heritage and ethnicity. Gina and Anna secretly listen in and are shocked to hear how their adoptive grandfather is disgustingly racist, he also reveals the shame he felt by adopting a child with dark skin. Gina and Anna are distraught and argue in the barrel store about how Anna has never had to struggle with racial discrimination whilst Gina did, and that she was always sheltered from the truth. This sparks a revelation between the two. Gina points out how simple factors like their hair has either benefited or wronged each girl.
Some time later, George sits down and tells the girls the truth about the farming - being adopted by a white family for money. George also reveals that they are Ghanian instead of Jamaican. Gina smiles and is happy because of this, George also informs Gina and Anna that Eddie killed his actual father, Henry Asare. The next few weeks get harder for the family as Eddie's trial is on the horizon. Eventually, Gloria Knight (adoptive grandmother) passes away which impacts George emotionally, causing him to lose most of his motivation. Gina, Anna and Elaine try to support him, but there is no hope as he always dismisses them.
Gina and Anna discover that George was banished from Gloria's funeral. So, George and the family plan to have a memorial for Gloria. Although, George suddenly collapses at this event and is taken to hospital. The Doctor reveals that George has CTE, a brain condition linked to repeated blows to the head. They then discover that George is back in the ring to their dismissal, and they're disappointed. The Doctor informs them that the next hit may be fatal. George still has a desperation to fight, despite the support from Anna, Gina, Cindy and Elaine. Gina is later unhappy when she discovers that Cindy and George kissed a few months prior to this incident, whilst Cindy knew that George was fighting again.
George can be seen at a fight, the opponent is unexpectedly Junior Knight, Gina's brother. The fight is then called off and both men return to The Vic with injuries. Gina is happy to see her brother again as they have a humorous relationship. Though, he doesn’t stick around and quickly wants to head home. When Monique and Xavier Knight arrive and join the family, they're all happy to meet whilst Gina and Anna bond with their nephew whilst George and Junior try to make amends. Junior sticks around and moves into The Vic, and they are glad to be a whole family again.
When the dust settles, Gina and Felix plan a night out with Anna. They attend, and as they take a group photo, Anna’s drink is spiked. Felix, Gina and Freddie eventually lose sight of her and panic, knowing that she hadn’t drank much. Unknowingly, The Spiker takes Anna away from Peggy’s and to a black cab. Luckily, Gina and the rest save her and instantly rush her to hospital, Gina struggles to communicate with the nurse. Anna eventually refocuses and is distraught and overwhelmed, Freddie and Gina then make a pledge to go to the police. Anna returns home and Gina feels guilty for making her drink excessively, however Gina still tries her best to support Anna.
Gina spies an opportunity when Anna and Freddie seem closer, so she tries to persuade Bobby to prioritise his work and break up with Anna, which upsets the pair. Johnny gets Gina to help Linda with her drinking which initially goes well, but spirals when Linda and Johnny have a heated row. Gina finds Linda in a dangerous way. Johnny lashes out at Gina afterwards and ‘kicks’ her out, Gina speaks to Junior to try and move in but he refuses. Later, Cindy allows Gina to move in but Junior changes his mind, so the family celebrate. Living with Junior, George learns that he is having an affair with someone and gets Gina to try and discover who, after attempting to find out, she fails. Junior later reveals his girlfriend, Maxine, to the pub.
Fight count
Punches
Total: 2
Individual characters punched: 2
Total punches: 2
Employment history
| Occupation | Years Active |
|---|---|
| Barmaid at Marbella Knights in Marbella, Spain | Prior to 2022-2023 |
| Barmaid at The Queen Victoria | 2023-2025 |
| Barmaid at Harry's Barn | 2025- |
Residence
| Address | Years |
|---|---|
| Marbella, Spain | Prior to 2022-2023 |
| 46 Albert Square | 2023-2024, 2024-2025 |
| Brewery Apartments | 2024, 2025- |
Background information
- It has been hinted at that Gina was named after her maternal aunt, Gina Williams.
- On 5 June 2023, Gina states she still sleeps with a teddy bear.
- On 16 November 2023, Gina tells Linda she got a Nine on her bachelor media studies.