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Gray Atkins is the father of Mia, Mackenzie and Jordan Atkins. He was also the husband of the late Chantelle Atkins and now the husband of Chelsea Atkins. He made his first appearance on 29 March 2019 and his last on 10 March 2022, he is portrayed by Toby Alexander-Smith.

Backstory

Gray claims that his early life wasn't the best. His father was very strict with him, and his mother called it high standards. He recalls that his father smashed an old wooden toy he was playing with for no reason. His father ended up leaving when Gray was still young.

However, during a conversation with Gray and his bedridden father on 17 September 2021, this is revealed to be a lie. Gray was the one who was actually abusive to his parents, his mother in particular, whom he gave a broken arm and a black eye.

His mother died on an unknown date and his father later died at the hospital on 21 October 2021.

Gray and Chantelle first met when Gray drove by and accidentally splashed a puddle at her.

Storylines

2019-2022: Abuse, murders and arrest

Gray Atkins (29 March 2019)

Gray arrives in Walford.

Gray is the husband of Chantelle Atkins and the father of Mia Atkins and Mackenzie Atkins. He first appears on 29 March 2019, when his wife is cutting hair in Denise and Kim's salon competing against her dad. He pretends to be a customer and gives her a tip of £100, helping her win the competition before later revealing himself to be her husband.

Gray attacks Chantelle

Gray abuses Chantelle Atkins for the first time on-screen.

On 12 April 2019, he surprises Chantelle with keys to a house on the square, and they move into 1 Albert Square with their children. While Gray is seen to have a soft spot for others around him, he has a dark side to him, his abusive behaviour. This is first revealed on 12 July 2019 when he abuses Chantelle after accusing her of laughing at him for losing the Walford 10k Race. This continues throughout the summer of 2019, when Gray is seen multiple times punching and beating Chantelle.

On 13 September 2019, Gray beats Chantelle again because she comes home late after a hairdressing competition, in which she suddenly left in the middle of the event, leaving Denise, her father Mitch and the others from the hair salon puzzled and worried. Once Chantelle arrives home, she sees Gray, alone, drunk. Gray shouts at her saying their dinner, which they planned for the night, is ruined. After shouting at Chantelle, she decided she wants to go to her mother's house to stay away from any possible abuse, However, while attempting to leave, Gray punches her from behind, making her fall to the ground near the door. When Gray was about to hit her the second time, Chantelle shouts to him that she's pregnant. Almost as if Gray completely forgot himself hitting Chantelle, he hugs her and tells her that it is brilliant news and acts happy about the situation, while Chantelle remains terrified.

Not long after, Gray and Chantelle talk about his abusive behaviour. Gray tries to convince Chantelle that he wants help.

While in the kitchen, Chantelle accidentally cuts her wrist with a glass, and Gray takes her to the hospital immediately. When the nurse checks up on her arm and asks her to take her jacket off, she notices several bruises on her arms. Her doctor knows already that she is suffering from abuse. However, when she questions Chantelle on what has been happening with her and her husband, Chantelle vehemently denies any abuse. Her doctor gives her a fake lip balm which contains a domestic abuse number and other resources. Chantelle still refuses to take it, but Gray comes in suddenly, and Chantelle quickly puts it in her pocket.

Once they arrive home, Gray discovers that she has the lip balm in her jacket pocket after it falls onto the floor, he is furious as he has seen these types of things before but can't do anything as Keegan is at the house. After he leaves, Gray confronts her and angrily tells her to leave, before he punches and cracks a mirror in the living room.

Chantelle finally convinces Gray to get some help with his anger issues. After coming back, he tells her how he is struggling and can't do it, and he understands that he needs to change.

Chantelle and Gray go to an appointment together where he reveals that his father abused him and his mother when he was young (later revealed to be a lie). He also admits to his counsellor that he takes his anger out on Chantelle a lot, though, heartbroken by this reveal, Chantelle stops the appointment and takes Gray home to where she tells him she wants to renew their weddings vows.

Gray after killing Chantelle

Gray moments after killing Chantelle Atkins.

On 18 September 2020, after realising Gray wont stop abusing her after Gray went back to his old ways and even got worse during the Coronavirus lockdown, Chantelle finally builds up the courage to tell him that she's leaving him and taking the kids with her. Distraught by this, Gray argues with her, threatening to strangle the kids if she leaves. They both keep on arguing, with Chantelle threatening to tell everyone what Gray has done to her as an act of revenge. In a fit of rage, Gray forcefully pushes Chantelle onto a loaded dishwasher, where she is impaled by kitchen knives. Gray tries to help her by calling an ambulance, however, knowing that she might ruin his reputation if she survives, he decides to leave her to die while he makes up an alibi. He heads to Minute Mart, where he purchases a glass of milk. He goes to the Queen Victoria Pub before heading back to the house. After confirming that Chantelle is dead, he begins constructing his alibi. He drops the glass of milk onto the floor and moves some toy cars around on the floor, making it seem like Chantelle had slipped on one of them and fell onto the knives. He exits the room and re-enters, before breaking down in tears and finally calling for an ambulance.

On 21 September 2020, Gray is questioned by police about Chantelle's death. He tells DCI Peter Arthurs that he went to buy milk, only to return and find Chantelle already dead on the floor. He tried to save her but to no avail. He is later released from Police Custody.

Gray is confronted by Tina

Gray moments before he kills Tina Carter.

On 28 December 2020, Tina Carter had an altercation with Ian Beale where she forced entry into his house and assaulted him, Tina pushed him into a table and left Ian unconscious. Ian was later found in the Queen Victoria pub with a head wound, Tina was arrested on suspicion of the crime and explains to the police that although she had assaulted Ian, she did not attack him in the Queen Victoria pub and that a pizza delivery worker had seen her. Gray, acting as her lawyer, finds the pizza delivery worker with the hopes of having him corroborate her story. However, after hearing that Tina had been spreading rumours that he had been abusing and later murdered Chantelle, he pays the worker to falsely state that he had seen Tina leaving the Queen Victoria pub on the night of the attack. A police inspector later told Gray that the witness was found to be unreliable, however, in an attempt to have Tina leave the Square, Gray tells her that he was told the story checks out and that she needs to leave Walford. Tina is told by the same police inspector that the witness was in fact found to be unreliable. With this new information, Tina confronts Gray with her suspicions about his treatment towards Chantelle. They both argue and Gray strangles Tina before she can leave his house.

Gray begins to develop feelings for Whitney Dean, but is left jealous and enraged when he finds out she is in a relationship with Kush Kazemi. He spends weeks trying to get them to break up but fails. He further ruins his chances when he lashes out at Kush and Whitney for having a romantic dinner in his house without permission.

On 15 April 2021, Kush tells the police the Mitchells and Shirley orchestrated the robbery of Potterwell insurance in court after Kush had been caught stealing cars alongside them at. As a result, Kush is let off from going to prison but realises he needs to escape Walford as the Mitchells would not be happy with what he's done. He asks Whitney if he wants to come along with him and she agrees. They also take Arthur Fowler Jr. after convincing Martin Fowler to let him come with them.

Gray moments after killing Kush

Gray moments after killing Kush Kazemi.

Gray gets fired

Gray explodes with rage after being fired.

The Mitchells hire Gray as their lawyer, and after hearing about Kush's escape plan with Whitney, he is left furious. He attempts to stop Whitney from going with him but he fails. He follows them down into the tube station. When Kush is left alone, Gray uses this time to confront him and they both get into a heated argument. Gray confesses that he is deeply obsessed with Whitney and Kush tells him he needs help. They get into an altercation but Kush overpowers Gray and throws him onto the track. Realising his mistake, Kush warns Gray about an oncoming train and he helps him off the track. As Kush lets his guard down, Gray pushes him into the tracks and he is killed by the oncoming train, he quickly leaves the station without anyone seeing him. Gray attempts to comfort Whitney after Kush's death, however, she lashes out at him and accuses him of killing Kush. Gray is forced to leave and Whitney breaks down in tears.

Gray begins a relationship with Chelsea Fox, which is met with strong opposition by his mother and father-in-law Karen Taylor and Mitch Baker. During their relationship, Chelsea fleeces Gray by living extravagantly off his credit card and shows no interest in his children, frequently neglecting them when they are in her care. Their relationship comes to an end, when Chelsea witnesses Gray's volatile behaviour towards her and others, and refuses to be mistreated by Gray. However, Chelsea later discovers she has been impregnated by Gray, and plans to have an abortion, but is stopped by Whitney. Whitney accompanies her to the abortion clinic, but after having a scan and finding out she is further along than expected, Chelsea decides to keep the baby. She decides to keep the pregnancy a secret from Gray and to raise the child alone, but Whitney urges her to tell Gray. Gray finds out about Chelsea's pregnancy and initially agrees to have no involvement, but has a change of heart and decides that he wants to raise the child together with Chelsea. They later get engaged. On the day of their wedding, Whitney reveals to Chelsea that Gray had murdered Chantelle after Whitney had discover Gray's abuse, after logging into Chantelle's secret online forum and reading the messages. Chelsea decides to stop the wedding but is manipulated by Gray, who reveals that Whitney had kissed him. They eventually marry on Christmas Day 2021, but Chelsea later discovers Gray’s abuse on Chantelle, when Whitney sends her screenshots of Chantelle’s revelation of the abuse that she posted online. She then vows to leave Gray. She steals money from Ruby's and plans on fleeing to Ibiza, but is stopped in her tracks by Gray, when he realises that she has stolen jewellery. When Gray confronts Chelsea, her waters break, and she is rushed to hospital, where she goes into premature labour, with Gray helping her. She gives birth to a son, Jordan Atkins, named after her deceased half-brother. Chelsea decides to stay with Gray, but later reveals to Whitney that she is temporarily using him for stability, and is planning to expose him.

On 4 February 2022, it is revealed that Tina's body is underneath the floorboards of the Argee Bhajee. A gas leak causes the Argee Bhajee to explode. As a result, workers have been sent to investigate. This worries Gray as he realises Tina's body might be found. On 25 February 2022, Phil Mitchell discovers Tina's body after smashing the Argee Bhajee floorboards with a bat in a fit of rage.

On 7 March 2022, Gray is questioned by police about the discovery of Tina's body. He provides a DNA sample before speaking to DCI Peter Arthurs. Gray is annoyed that he has been brought to answer questions and believes they want to make him a suspect. He abruptly leaves the interrogation room.

On 9 March 2022, Chelsea is able to get Gray to confess that he killed Chantelle. However, unbeknownst to Gray, Chelsea is on the line to the police and his confession has been recorded. After he finds out, he attempts to strangle Chelsea but she manages to save herself and punches Gray. She tries to run out of the door but is pulled back by Gray. He shoves her onto a table before running out the back door.

He gets to Karen's flat and demands she wakes up the children as Gray is going to take them with him. Karen is hesitant at first and she stops Gray from taking the children. She demands to know why the Police are after him. Gray tells her the truth about Chantelle's death, also telling her that he abused her too. Karen finds it hard to believe as she thought Gray was a good man. Karen and Gray have a small altercation before Karen smashes her window and tells the police about Gray's whereabouts. Gray is forced to leave the flat as the kids hug Karen for protection.

Gray vs Shirley

Shirley Carter attacks Gray.

Gray runs into the Queen Victoria Pub, thinking that nobody is inside. However, he soon stands face to face with Shirley, who punches and kicks Gray onto the floor. Shirley smashes a glass bottle onto Gray's head before smacking him with a barstool. Mick Carter appears and kicks Gray. In an attempt to avenge Tina, Shirley tries to strangle Gray but Mick stops her as he doesn't want her to get arrested. While distracted, Gray smacks Shirley in the head with a piece of wood and knocks her out, before running to the exit. Mick stops him but Gray gives him an ultimatum, telling him its either him or Shirley he attends to. Mick punches Gray before rushing to aid his mother, giving Gray time to leave.

Badly beat, Gray tries to blend in with a crowd of people to hide from the sight of the police, but is spotted by Whitney, who chases him onto the Train Track Bridge. Whitney scolds him for running away and tells him he has nowhere left to go. Whitney gives Gray an idea to jump from the bridge which would result in his death. Gray tries to jump but Whitney holds him back. Realising this might be their last moment, Gray confesses to killing Kush, telling her how he did it. Whitney begins to cry but still holds Gray back from falling. Gray tries to pull her down with him, but fails when Mitch saves them both. He holds Gray and stares into his eyes as a train passes by.

Gray is arrested

Gray is arrested.

Gray is now apprehended by police and is being escorted to the car. He looks at the residents who all give him dirty looks. Before entering the car, he looks at Karen and points to his eye, signalling to her that the last thing Chantelle saw was his eyes before she died. Karen breaks down in tears as the police car drives away.

Post exit

On 15 March 2022 (off-screen), Gray finally talks and confesses to killing Tina, also telling the police how he killed her. He pleads guilty to all his crimes and is now serving a prison sentence. On 13 June 2023 Gray writes a letter to Mitch demanding to see his kids, Mitch tells Chelsea about the letter while in the Cafe and tells Chelsea he is going to tell Karen about the letter. Mitch asks if Chelsea she is going to let Gray see Jordan, Chelsea tells Mitch that she isn't letting "that psychopath" anywhere near Jordan. On 4 July 2023 Gray writes a letter to Chelsea telling her he still loves her, the letter freaks Chelsea out and the only person she tells is her ex-boyfriend Ravi Gulati. Ravi comforts Chelsea and they eventually get back together.

Victim count

Rape victims

  1. Chantelle Atkins (27 December 2019) - Raped her in an attempt to have another child after suffering from a miscarriage.

Kill count

Murders/manslaughter victims

  1. Chantelle Atkins (18 September 2020) - Pushed her onto a loaded dishwasher and impaled by kitchen knives.
  2. Tina Carter (28 December 2020) - Strangled to death with his bare hands after she threatened to tell everyone he had killed Chantelle.
  3. Kush Kazemi (19 April 2021) - Pushed him in front of an oncoming train.

Attempted murder victims

  1. Mia Atkins (15 October 2020) - Gray attempted to murder himself, Mia and Mackenzie by turning on the gas and ignite it with his lighter, but was convinced by Shirley Carter not to go through with it.
  2. Mackenzie Atkins (15 October 2020) - Gray attempted to murder himself, Mia and Mackenzie by turning on the gas and ignite it with his lighter, but was convinced by Shirley not to go through with it.
  3. Kush Kazemi (19 April 2021) - Attempted to push Kush onto a live train track, but Kush outstrenght's him and accidentally throws Gray into the train tracks, Kush then saved Gray before he was hit by a train, but Gray attempted to push Kush for a second time, this time killing Kush when a train crushes him.
  4. Whitney Dean (22 October 2021) - Prepared to stab Whitney for going to the Hospital with Chelsea Fox to abort his Baby, but doesn't go through with it after Whitney stands up to him.
  5. Kheerat Panesar (21 February 2022) - Attempt's to strangle Kheerat after he confronts him about his abuse towards Chantelle. Kheerat manages to save himself and knocks Gray out cold with a wine bottle.
  6. Chelsea Atkins (10 March 2022) - Attempts to strangle her before grabbing a knife after realising she recorded him confessing to the murder of Chantelle to the police. Chelsea punches Gray while his back is turned and he runs away when police approach.
  7. Shirley Carter (10 March 2022) - Hits her on the head with a broken barstool leg, knocking her out and causing her head to bleed.
  8. Whitney Dean (10 March 2022) - Tried to pull her off the edge bridge with him in a murder-suicide, however, they're both saved by Mitch.

Employment history

Occupation Years Active
Lawyer Unknown start date - 2021
Employee at Burger Restaurant 2021
Self employed Lawyer 2021-2022
Prisoner 2022 to present

Crimes

  • Serial murders
  • Attempted mass murder
  • Attempted arson
  • Domestic abuse
  • Sexual Assault
  • Assault
  • GBH and ABH
  • Possesion with intent
  • Perverting the course of justice
  • Torture
  • Stalking

Quotes

First line: "Someone say Haircuts?"


Final line to Chantelle before killing her: "You're not going anywhere ever! Your place is here with me!"


Final line to Tina Carter before killing her: "Your sister shouldn't have saved me."


Final line to Kush Kazemi before killing him: "No, I need Whitney."


To many women on the Square as a way of asserting dominance: "Or what? What are you going to do?"


Final Line: "Let go Whitney, or you'll die too."

Background information

  • Gray was rumored to be exiting EastEnders on 25 December 2021, however this rumor proved to be false, however on 28th February 2022 EastEnders confirmed that Gray was leaving with his final scenes due to air on 10 March 2022.
  • Gray has the joint fourth highest confirmed kill count of any EastEnders killer with 3, behind Johnny Allen (7) and Phil Mitchell (5), just behind Nick Cotton, tieing with Janine Butcher (3), Lucas Johnson (3) and Ray Kelly (3), and just ahead of Aidan Maguire (2), Ronnie Branning (2) and Ryan Malloy (2). Note: this is taking all forms of murder into account, as Gray has the second highest direct murders in Eastenders when excluding instigated and manslaughter and instigated deaths, it is also worth noting that gangster characters like Johnny and Aidan among others have most likely killed more due to their line of work.
  • Gray is EastEnders' third serial killer after Johnny Allen (by law) and Ray Kelly.
  • It is unknown if Gray and Chelsea Atkins got divorced after separating when she got him sent to prison, as no dialogue on-screen as of 2023 has confirmed if they divorced or not.

See also

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