EASTENDERS’ Mick Carter is horrified after his secret daughter Frankie tried to get him to see the truth about the abuse her mother inflicted on him.
The former landlord – who is played by actor Danny Dyer in the BBC soap – is in denial that he was abused despite fathering Frankie aged just 12 to her adult care worker mum.
She desperately tried to tell Mick how wrong it was, but he insisted that he did all the running.
“It’s sick, you weren’t even a teenager,” she said.
“She abused you Mick.”
The BBC soap is going explore the after effects of the childhood abuse Mick went through at the hands of a care worker who was employed to help the family.
This week viewers were horrified when the truth was revealed.
With Frankie having told Tina who her mother is, the over-excited bar manager couldn’t wait to tell the rest of her family.
As she filled them in Linda and Tina reminisced as Frankie listened on and Mick looked sick.
But she couldn’t stop herself from winding Mick up about how he was in love with her before she left them when he was 12.
The truth hit Frankie like a truck and she became emotional, telling Mick: “You were 12. That’s not an affair – it’s disgusting.”
One viewer said: “So Mick was abused in care? Biggest shock ever!!”
Another added: “Poor Mick. Poor Frankie. This is going to be heartbreaking.”
The BBC soap has worked with SurvivorsUK and the NSPCCA on the storyline.
The charities consulted on scripts and story elements as well as facilitated speaking to real survivors of child sexual abuse to ensure that Mick’s story is as accurate as possible.
Jon Sen, Executive Producer EastEnders said: “Viewers have always been aware that Mick spent many years in care, which has been the cause of his fractured relationship with Shirley but now the audience will discover just why Mick’s childhood has been so traumatic.
“This storyline will see Mick having to confront the demons of his past, something he has desperately tried to avoid for many years and face up to the realisation that he experienced abuse whilst he was in care.
“Our work with SurvivorsUK and NSPCC has been vital in informing and grounding Mick’s story very much in reality.
“We hope this storyline will help to challenge the perceptions, the stigma and the shame – particularly experienced by male survivors.”
