EastEnders’ Reiss Colwell makes huge double discovery as he gets caught in debt spiral

This article contains spoilers for Monday’s (22 July 2024) episode of EastEnders, currently showing on BBC iPlayer.

Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman), aka Reiss Colwell, is a man with the world on his shoulders and who is drowning in debt. But his problems seem much more complex. The accountant has not honored the payments for the care of his wife Debbie, who is in a coma after a stroke.

Reiss also stole his wife’s savings to fund IVF treatment for his girlfriend Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy). But on the final trip to Walford, Debbie’s care home called Reiss to demand the payments as he tried to buy time to find the money.

Meanwhile, Sonia confided in long-time friend Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) that she was “terrified” of getting a negative pregnancy test after her treatment.

Kathy encouraged Sonia to check if her IVF had worked and take a pregnancy test. Across the square, Reiss visited Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and lied to her about having unpaid bills to pay, the Daily Star reports.

Reiss even criticized Sharon for forgetting about payments due to Keanu Taylor’s (Danny Taylor) death. Sharon confided in Reiss that her former partner Keanu liked her and therefore trusted him with her business accounts.

Reiss backed down, offering to find a way out instead of paying the bill up front. He then went to Debbie, confessing his guilt over his behavior and the mess he had gotten himself into, made worse by defrauding Sharon and lying to Sonia.

The accountant confessed to Debbie that he had been having sleepless nights and was unable to cope with Sonia. He also revealed that the proceeds from the sale of their marital home had dried up, leaving him unable to cover Sonia’s childcare costs.

Back home, Sonia shared the news of her pregnancy, which momentarily eased Reiss’s stress and allowed the two of them to revel in their shared happiness. However, when his problems resurfaced, Reiss left Sonia demoralized and upset when he downplayed their chances of pregnancy.

In an effort to reconcile with Sonia, he admitted the extent of his debt to the nursing home and the looming threat of Debbie being evicted.

Sonia was distraught by Reiss’s constant lies and worried that she would not be able to have a baby despite their mounting debts. In an attempt to rectify the situation, Reiss returned to Sharon and confessed that there was no way to escape the tax bill.

He urged Sharon to transfer £13,500 into the company account as she agreed to collect the funds. But will Reiss’ latest ploy pay off?