He was created by EastEnders writer Daran Little and introduced by executive producer Sean O'Connor in episode 5511, broadcast on 15 June 2017, as a member of the show's Taylor family.

During his second stint, his storylines included his attempts to reconnect with Albie Watts (Arthur Gentleman), whom he falsely believes is his son, beginning a relationship with Sharon, being involved in drug trafficking with Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), being blackmailed by Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin) for time with his daughter Peggy, his abduction scheme of Albie to gain ransom money, and his eventual murder on Christmas Day.

Although the robbery fails, as a reward for his efforts, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) hires Keanu as a mechanic at The Arches, where he clashes with Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths), his mother Karen Taylor's (Lorraine Stanley) ex and the father of his siblings.

After being fired by Phil following a disagreement, Keanu later steps in to protect Sharon Mitchell's (Letitia Dean) son Dennis (Bleu Landau) from a gang.

Martin Fowler (James Bye), tasked with the job, stages a fake execution with Linda Carter's (Kellie Bright) help, allowing Keanu to escape.

Keanu later returns, seeking to reunite with Sharon and leave Walford, but his plans unravel when he kidnaps Phil's son Ben Mitchell's (Max Bowden) boyfriend Callum Highway (Tony Clay) to secure money for their escape.

Keanu returns to Walford two years later, determined to reconnect with his son Albie (Arthur Gentleman), but his efforts receive resistance from Sharon and threats from Phil.

The women involved – Sharon, Linda, Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) – decide to hide Keanu's body under the floorboards of the Bridge Street Café.

[6] He commented on the "huge buzz" around the Taylor family's introduction and noted his excitement to see what was in store for the characters, promising Keanu would do everything in his power to maintain the peace in Albert Square.

[7][8][9] In September 2019, executive producer Kate Oates told the press that the secret of Keanu and Sharon's affair would be "blown up" during the soap's upcoming Christmas episode, with the storyline set to be a major plot point.

[12] Executive producer Jon Sen said that Keanu's stint would conclude in a "dramatic and blistering" manner,[12] with the truth set to come out in "spectacular fashion"[13] and leave severe consequences.

[22][23] Keanu's eventual involvement in the death of Sharon's son Dennis Rickman Jnr (Bleu Landau) prompts her to disown him, telling him to leave Walford.

[28] Explaining his decision to bring the character back, executive producer Chris Clenshaw said Keanu had "unfinished business" since his exit and had a lot of people to make amends with.

[4] Clenshaw added by noting the character's growth, explaining that Keanu had "matured" over time and, in his words, "left a boy and he returns as a man".

[28] Walters voiced his excitement about the planned developments for Keanu and was grateful to return at the end of a significant episode of the serial,[27] the funeral of Dot Cotton (June Brown).

[27] After Clenshaw confirmed the soap's 20 February 2023 broadcast would leave viewers with "a lot of questions",[30] it was revealed to be the show's first-ever flash-forward scene, showing six female characters: Sharon, Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) standing over the body of an unidentified dead man in The Queen Victoria public house, with the only clues to his identity being his sex and the body wearing a black suit with amber cufflinks.

[32] Keanu emerged as a prominent suspect for the identity of the dead body, as a result of his feud with Phil, his recent return,[31] and his increasingly hostile behaviour.

[33] On 7 December 2023, he was confirmed as one of seven official suspects to be the dead body, alongside Phil, Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry), Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), and Tom "Rocky" Cotton (Brian Conley).

[39] Watched by 3.6 million people,[40] "The Six" storyline unfolded on Christmas Day 2023, where it is revealed that while Keanu died after being stabbed by Linda Carter, he was not the body on the floor.

[6] Talking about the Taylor family, Walters described them as prideful and "the sort of neighbours you wouldn't want moving into your beautiful Square", and said that they would clash with many of the show's characters.

On the ITV talk show This Morning, Walters revealed that his character didn't know much about his father, which meant he had to grow up quickly and become "the man of the house".

[52] He credited a storyline showing Bernadette suffer a miscarriage as being the first instance of viewers beginning to enjoy the family due to the characters becoming more layered over the course of the story.

[67] The rumours were confirmed in an official teaser released by the show on 10 August 2018, which depicted Sharon admiring a shirtless Keanu and the pair sharing lengthy looks.

[122] Discussing Lisa's plans, Walters noted that she becomes "greedy" and asks for overly large sums of money from Keanu, manipulating him using his love for Peggy.

[45] A controversial early storyline which falsely framed Keanu as the father of Bernadette's unborn baby was heavily criticised by viewers, with some accusing the soap's incest indication being "too far".

[131] In September 2017, Laura Morgan of Digital Spy opined that Keanu's character was in need of a relationship or an affair to help him stand out and to improve the Taylor family's narrative relevance.

[49] A scene showing Keanu almost killing Hayley was called "shocking" and "disturbing" by Justin Harp of Digital Spy, writing that the character's anger issues had "gone too far".

[57] Stephanie Chase of Digital Spy remarked that "fans were not ready" for Keanu and Sharon's affair to begin, noting that its introduction received a mixed response from viewers.

Writer Helen Daly wrote that it succeeded due to the element of surprise, Keanu being a "beloved" character, and the storyline potential his return brought.

A heartbreaking but logical conclusion to a character who started as a sweet hero and ended up a desperate villain no longer worthy of Walford icon Sharon Watts".