Thomas "Rocky" Cotton is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Brian Conley.

He was introduced under the alias Terry Cant, the estranged father of Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) in episode 6274, broadcast on 18 May 2021, after his casting details were announced in February of that year.

Rocky arrives in Walford and instantly bumps into Rainie Highway (Tanya Franks) after leaving the tube station.

Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) walks into the club and argues with Dotty Cotton (Milly Zero) and comes face with Rocky but is unaware of who he is and leaves after labelling him a pervert.

Rocky then arrives at The Queen Victoria looking for Sonia, who hides from him but he finds her and introduces himself as her father, confirming that he received a letter that she had sent to him.

Rocky is unaware that Kathy has helped Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) bury to body of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) under the café floor.

Rocky was introduced as Terry Cant, the estranged father of established character Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), with Conley's casting being announced on 15 February 2021.

[4] Terry is billed the "ultimate people pleaser", who would be "quick to charm everyone on the Square and make himself at home" and "dip into everyone's lives".

[1][4][5] Conley also explained that Terry had a more humorous side, saying "He's cheeky, his name's Rocky and my wife and kids roared at that", and hoped viewers would find the character funny.

[1][3][7] He also described joining EastEnders as an "incredible moment", joking that he could not wait to order his first pint at The Queen Vic.

[4][6] Sen said that despite Rocky being somewhat difficult to cast, Conley was the perfect person to play the character, saying "the moment we met Brian, we knew instantly we had found our man", calling the actor "a talented performer whose charm, wit and charisma are exactly the qualities we want for Terry".

[1][5] Conley explained in an interview with Inside Soap that EastEnders bosses had searched for an actor to play Terry for a while and that he was informed of his casting before Christmas 2020.

[10] Sen teased storylines for the character, saying "We've got some wonderful stories in store for him and can't wait for the audience to see Brian bring him to life".

[1][5] Sen believed Conley's charm and charisma not only won him the role, but it also helped to "throw viewers off the scent" of the character's more villainous nature.

[9] On the wedding day, Conley teased that Rocky would be "especially nervous" due to the issues he's had with Jo, as he knew that, based on her personality, "something [bad] could happen".

[25] Conley was aware from his introduction of his character's true identity, noting that "the hardest thing was keeping [the twist] a secret", and was excited for the show to tackle Rocky's real personality, saying "It's a relief that it's come out, I want them all to know who he really is, and how the story will unfold".

I was fortunate enough to have it mapped out, we didn't know his name or things like that, but it was one of the reasons that they always called me Rocky because he's meant to be Terry but he's actually Thomas, and that could get confusing.

[23][25] The actor called it an "honour" to play a central role in the storyline, adding that "Rocky [deserved] his punishment".

[27] It was announced on 9 November 2023 that Rocky would set fire to the Bridge Street Café in an insurance scam to pay off a debt he owed to Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry).

Conley said that the reveal would cause friction between the two, saying "Kathy obviously has put up with a hell of a lot [laughs] since the wedding".

[29] The actor commented that Rocky would remain optimistic and jolly as usual, but that "he knows in his heart that it will be asking a hell of a lot from her to forgive him".

The storyline became known as "The Six", referring to the six female characters: Kathy, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), who were suspected to be the murderer.

[39] "The Seven" was a list of seven male potential victims: Rocky, Nish, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters), Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), was announced on 7 December 2023.

[42] It was revealed on Christmas Day that Rocky was not the body, but was drunk and witnessed suspicious behaviour from The Six, causing Kathy to turn him in to authorities for his arson plot to keep him quiet.

[43] On his departure, Conley said that appearing on the soap "was nerve-wracking at first because the show is so iconic" but he looks back on his time on Albert Square with "very fond memories".

[35][36] Conley shared an Instagram post bidding farewell to the character the day following the airing of his final scenes which read "Well Rocky, you pretended to be Sonia's Dad, Had two heart attacks, Married Kathy Beale, Met the King of England, Your best mate's with Harry Redknapp, You blew up the café, and had a pet parrot called Jasper, Gonna miss you, you old rascal".

[25] The magazine company also reported that many viewers were "hoping [Rocky] would stick around" after the character suffered a heart attack.

[37] Laura Denby and Lewis Knight said that Rocky's "cheeky persona" would be missed and called him "an honourable man, if not always an honest one".