Tony sexually abused Bianca's stepdaughter, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), and began grooming her school-friend Lauren Branning (Madeline Duggan), before his predatory nature was uncovered and he was arrested for his crimes.

The child sexual abuse storyline marked the first time the subject matter had been broached in a UK soap opera, and was researched and developed with advice and approval from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

[4] The storyline also gained EastEnders a Royal Television Society Programme Award in March 2009 in the Soap and Continuing Drama category.

After being released from prison for assaulting a teenage boy who propositioned Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), Tony joins his partner Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer) and her family in Walford, including her son Morgan Jackson-King, whom he has adopted.

He plans to take her to a concert, but Lauren's father Max Branning (Jake Wood) uncovers her hidden clothes and refuses her permission to attend.

Tony's barrister, Mrs Taylor (Jacqueline Defferary), cross-examines Whitney, trying to imply that she pursued him for several years, saying she refused to take 'no' for an answer and lied about the accusations.

After leaving the courtroom, Whitney gives her barrister, Vivien Easley QC (Geraldine Alexander), a mobile phone with messages from Tony on it.

It was originally stated that Tony was the biological father of Bianca's youngest son, mixed-race Morgan Jackson-King (Devon Higgs), which raised confusion with viewers when it was later announced that Coghill, who is white, had been cast in the role.

[5] Although Tony did not appear in the show until September 2008, his arrival was anticipated from April of that year, when EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer commented that the series was building a picture of his character, and that it would be interesting to see him on-screen.

[7] BBC News described the plot as an ongoing "predatory paedophile storyline", noting that this was the first time this subject matter had been tackled by a UK soap opera.

The NSPCC's work with the BBC on the forthcoming EastEnders storyline is aimed at ensuring the portrayal of child abuse accurately reflects the damage it can do to the victim, their family and the wider community.

[7] The storyline was first conceived when EastEnders series consultant Simon Ashdown viewed a documentary about homelessness, featuring a mother and child at a bus stop with nowhere to go.

The big moments in EastEnders, those iconic pieces of television history, tend to be the things that are incredibly near the knuckle, and are actually quite difficult subjects to raise in the context of a family sitting room.

Coghill was pleased to return, believing it right that Tony's story arc should conclude realistically, giving closure to the storyline and continuing to raise awareness of the issue.

[14] Palmer felt that: "If one person out there who's been abused saw that [the legal system] go out of their way to make it easier on the victim – Whitney's evidence is given by video link – it will be worth it.

[16] The Guardian's Aida Edemariam said of the beginning of the storyline: "what is most disturbing, watching [Tony and Whitney's] first scenes together, is not the sexuality of the situation per se, though that is uncomfortable - it's the subtle blackmail with which he keeps her in line.

The repellent Tony’s grooming and seduction of his stepdaughter, Whitney, is a much more familiar pattern of abuse than the more commonly held image of predators lurking in parks.

[...] The producers of Eastenders, labouring under a welter of tabloid protest and viewers’ complaints, are attempting to make people get past the initial revulsion of the act of abuse and accept the grim fact that ‘paedophiles’ are very often members of the same family.

"[23] However, in contrast to public and media dissent, the NSPCC's director of communications, John Grounds, has praised the storyline for "helping to raise awareness of the hidden nature of sexual abuse",[4] deeming it to be "vital in persuading people to take action to stop it and encouraging children to speak out.

"[4] Episodes from the storyline were submitted to the Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2008 for a panel to judge in the category Soap and Continuing Drama.

Members of the judging panel described the submitted episodes as "the culmination of a particularly challenging and controversial storyline which the production team, writers and cast pulled off triumphantly.