Kojo Asare (Dayo Koleosho) had a pretty awful 2025 in EastEnders, after discovering and flushing a stash of drugs belonging to Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), who was in the process of establishing his own narcotic enterprise on the Square.
When his best friend Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) covered for him, they both found themselves ensnared in the operation, and things only got progressively worse from there.
When the address they were using as a base was raided by the police, Ravi settled on using Kojo’s flat as the headquarters of his operation, cuckooing him.
Cuckooing refers to the practice whereby criminals take over a person’s dwelling – often the home of a vulnerable person – to use it for illegal activities and soon enough, not only was Kojo’s flat flooded with drugs and dealers, he was being used as a drug runner himself.
Utterly ruthless Okie (Aayan Ibikunle Shoderu) was soon installed as Ravi’s second in command, and when he left Okie to run the day to day operations, Harry ended up chained to a bed in Kojo’s flat and frequently fed drugs to force an addiction.
Kojo bravely found a way to escape, attempting to also carry Harry to freedom, but his months in captivity made it nearly impossible, so Kojo fled alone and brought reinforcements in his brother George Knight (Colin Salmon), who helped rescue Harry alongside his dad, Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian).
Okie lured Kojo back to the flat, and used him to bring Harry also, setting off a final, fatal confrontation.
Harry stabbed Okie, and he ultimately died, something Teddy ended up taking the rap for.
In the aftermath, Kojo wanted a fresh start, turning to bestie Harry and his niece – also Harry’s girlfriend – Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), to help him find romance, leading to Kojo going on his first date.
Next week, Kojo makes a connection that isn’t at all romantic; well, not at first, anyway, when he clashes with newcomer, Jodie Hawkins (Anna Constable).
The next day, Harry talks Kojo into helping do Harry’s Barn up for the impending Halloween bash, completely unaware that Jodie has also been rallied to the cause, and things seem even more fractious.
Something interesting happens, though, when despite his initial dislike of Jodie, the two find themselves growing closer as they continue to decorate the bar, and catching a big whiff of romance in the air, the Hawkins’ clan band together to try and play cupid between the two.
Is a new couple about to form on Albert Square?