EastEnders Introduces Terry Cant as Sonia Fowler’s Long-Lost Father

EastEnders has confirmed the identity of Sonia Fowler’s mystery visitor and it’s a huge blast from her past as BBC soap legend Natalie Cassidy’s final scenes loom

EastEnders favourite Sonia Fowler has come face-to-face with her biological dad Terry Cant.

Spoilers previously confirmed that Sonia, played Natalie Cassidy, was set to receive a visit from a mystery person and all was revealed during Monday’s (April 14) episode of the BBC One soap.

Sonia was left reeling when she discovered that her sister Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) had gone behind her back and appeared as a guest on a true crime podcast to speak about Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman).

Sonia was harassed by Mo and Kim’s insensitive tour for true crime fans in today’s episode, and she worried about the impact on baby Julia in future.

After Bianca and Sonia made up, the pair then went to Harry’s Barn for a drink as they began to look to the future.

Bianca later spotted a man from the tour hanging around nearby, so followed him outside. She confronted him, and it soon became clear that the man is her mum Carol’s ex-boyfriend – and Sonia’s biological father – Terry Cant.

He explained that he had decided to reach out after hearing the podcast and make up for lost years, but Bianca urged him to stay away, having heard about his past behaviour from her mum.

However, Terry didn’t listen, as he later appeared at Sonia’s door and introduced himself to his shocked daughter. How will Sonia deal with this latest surprise?

Who is Terry Cant in EastEnders?

Terry is the ex-boyfriend of Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson), father of Sonia and grandfather of Bex and Julia.

He had previously never appeared on screen until now but was first mentioned in March 1995.

Terry met Carol in 1984 and they quickly began a relationship. Carol already had two children at the time, Bianca and Robbie Jackson (Dean Gaffney), so Terry became a father figure to them, as neither of their biological fathers were present.

Terry and Carol would always argue, but despite this, they had a daughter together, Sonia.

After Sonia was born, Terry left and Carol’s husband Alan Jackson took her kids in, raising them as his own.

Terry Cant real identity twist

Fans will remember that Sonia searched for Terry’s name on the internet in June 2020 hoping to contact her father, after years of absence.

In May 2021, Terry arrived in the Square to find his daughter, after receiving a letter from her.

They reunite and start to bond, getting to know each other. However, in September of the same year, it was revealed that the man claiming to be Terry is actually Tom (Rocky) Cotton, the dodgy uncle of Dotty Cotton, played by Brian Conley, who planned to scam Sonia out of Dot Cotton’s inheritance.

Who plays Terry Cant?

Terry is played by actor Glen Davies and it’s not the first time he’s been in EastEnders. He has played several small roles from 1995 until 2023 including Mervyn Dale, a journalist with the Walford Gazette.

When Arthur Fowler was arrested for embezzlement in 1995, Mervyn wrote an article about the alleged theft and suggested that Arthur needed the money to pay for the upkeep of his long-term mistress, Christine Hewitt.

Glen has previously appeared in rival ITV soap Emmerdale as an Enforcement Officer in 2013 as also played Silas Jukes in BBC medical drama Doctors in 2018.