EastEnders’ Sonny Kendall has set tongues wagging across social media as fans are left gobsmacked by his real age.
Sonny, who joined the Albert Square crew as Tommy Moon in 2021, has been at the heart of a distressing child abuse storyline involving his on-screen family. The young lad has been showing violent behaviour towards his mum, Kat Slater (played by Jessie Wallace), which has gradually escalated.
After a brutal outburst during a family meal, Tommy was caught hurting his younger siblings Bert and Ernie, causing Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) to panic and call social services. This resulted in Tommy being taken away from his family home.
Kat was heartbroken as she watched Tommy pack up his things and get ready to leave Walford. Luckily, neighbour and certified foster carer Zack Hudson (James Farrar) stepped in to care for Tommy while the family sought help.
However, the teen recently returned to Kat and Alfie’s (Shane Richie) home but immediately caused a stir when he discovered his mum had thrown out his gaming console, reports Plymouth Live.
It later emerged that Tommy was feeling isolated and had made an online friend named Matt, who turned out to be an AI chatbot.
As regular EastEnders viewers will know, Alfie is considered Tommy’s dad, but his biological father is Michael Moon, portrayed by Steve Shepherd.
Michael Moon, the violent sociopath character on EastEnders met his demise back in November 2013, murdered by Janine Butcher (portrayed by Charlie Brooks), has instilled fear in fans who can’t help worrying that his son Tommy might be inheriting his father’s penchant for violence.
Yet it’s not just the storyline that has viewers buzzing but also the real age of actor Sonny Kendall, who plays Tommy. Fans are taken aback to learn that the actor is actually 19 years old, despite portraying a much younger character.
One surprised viewer posted on Reddit about the unexpected age revelation: “I honestly thought he was cast right for his age and would be 14/15 irl but he’s 19! Never would have guessed.”
Others quickly chimed in with disbelief and emoji-laden shock. An interesting tidbit was added by another fan, noting, “Amy is also 19 I believe but her character is meant to be 15/16. It’s interesting seeing them outside of character and how much older they look.”
The sentiments continued, with plenty of surprise and even an emphatic “I never ever would have thought he was 19, omg!” from one fan, and another simply unable to hide their astonishment: “How the hell is he 19?”