An emotional episode of EastEnders has seen Denise Fox (Diane Parish) begin her intensive chemotherapy.
Earlier this month, the beloved character was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a form of blood cancer.
Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) was the first family member she confided in, but before she could tell long-term partner Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), some more nightmarish news landed.
Denise’s grandson Jordan (Jahsaiah Williams) had been hit by Ian Beale’s (Adam Woodyatt) car, and she rushed off to the hospital to support daughter Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) – choosing to ignore calls relating to her own wellbeing.
After learning that she’d have to spend a month in hospital and would be unable to leave, she decided to delay her treatment. Her secret illness was finally revealed in yesterday’s instalment, after Denise discovered that sister Kim (Tameka Empson) had been engaged to Howie Danes (Delroy Atkinson).
The Fox-Truemans gathered in The Queen Vic for a celebration, though Chelsea clocked her mum’s low mood and after following her to the toilets, found her in tears.
Denise rushed out into the bar, and feeling like she was trapped in an impossible situation, admitted everything.
In today’s episode, after returning home, she began putting plans in place for her absence. She wanted her family to try and find as much normality as possible, and to help out Jack wherever they could.
Chelsea secretly called sister Libby (Belinda Owusu) – who lives in Oxford – and told her that she should come home to Walford to support their mother. Meanwhile, Kim was highly distressed by the news and circled her own living room.
She wasn’t shocked that Yolande already knew, though accepted that Denise didn’t want to burden everyone else at such a horrific time for Chelsea and Jordan.
The community pulled together to bring presents and fruit bowls to Denise’s doorstep, as she packed her bags and prepared to spend the next four weeks in the confinement of a hospital ward. When young son Raymond (Michael Jose Pomares Calixte) asked whether she was going to die, she assured him that she was going nowhere.
She then headed over to Kim’s house, where the sisters had a tough conversation about what lay ahead. Denise contemplated what would happen next, wondering whether the chemotherapy would change her life beyond recognition and if it would be best just to try and live as long as possible without it.
Denise was also worried about her appearance changing, and whether Raymond would be scared by her hair loss. She then allowed Kim to remove her weave, leaving her natural hair.
A multitude of family pictures on the fridge reminded her that it was time to fight for her future.
The next morning, Libby arrived, and immediately clashed with Chelsea. She wasn’t happy that, in her absence, Denise’s ill health hadn’t been picked up on. However, upon realising the strain that everyone was under, they made amends.
Denise and Jack arrived at the hospital and were immediately ushered into a side ward by a consultant. The doctor explained that she must flag any changes to her skin, any injuries and feelings of sickness as the treatment would effectively destroy her immune system and put her at a high risk of infection.
They also warned that there could be a chance she would be admitted to the hospital’s ICU.
Cradling one of Raymond’s drawings, and with Jack holding her hand, Denise began her treatment.
