EastEnders legend breaks silence on potential Denise death
Following the news of Denise Fox’s (Diane Parish) blood cancer diagnosis, EastEnders fans are utterly terrified the beloved character isn’t going to survive.
Denise went to the doctors for tests after developing worrying health symptoms.
On the day of Ross Marshall (Alex Walkinshaw) and Vicki Fowler’s (Alice Haig) wedding, she was summoned to the hospital for a bone marrow aspirate test and learned that she had AML, a particularly aggressive form of blood cancer that requires urgent treatment.
The news knocked Denise for six but, despite being told of the urgency of the situation, she held off on beginning treatment after grandson Jordan was knocked down by a car, wanting to be there for Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) in her hour of need.
But after Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) had Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) urge her to begin treatment at once, Denise broke down in the Vic earlier this week and confided in her loved ones, revealing her diagnosis.
Given that Denise has an aggressive type of blood cancer, it has left plenty of audience members worried about her future. The character was mentioned in the flashforward episode earlier this year, which is set in 2027, but not seen.
The comments made in this instalment confirmed that Denise will be alive until then, but exactly what happens after that is still up in the air.
Actress Diane Parish, who has played Denise for a whopping 20 years, recently reflected on her soap alter-ego’s diagnosis, and what impact it will have on Denise’s family moving forward.
‘There are many characters in this show and, as actors, we just tell their stories. I see it like we’re chess pieces on a board and we go with whatever the creators decide is best for the show, because they’re looking at the bigger picture. It’s the fickle finger of fate, but that’s just like life isn’t it?’.
Continuing her chat with TV Times, Diane said that she feels like she’s had ‘100 different careers already from being in this show’, adding that she feels ‘so grateful and proud to be a part of it’.
The star explained that one of the reasons why Denise delayed her treatment was because she feared that things would ‘fall apart without her’.
‘But now she’s going to have to surrender herself to the people who are hopefully going to be able to save her life’, she added.
‘There are ripples throughout the whole family. You see that this isn’t just happening to Denise, it’s happening to everyone else who loves her, too. They’ve all been thrown into this huge storm.
‘I want everybody to look out for what’s coming – because it’s unexpected.
As part of Denise’s storyline and the plot involving Chelsea and son Jordan, Belinda Owusu has reprised her role as Libby Fox.
