Denise Fox (Diane Parish) endured a harrowing day in Wednesday's episode of EastEnders, confronting the stark possibility that she may not survive her cancer battle and then learning that her stepdaughter, Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd), is on the run with groomer Craig Ingram (Matthew James Bailey).
As the Square prepared for Zoe Slater's (Michelle Ryan) funeral, Denise struggled with fears that her own family might soon be saying goodbye to her, while Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) remained tense. He dismissed her concerns by claiming he was preoccupied with Zoe's funeral, until Darnell Larson Jr (Christopher Colquhoun) arrived to ease the tension. Denise then asked Jack when Amy would be home, wanting someone to watch trashy TV with.
Denise uncovers the truth about Amy
Darnell watched awkwardly as Jack lied that Amy would return tomorrow, then claimed he needed to go to work, though Denise sensed something was wrong. As Zoe's hearse arrived, Denise was not comforted by Darnell's attempt to distract her with egg mayo sandwiches, instead thinking deeply about the funeral process, the tears, the emotion, and the kind words before everyone heads to a pub.
Desperate to provide a distraction, Darnell offered himself up for an afternoon of trash TV watching, but Denise was consumed by images of her own family in the car and Jack wearing the suit he'd set out for Zoe's funeral for her own. She asked Darnell point blank why Jack was at work, and despite his attempts to lie, he confessed the truth: Amy is missing.
Jack faces Denise's wrath
Meanwhile, Jack received a telling-off from Callum Highway (Tony Clay) over his insistence on taking the investigation into his own hands, then got a text from Denise demanding they talk. Amy, in Craig's clutches, remained miserable and missing home, clutching a teddy bear Denise had gifted her.
Jack returned home to Denise as Darnell gave them privacy, and he was met with a barrage of questions. Jack apologised profusely, admitting he thought he could fix things before Denise knew any different, but Denise felt reduced to 'just an illness' by being left out. She demanded the entire truth.
Health toll and a missed call
Denise lamented that she didn't see it coming after Amy confessed to having an older boyfriend, while Jack finally told her about Amy's attack on Joel and how Craig used that knowledge to groom her. Denise began to sob just as Amy tried to call home, and as she apologised for not disclosing Amy's boyfriend, her nose began to bleed while Jack tended to her, with both missing that Denise's phone was ringing.
With stress taking a toll on Denise's health and Amy still with a predator, the family's ordeal shows no signs of easing.
