Christopher Colquhoun has made his EastEnders debut this week as Darnell Larson, the long-lost half-brother of Denise Fox. The 56-year-old actor has a history of roles in rival soaps and medical dramas.
From Coronation Street to Walford
Before arriving in Albert Square, Christopher starred in Coronation Street as Matt Davies, where he caused trouble for Dev Alahan, played by Jimmi Harkishin. In 2009, cash-and-carry manager Matt caught the eye of Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati) after her shock split from Dev, and the pair instantly hit it off. Their brief relationship was far from smooth as jealous Dev refused to let Matt act as a father figure to his and Sunita's young twins, Asha and Aadi.
After a few months, Matt departed Weatherfield due to his complicated romance with Sunita, who died four years later, reports the Daily Star.
Casualty role and real-life romance
Casualty fans will also recognise Christopher as series regular Simon Kaminski, who arrived in the emergency department in 2002. The medical drama aired unforgettable scenes when the character was killed off in a dramatic plane crash on the way to his wedding to Lara Stone (Christine Stephen-Daly) in 2004.
In real life, Christopher reportedly found romance on the set of the BBC show with his co-star Martina Laird, who played Comfort Jones in the medical drama. The pair is believed to have parted ways in 2006.
Since her time on Casualty, Martina, 55, has featured in an extensive array of popular television programmes. In 2016, she arrived in Albert Square as DC Angie Rice while investigating the tragic murder of Paul Coker (Jonny Labey). She has also appeared in Dreaming Whilst Black as Aunt Polly, The Bay as Bernie Chambers, Ebele Falade in Unforgotten, and Epiphany in Jericho, amongst numerous others. Martina is also well-versed in cinema, having portrayed Lashana in Disney's The Little Mermaid, alongside Mrs. Jennings in Sense and Sensibility.
Darnell's arrival in EastEnders
EastEnders delivered a gripping twist this week with the introduction of Darnell Larson as the half-brother of Denise Fox, who could prove crucial in saving her life. As viewers of the BBC soap will recall, Denise (Diane Parish) remains hospitalised while battling myeloid leukaemia and is in desperate need of a stem cell transplant.
The Walford community, spearheaded by Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) and Kim Fox (Tameka Empson), launched a search for a potential donor after Denise was placed into an induced coma while fighting sepsis and a chest infection, with medics determining it was the optimal approach to preserve her life. While Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) began to lose faith in his partner's chances of survival, hope emerged when Kim discovered Denise's half-brother, Darnell Larson.
At first, the science teacher declined to assist Denise while grappling with his own personal struggles, but subsequently experienced a change of heart and consented to undergo testing to determine whether he was a stem cell match.
Other roles and thoughts on Darnell
Before being cast in EastEnders, Christopher also appeared alongside Brenda Blethyn for four episodes of Vera, portraying Dr. Carmichael, before taking on the role of Agent Crown in Absentia between 2017 and 2020. His other work includes appearances in Fleabag, Prisoner 951, and Coldwater.
Discussing his soap character's arrival in the legendary Fox family in EastEnders, Christopher explained: "I was drawn to how unapologetically himself Darnell is. He brings a new and very particular energy to the Square, and I loved his warmth, vulnerability and optimism. For me, as an actor, it's exciting to play someone with his backstory and such a unique outlook on the world and he feels very different to anyone I’ve played before, so that was a big draw."
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and iPlayer.
