EastEnders star Diane Parish has addressed her future on the BBC soap, hinting she may not be leaving Walford anytime soon despite a devastating new storyline for her character Denise Fox. The actress spoke to The Mirror and other press ahead of the 20th anniversary of Denise's first appearance on the show, which falls on Monday.
20 Years of Denise Fox
Parish, who has played Denise since 2006, expressed her delight at EastEnders winning its 12th BAFTA award. Reflecting on her two-decade tenure, she admitted she never expected to play the role for so long, calling it 'unsustainable' initially. 'Tomorrow morning I’ll have been part of this show for 20 years - I never thought it would be possible to sustain one character for this period of time,' she said.
She recalled some of her biggest moments, including being declared dead, homelessness, and eating out of bins, before embarking on a new chapter. 'The roads that I’ve gone down, the crazy things. I’ve been dead, I’ve been homeless, I’ve eaten out of bins, and now I’ve got a whole new journey,' she added.
Favourite Storylines and Future Plans
Parish cited the murder whodunnit 'The Six' as her favourite storyline, particularly the resulting psychosis for Denise. 'It was my absolute fave - the resulting psychosis for Denise. It sounds a little bit odd but it was so much fun doing it. Running through the forest in the middle of the night,' she said. Suggesting she has no immediate plans to leave, she added: 'But who knows what is to come, you always get a new favourite, it changes all the time.'
Cancer Diagnosis Sparks Fan Concern
Denise Fox is about to face a battle with acute myeloid leukaemia, a blood cancer, after the diagnosis was announced last week. Fans have expressed fears that the character might die, especially after a past interview where Parish hinted she would reassess her future after 20 years. Social media has been flooded with worried messages, including: 'Don’t you DARE take ar D away from us' and 'You better not take D or istg I’ll riot.'
Accepting the BAFTA award onstage, Parish thanked the fans, cast, and crew for their support. EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
