A recent, moving storyline on EastEnders showed Denise Fox starting a course of powerful chemotherapy treatment.
Earlier this month, the well-known character received a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer.
I always thought it was interesting that Yolande Trueman – Angela Wynter, what a brilliant actress – was the first person Donna confided in. But just as she was about to tell Jack Branning, her partner at the time, another awful thing happened. It just kept piling on for her, honestly.
Denise’s grandson, Jordan (played by Jahsaiah Williams), was involved in a car accident with Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), and she immediately went to the hospital to be with her daughter, Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams). She put her own needs aside to focus on her family.
When she found out she’d need a month-long hospital stay and wouldn’t be able to go home, she chose to postpone her treatment. The reason for her illness was finally revealed in yesterday’s episode after Denise learned that her sister Kim had been engaged to Howie Danes.
The Fox-Trueman family came together at The Queen Vic to celebrate, but Chelsea noticed her mother seemed upset. She followed her to the restroom and found her crying.
Denise hurried into the bar and, overwhelmed by the feeling of being completely stuck, confessed everything.
Back home, she started making arrangements for when she’d be away. She hoped her family could maintain a normal routine and support Jack as much as possible during her absence.
Chelsea quietly reached out to her sister Libby, who’s currently living in Oxford, asking her to return to Walford and help their mom. At the same time, Kim was very upset by the news and paced anxiously around her house.
She wasn’t surprised Yolande was aware, but understood why Denise hadn’t wanted to worry others when Chelsea and Jordan were going through such a terrible situation.
Neighbors showered Denise with gifts and fruit as she got ready for a month-long hospital stay. When her son, Raymond (Michael Jose Pomares Calixte), worriedly asked if she was going to die, she quickly reassured him that she would be okay and wasn’t going anywhere.
After that, she went to Kim’s place, and the sisters had a difficult talk about the future. Denise thought a lot about what was coming, worrying if chemo would drastically change her and whether it might be better to focus on living comfortably without treatment.
Denise was also concerned about how she looked, specifically if losing her hair would frighten Raymond. She decided to take out her weave, revealing her natural hair.
A multitude of family pictures on the fridge reminded her that it was time to fight for her future.
Libby showed up the next day and quickly had a disagreement with Chelsea. Libby was upset that no one noticed Denise wasn’t feeling well while she was away. But after understanding how stressed everyone was, they resolved their differences.
Denise and Jack were taken straight into a private room at the hospital by a doctor. The doctor explained that Denise needed to report any changes to her skin, injuries, or feelings of being unwell because the treatment would weaken her immune system and greatly increase her 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.
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Authors
Michael Adams is TopMob’s expert on soap operas, bringing all the latest news and spoilers from shows like Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks. Before joining TopMob, he was a Soaps Reporter at Metro for two years and even worked behind the scenes on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
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2026-06-16 13:05