Jack won’t see this coming.
This article contains discussions surrounding self-harm that some readers may find upsetting.
Denise Fox (Diane Parish) braced herself to confess everything to husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) in tonight’s EastEnders (Monday 17th April).
For those who need a quick recap, some weeks ago Denise felt that Jack had pushed her away as he struggled to deal with his daughter Amy Mitchell’s (Ellie Dadd) self-harming. So, flattered by Ravi Gulati’s (Aaron Thiara) attention, she enjoyed a series of kisses with him.
But upon joining Ravi at a hotel, Denise came to her senses and returned to her family rather than making the mistake of sleeping with the other man. Later, she informed Ravi that Jack was investigating him in his detective role, so Ravi ordered Denise to hand him the evidence or he would tell Jack about their encounters.
When Denise refused to comply, Ravi romanced her daughter Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) in order to get close to what he wanted; but he ended up genuinely falling for Chelsea. Meanwhile, Ravi’s son Nugget (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) overheard the truth and told Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega), who told Amy!
Tonight, Amy refused to go to school and gave Denise the cold shoulder, and refused to open up when her stepmum approached her for a heart-to-heart. Amy began drinking, before leaving the house suddenly. Denise then snooped in her room, concerned that Amy might be hurting herself again.
Amy returned in time to catch her, and the teen exploded with anger as she blurted out that Denise had been “carrying on with Nugget’s dad”. Stunned, Denise questioned Amy’s words, but eventually was forced to concede that she had kissed Ravi – although she downplayed it somewhat. Denise explained that she and Jack were in a bad place at the time and she felt so lonely.
Able to identify with Denise’s feelings, Amy accepted this explanation, but didn’t respond when Denise wondered if she would be telling her dad. Amy fell silent as Jack and her brother Ricky Jr (Frankie Day) arrived home in a celebratory mood after Ricky’s sporting success.
Amy and Denise were quiet as the family ate dinner, with Denise avoiding drinking wine as she wanted to “keep a clear head”, clearly worried about what Amy would say.
But in a quiet moment after dinner, Amy assured Denise that she didn’t want to ruin anything if Denise would never do anything like that again. Denise promised she wouldn’t, but added that Amy’s mental health must come first. Initially feeling reassured, she was horrified when she checked on Amy in her bedroom and found an empty bottle of wine beside the drunk young girl.
Feeling awful, Denise headed downstairs and told Jack that Amy had been drinking. When he insisted on going to have it out with Amy, Denise stopped him by saying it was time for her to do some talking, because Amy’s drinking was down to her and something she had done. How will Jack react when he hears the truth?
EastEnders has worked closely with Alumina, Mind and Samaritans on Amy’s storyline. For support and information on matters raised within this article, visit BBC Action Line.
Read more:
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- Ross Kemp says he’d “think twice” but won’t rule out EastEnders return
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