As if the Fox-Trueman family haven’t had enough bad news thrown their way recently in EastEnders, along comes Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) to deliver some more!
Denise Fox (Diane Parish) has courageously been battling with cancer for a while now, and despite her absolute determination and unwavering bravery, it becomes increasingly clear next week that without a stem cell donor, it’s a battle she could well lose.
With both of her daughters, Chelsea and Libby Fox (Zaraah Abrahams and Belinda Owusu) having been tested and ruled out as donors, the family’s search for a suitable match rages on.
As she becomes more unwell, doctors decide to place Denise in an induced coma, leaving the Fox-Truemans even more desperate to find a match.
They organise a donor drive at the community centre, but a further discovery by Denise’s sister, Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) through an ancestry website brings immediate hope: Denise actually has a half-brother.
Enter Darnell Larson Jr (Christopher Colquhoun).
When Kim makes contact with Darnell, he agrees to meet up, and is initially pretty intrigued when he finally sees Kim and Jack in person.
‘Darnell is simply excited to discover a side of his family he never knew existed,’ explains Christopher.
‘He’s naturally open and trusting, so he doesn’t spend time questioning why they’ve reached out to him.
‘He wants to get to know them and, in typical Darnell fashion, almost loses sight of the bigger picture because he’s so fascinated by the connection itself and doesn’t even question why Denise isn’t there!’
When he discovers the truth, though, Darnell panics.
‘The penny drops and he suddenly realises, ‘Where’s my sister?’ But he’s not angry about being misled.
‘Instead, he’s overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation, especially having only just learned Denise exists.’
Agreeing to accompany Kim and Jack to visit Denise, Darnell finds himself utterly overwhelmed and is forced to retreat from the hospital, unable to handle the magnitude of learning so much about his previously-unknown half sister.
‘As the story develops, we also begin to understand why hospitals are such a difficult and triggering environment for him,’ Christopher promises.
When Denise is brought out of her coma, she and the Fox-Trueman’s are dealt a further blow when they learn that her chemo isn’t working in the way doctors had hoped, though she takes comfort in learning about her brother.
Jack, meanwhile, finds no comfort in anything and becomes increasingly focussed on finding out of Darnell is a donor match, leading him to approach him again.
‘Darnell likes Jack, but he doesn’t respond well to pressure or aggression,’ Chris explains.
‘When he’s pushed, his instinct is to withdraw rather than fight back. That leaves Jack in a difficult position because Darnell represents a rare source of hope for Denise and the family – it’s all or nothing for them at this point.’
Jack doesn’t only find Darnell, though. He also finds his daughter, Grace (Krysstina Frempong), who’s much more willing to engage in conflict than her dad.
‘Grace is fearless, protective and takes no prisoners,’ Chris says.
‘They balance each other perfectly, he’s her dad, but she often looks out for him in ways he doesn’t even realise he needs.’
Emotions run high between the new family members, and Jack is ultimately left to return to Kim with the news that he could well have scared Darnell off forever.
As Kim explodes with fury over his actions, has Jack destroyed Denise’s best chance at survival?
