EastEnders airs heartbreaking Amy update as Denise finally learns the truth

EastEnders has aired a new, tragic development in Amy Mitchell's grooming storyline as Denise Fox learns the truth about her stepdaughter's whereabouts.

As Walford was gearing up to say goodbye to Zoe Slater at her funeral, Jack Branning and the rest of the Branning-Mitchell family had something else on their minds. Amy had gone missing with sacked policeman Craig Ingram after he manipulated her into a relationship.

In tonight's scenes, Jack continued lying to Denise Fox about Amy, pretending she'd gone on a school trip. Meanwhile, Max had been working to help Jack find Amy.

Alone with her stepbrother Darnell, Denise started quizzing him about why Jack would be at work on the day of Zoe's wake. "Something ain't right," Denise said.

Bunt Darnell countered: "He's got a lot on, D." It didn't take long for Darnell to cave though, as he finally said: "You need to know."

While Jack was down at the police station to urge Callum Highway to find Amy, Denise texted him. "I know! Where are you?" she wrote.

In a later scene, Amy and Craig were looking for a place to stay for the night. The teen shared her doubts with Craig, saying she hated "all this hiding out".

Craig promised her it would only be temporary, though not before further coercing her into staying with him. "If we're going to be together, this is how it has to be," Craig stated.

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At home, Darnell told Jack it "felt wrong to lie" to Denise, who was understandably angry at her husband for keeping such a huge secret from her.

"You need to tell me everything," she told Jack, as the pair hugged and comforted each other.

Denise admitted knowing that Amy had an "older boyfriend", but insisted that she never would've thought it was Craig. "You don't know how vulnerable she is," Jack told Denise.

"She's in a lot of trouble. She attacked Joel," he continued, explaining that Craig was the officer on the case and had been grooming Amy for months.

Caught up in their conversation, Jack and Denise missed an urgent call from Amy. She'd phoned them while Craig had stepped out of the car. But will she call again? And will she be able to pick up if they call back?

EastEnders has been working on Amy's grooming storyline with support from Barnardo's and End Violence Against Women, with support and information available via their websites.

EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.