EastEnders icon Diane Parish talks Denise's blood cancer scenes: "I literally could not do this story without Scott and Tameka"

Diane Parish has praised her EastEnders colleagues Scott Maslen and Tameka Empson amid character Denise Fox's blood cancer storyline.

Earlier this year, beloved Denise was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) was the first family member she confided in, but before she could tell long-term partner Jack Branning (Maslen), some more nightmarish news landed.

Denise's grandson Jordan (Jahsaiah Williams) had been hit by Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) car, and she rushed off to the hospital to support daughter Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) – choosing to ignore calls relating to her own wellbeing.

After delaying treatment for Jordan's sake, she eventually admitted herself onto a cancer ward and has undergone months of chemotherapy.

She's since been told that a stem cell donor would have to be found – with recently discovered half-brother Darnell Larson (Christopher Colquhoun) agreeing to be tested.

Speaking of the storyline at this year's National Television Awards, Parish told Radio Times: "It's been really tough. If you do a film about somebody with this condition, you'd have finished it by now. If you were doing a TV series or drama, it would have been finished by now.

"We do continuing drama, and because of the length of time that this illness goes on for, it has to play out in its real time. So, as an actor going through this illness for the length of time that I have to go through it is tough."

The actress continued: "It's challenging, and why else did I get into this industry if not to be challenged? Anything you do, you want to be challenged."

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Parish, who is celebrating 20 years in the BBC soap this year, also took time to recognise her co-stars.

"I'm supported. I've got great scaffolding around me. I literally could not do this story without Scott and Tameka Empson," she explained.

"Scott playing my husband is a gift. He's breaking hearts. He's a beautiful, intuitive, gifted, wonderful actor, and I'm blessed to not only have him as an actor but a friend."

On what lies ahead for Denise, Parish teased: "There are no magical answers to things like this. What's been so important and vital to me – not just playing it, but as a Black woman – is the limited access there is to donors.

"The fact that we have raised the level of people who have signed up to the stem cell register as blood donors from the Black community and other communities is the most amazing thing to me. And all I'd encourage people to do it.

"You take a swab, you get a blood test, and you can potentially save someone's life. And Denise, she started out thinking she had such a small percentage of opportunity, and hopefully she makes it through.

"But I hope for all the people who are actually out there suffering with blood cancer, that there is opportunity given to them. That's the most important thing for me."

Read more:

• EastEnders star teases "fire and carnage" when Penny Branning's baby paternity secret is revealed
• EastEnders favourite Balvinder Sopal teases Ash return is "grenade" to the Panesar family unit this autumn
• EastEnders announces hard-hitting Amy Mitchell storyline as BBC soap works with charities

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Authors

Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.