EastEnders airs horrifying Denzel episode in vile twist in iPlayer release

EastEnders spoilers follow for Monday’s episode (19 October), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn’t yet aired on TV.

EastEnders’ Denzel Fox-Danes faces his worst nightmare as evil Craig Ingram makes his next move. In recent episodes, Craig, who is currently grooming Amy Mitchell, was furious when he found Denzel’s ID in his flat.

Craig took Amy’s phone and found a shirtless photo from Denzel, so goaded him into sending more intimate pictures. Behind Amy’s back, Craig saved Denzel’s photos and later sent him an anonymous text blackmailing him for money.

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In today’s episode, Kim and Howie returned from their honeymoon in St Lucia and they reunited with their kids. But Denzel purposely avoided them, looking at a text that threatened £1000 by the end of the day or else his family will see the pictures.

Denzel filled in Amy, who swore that this would just be a prank and encouraged him to ignore the texts. But Denzel was devastated by what this would do to him and asked Amy for help finding the cash.

Desperate Denzel told Nugget about his blackmail ordeal. Nugget told his friend that he could help him get the money he needed and the pair tried stealing cash from the Minute Mart, but they were caught in the act by Yolande.

Denzel had no choice but to tell Yolande the truth about his huge dilemma, and Yolande scolded him for sending the photos in the first place.

Meanwhile, Amy confronted Craig about his actions, but Craig managed to convince her that Denzel deserved it and made out that he was scared of losing her to Denzel. However, she continued to have doubts about the cruel situation.

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Later, Denzel was surprised by Howie, Kim and the whole family with a belated 18th birthday surprise. Howie presented his son with a sentimental and expensive gold signet ring, with a party planned at Container Junction.

But Denzel decided to pawn the ring in a last ditch attempt to stop the blackmailer, leaving Amy feeling increasingly guilty.

Later, Denzel and Amy showed up to the birthday celebrations together and had to make clear that they weren’t a couple again. With the blackmail money paid, Denzel got Amy a drink – but Craig was lurking in the shadows.

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As the party continued, Amy noticed Craig watching on so ran to confront him. Craig made clear that he disapproved of her and Denzel and walked away, claiming that he’d have his own fun.

At that moment, Craig sent Howie and Kim the intimate pictures despite Denzel sending the money. How will Denzel cope with the photos being exposed to his family?

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.