EastEnders reveals Darnell's tragic family secret in early iPlayer release

EastEnders spoilers follow for Thursday's episode (24 September), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn’t yet aired on TV.

EastEnders has revealed Darnell Larson Jr's tragic family secret in an early BBC iPlayer release. Darnell joined the soap earlier this year as Denise Fox's long-lost half-brother, discovered by Kim Fox via a DNA ancestry test.

Darnell arrived alongside his daughter, Grace, as a stem cell match for Denise amid her acute myeloid leukaemia diagnosis, an aggressive form of blood cancer.

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He has initially been hesitant to get tested, with scenes set to air in the soap tonight explaining the heartbreaking reason why.

The episode begins with Jack Branning becoming frustrated when Denise shares that a donor still hasn't come forward for testing.

Convinced it's Darnell, Jack confronts him and demands answers from him, desperate for Denise to get the transplant she desperately needs.

Darnell admits he's learned he might be a potential match and shares his fears - he can't face the process due to what happened in the past with his late wife.

He explains that his wife was one of the victims of a contaminated blood scandal and died years later as a result, meaning the process of the test brings up a lot of unresolved trauma.

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Denise accepts his decision, but Jack is not satisfied and remains enraged that Darnell won't have the test.

Later, with some encouragement from Grace, Darnell reconsiders his stance and agrees to be tested, leaving Denise stunned. But will he be able to go through with it?

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.

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