EastEnders' Jack and Denise on the rocks as he rejects her support over Amy
Could their relationship be in trouble?
**Warning: This article contains discussion of self-harm which some readers might find upsetting.**
Jack Branning's (Scott Maslen) relationship with civil partner Denise Fox (Diane Parish) could be at risk, after Jack harshly rejected her during a tough time in tonight's EastEnders (16th November).
This week, Jack was devastated to discover that his daughter Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) had began self-harming. It was Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) who found Amy and later raised the alarm, leading Jack to make a clumsy attempt at reaching out to Amy.
In moving scenes in last night's instalment of the BBC soap, Jack gently urged Amy to open up, only to ruin his efforts by asking her, "What's your problem?"
As EastEnders continued, Jack spent every moment worrying that the troubled teen was still hurting herself, and when he searched her room, he found her self-harming kit. Denise reminded him that they would get through this together, and she urged him to talk to her rather than Sam, who he had turned to the night before.
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The couple headed to the school to chat to the headteacher, who promised to arrange for Amy to have a chat with a safeguarding officer.
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Jack was convinced that Amy's relationship with newcomer Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) was the root cause of Amy's problems, and he asked if the school had noticed any change in Amy's behaviour since then. Denise ushered him away, and she later confided in sister Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) at the salon.
But when Amy arrived, shouting about the fact that her kit was missing, she secretly pocketed a pair of hairdressing scissors. Denise was distracted by a call and at The Vic, Jack was getting drunk as Denzel's father, Howie (Delroy Atkinson), innocently approached him.
Jack was already riled up as he squared up to Howie, who made things worse with some comments about Amy's behaviour. Jack punched him, and Denise arrived to drag him away. At home, Denise's best efforts to offer strength and support were thrown back in her face.
As Jack considered keeping constant watch over Amy, Denise replied that she couldn't let him keep their daughter locked away - and Jack spat back that Amy was his daughter, not hers, before storming off.
Will Jack see sense and allow Denise to help, or will their relationship crumble? And can they get through to Amy?
EastEnders has worked closely with Alumina, Mind and Samaritans to portray this storyline as realistically and sensitively as possible. For support and information on matters raised within this article, visit BBC Action Line.
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