EastEnders airs unannounced return for iconic character in early BBC iPlayer release

The BBC One soap has shown Denise Fox (Diane Parish) to be the member of The Six struggling the most following their coverup of the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) at Christmas.

Denise has spiralled mostly since the group buried Keanu's body beneath concrete under the Bridge Street Cafe and she realised she had lost her signature 'D' necklace to the foundations of the cafe but found no sympathy or help from her comrades in trying to retrieve it.

As Denise's mental health has deteriorated, her husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) has pulled away from her and is now engaging in an ongoing illicit affair with Denise's fellow Six member, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), with whom he shares a grandchild.

In Wednesday's episode, Denise experienced a horrifying nightmare of herself lying beneath the floor of the Bridge Street Cafe she looked up at the hole in the floor and saw a ghoulish Keanu standing over her before his arms seized her from below.

Denise woke up panicked but Jack remained absent as he returned home from a night of passion with Stacey.

The next morning, Jack made an excuse of working late on a major local disappearance - prompting Denise to steal his phone to try and find out if this concerned Keanu.

Confiding in Stacey later, Denise reveals her fears - not knowing Stacey feared her affair being exposed with Jack if Denise saw the aubergine emoji Stacey had earlier sent to Jack.

At the salon, a distressed Denise was encouraged by her daughter Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) to visit a doctor and Denise said she would.

Denise was more troubled when Jack's eldest daughter Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) showed up to book a hair appointment and rang Jack about a loan - prompting his phone to ring and Denise's theft to be exposed.

Jack arrived after being warned by Stacey and then Denise exposed Jack's previous infidelity to Penny to explain her paranoia. Penny left disgusted and Jack turned on Denise, blaming her for pulling away and causing issues for his children.

At the community centre, Denise was comforted by Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) before having a conversation with Pastor Clayton (Howard Saddler) who encouraged her to find a confidante who had experienced whatever it was that she was going through.

Later, Denise watched from afar where she was due to meet Chelsea before departing and standing her daughter up.

Then, at the conclusion of the episode, Denise was shown sitting in the visitors' room of a prison when her ex-husband and Cheslea's father Lucas Johnson emerged and asked why she had come to see him.

Will Denise confess the Six's crimes to Lucas?

What happened to Lucas Johnson in EastEnders?

Lucas Johnson was the third husband of Denise Fox and her first love.

The father of Denise's eldest child Chelsea, Lucas was known for a life of criminality and being unreliable, bringing about the end of his relationship with Denise who moved on and raised Chelsea away from him.

The pair were reunited years later in 2008 when Chelsea tracked down her father and found he was now a priest and a reformed character, now a single father to his son Jordan.

Despite initially resisting her feelings, Denise and Lucas soon pursued a fresh romantic relationship but this was troubled by the arrival of his estranged wife and Jordan's mother, Trina Johnson (Sharon Duncan-Brewster).

While agreeing to divorce Lucas, Trina tried to be part of Jordan's life and get between him and Denise, prompting an argument in the allotments and Trina accidentally falling onto a rake which fatally pierced her neck and Lucas willfully left her to die.

In the aftermath, Lucas plans to marry Denise but her abusive first husband Owen Turner (Lee Ross) returns and suspects Lucas of killing Trina, prompting Lucas to murder Owen on the wedding day and bury him in the Square.

Following this, Jordan's dog Sugar shows a preoccupation with the spot of Owen's burial, prompting Lucas to secretly kill the dog.

Lucas's religious convictions are shown to be even more extreme and Denise begins to worry.

Eventually, Owen's remains were discovered and Lucas confessed to Denise all of his crimes. Despite agreeing to confess to the police with Denise at his side, Lucas took Denise to a canal and strangled her - initially appearing to kill Denise.

In the aftermath, Lucas murders a prostitute resembling Denise and dumps her body in the canal, later identifying the body as Denise and claiming she committed suicide.

In reality, Lucas was holding Denise prisoner in the basement of the empty house next door. After soon realising his sins, Lucas let Denise go free and reunite with her shocked family. Following a brief hostage situation, Lucas was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for his crimes in 2011.

In 2016, Lucas received a visit from Denise regarding his troubled son Jordan and a connection was re-established. Jordan and his son JJ moved in with Denise for a time and Lucas was aided by Denise in getting jobs in prison to secure more visiting time.

However, this was all a scheme for Lucas and Jordan to try and help Lucas escape. When she realised, Denise alerted the authorities and the plan was scuppered, ending with Lucas and Jordan back in custody and Denise cutting contact with them and returning JJ to his mother.

A reformer Lucas returned on Christmas Day 2020 following his release from prison and reestablishing a connection with Chelsea. Despite initially trying to be part of Denise's life again, Lucas revealed Jordan had died of a heroin overdose and he was trying to do right by Chelsea.

At this point, Chelsea had entered a life of crime and was involved with a drug lord named Caleb Malone (Ben Freeman). After attempting to build a life in Walford again, Lucas put himself in harm's way for Chelsea and took the fall for a drug smuggling venture she had become involved in.

Following this, Lucas was arrested and sent back to prison but not before helping Jack get Caleb sent down and not before telling Chelsea to build a better life for herself.

Read more:

• 7 EastEnders spoilers: Denise hallucinates dead Keanu amid Karen return
• EastEnders first look as Karen Taylor makes controversial return to Walford
• EastEnders cast: Who is joining, leaving and returning to the soap?
• EastEnders star Kim Medcalf on Sam Mitchell’s exit and how she can “repair things”
• Why EastEnders should bring back Kim Medcalf’s Sam Mitchell as soon as possible
• EastEnders announces surprise Patsy Palmer return as icon Bianca Jackson

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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