EastEnders' Zack diagnosed as HIV positive as he finally faces test
He's been ignoring his own turmoil.
Zack Hudson (James Farrar) finally visited a clinic to get tested for HIV in tonight's EastEnders (16th January), and was informed that he does indeed have the condition.
The decision to face up to his situation came after days of burying his head in the sand, which led to Zack telling Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) that he couldn't be a father to their unborn baby.
Whit's housemates were not impressed, but Zack tried to keep focused on his tasting session at Walford East, hoping to impress Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) and win the position of Head Chef.
But with gossip rife over Zack's actions, Ravi's father Nish (Navin Chowdhry) and his wife Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), who were the guests for the session, made a number of remarks about Zack's conduct. This left him rattled, and when he cut his hand on a glass he reached breaking point and snapped.
When he stormed out, Ravi followed and warned Zack that he couldn't give him yet another chance. Zack's sister Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) was shocked to witness him telling Ravi to stuff his job, so back at home, she tried to persuade him to open up.
Having seen a text on Zack's phone from Brett (Fabrizio Santino), who had come to visit Zack about his own HIV diagnosis, Sharon revealed to Zack that she had contacted his former pal.
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But it transpired that Sharon was still none the wiser as she probed him to talk to her. Zack lied that he was worried over his past drug use with Brett, not wanting people to find out what he used to do.
Sharon's wise words, despite being unaware of the situation, appeared to be the push Zack needed to head out and get tested.
Talking to the nurse, Zack speculated that he had researched the likelihood of contracting HIV from sharing needles, and it was apparently quite low. But the nurse didn't offer much of a reply as she prepared to perform a finger prick test that would give an almost instant result.
When she looked at the result, she told Zack she was sorry, but he was in fact HIV positive. How will Zack deal with this news?
For help, support and guidance around any matters raised in this article, visit the Terrence Higgins Trust charity website.
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Authors
Laura Denby is a Freelance Soaps writer covering all the latest news in the Dales, Cobbles and East End for Radio Times. She's a soaps nerd with a love for comedy drama, and has also written for Digital Spy, Metro UK and Yahoo UK.
