EastEnders star Diane Parish has revealed that she’d love to see more scenes between her character Denise Fox and Walford hardman Phil Mitchell. Denise and Phil shared a spontaneous one-night stand back in 2016, which resulted in the conception of their son Raymond.
Although Denise initially gave Raymond up for adoption, he was returned to her care when his adoptive parents died in a car crash, and was revealed to be clueless Phil’s offspring.
However, Denise is currently battling cancer, meaning that she has been absent from her son’s home while undergoing treatment in hospital. Phil has had to step up to the plate, alongside Denise’s husband and Raymond’s stepdad, Jack Branning.
Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes//BBC
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Talking exclusively to Inside Soap at the magazine’s EastEnders photoshoot celebrating their Inside Soap Award nominations, Diane shared hopes that Phil and Denise will share the screen more in future.
“Phil has offered quiet support from the beginning, and been very respectful of how Denise is feeling,” Diane explained.
“He picks up Raymond, looks after him whenever he needs to – he’s just come off caring for Nigel so he knows what to do.
“I hope we get more scenes together with Denise and Phil, but there’s beauty in its rarity. You wait to see them together on screen. I love the legacy they have from this one crazy idea of a one-night stand all those years ago!”
Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes//BBC
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Diane also hopes that Denise will interact more with another Walford legend, The Queen Victoria landlady (and Phil’s ex-wife!), Kat Moon.
“It’s rare I get to do much with Jessie Wallace [Kat] but I’ve always thought we work well together,” Diane mused. “Kat has always been Kim’s best mate, but there’d be interesting dynamics between Kat and Denise. I’d like to explore that.”
See Diane’s full interview and photoshoot in the next issue of Inside Soap, which is out on Tuesday (11 August). Meanwhile, cast your votes for the Inside Soap Awards by clicking here.
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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