Tonight's EastEnders episode will be deeply uncomfortable and incredibly difficult for many to watch as Linda Carter's alcoholism swamps her on New Year's Eve.
A particularly dark moment sees her down booze with Denise Fox, who longtime fans will remember has struggled over her relationship with alcohol in the past.
Five years ago, Denise (Diane Parish) found herself at breaking point, which saw her stealing bottles of wine from the Minute Mark.
Her drinking later saw her have a fling two years later with alcoholic Phil Mitchell, who had also turned back to booze as he struggled to cope.
The pair's drunken romp resulted in Denise becoming pregnant with his baby, which she later gave up for adoption.
Back in 2014, actress Diane explained Denise's dependency on alcohol.
She said: "What I have asked to be very careful about with every department is that we don't do this blanket wash 'she's alcoholic', because any kind of dependency on alcohol or relationship with alcohol is multi-layered.
"I think for Denise, what's happened is it's just helping her get through the day. If someone turned round and said she'd got a problem, she'd go, 'It's not a problem, everyone has a drink'.
"For Denise, it's just her little reward. It's just tipped over the edge for her, but alcoholic is not necessarily where she is. I think she has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol at the moment, rather than she's roaming the street like Phil Mitchell. I don't think it's there yet, and I don't think it's the disease that Lauren clearly had.
"For Denise, the story we're trying to tell is just the breaking point of a lot of people when they are pushed to the limit - when they don't get help or assistance caring for somebody."
*EastEnders airs tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One
