EastEnders fans were floored this evening as Denise Fox discovered that her son Raymond, who had been adopted, was in intensive care after a horrific car crash.
Four years ago, Phil and Denise had a drunken fling while both were struggling with alcohol dependency.
Denise gave birth to their son in 2017 but decided that the best thing for him was to have him adopted by a family who could give him the best life possible.
Heartbreakingly, tonight Denise discovered that her son's adoptive family had been involved in a hit-and-run, with both his mother and 13-year-old sister dead.
She overheard Callum Highway talking to Honey in the street about the crash.
"Family of four, yeah," he explained after her query about a family involved in a car crash. "13-year-old girl dead, mum dead, dad and the son are touch and go at Walford General."
Honey asked: "What happened?"
"Hit and run," Callum replied. "It was a vicar and he had a cross in the rear view mirror. Didn't help them, did it?"
Realising who it could be, Denise looked horrified as she listened in.
"The little boy must have only been about three, still clinging onto his little cuddly lion, must be his favourite," Callum said. "They had the bikes on the car - must have been going on holiday or something. Imagine that - a whole family just gone."
Honey replied: "Just makes you realise how lucky you are to go home to the people you love, eh?"
With a troubled look on her face, Denise rushed home to check letters she had been sent by Raymond's family, which confirmed that they had been about to go on holiday.
Towards the end of the episode, Denise went to visit Raymond in hospital and bumped into the adopted dad's mum, Ellie Nixon, played by Mica Paris.
Unable to hide the fact that she was upset, Denise went along with the idea that she was Raymond's adopted mum's friend - not revealing that she was his biological mum.
Will Raymond be able to stay in Walford? And how will Ellie react when she discovers who Denise really is to Raymond?
*EastEnders airs Mondays at 8.05pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.35pm and Fridays at 8.30pm on BBC One
