Denise Fox disappears after suffering breakdown in EastEnders

KEANU Taylor's death has been haunting Denise Fox for several weeks and her mental health is on a rapid decline.

Things go from bad to worse next week in EastEnders as the fan favourite vanishes. What will the rest of the Five do?

Despite initially trying to form a united front with the rest of the Six, Sharon Watts left Walford earlier this year after crumbling under pressure following the murder of her fiancé, Keanu Taylor.

But the bombshell's departure, albeit temporary, has left her partners in crime with more hassle to worry about as two of them are also struggling to cope.

In recent scenes of the BBC One drama, Denise Fox (portrayed by Diane Parish) was left haunted by the possibility of being caught out and blamed for Keanu's murder.

This has been due to her necklace falling in with the late hunk while he was being buried underneath Kathy Beale's café.

The hairstylist has since been asked to get a hold of herself but her mental health has been deeply affected - and she's even started having hallucinations.

Denise's ordeal takes devastating proportions next week as she continues to hallucinate Keanu, believing what she's seeing is real.

Alerted by Amy Mitchell who asked her questions about bipolar, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) goes to see her to voice the teen’s concerns, but Denise tries to brush it off.

However, when Denise finally begins to talk about what she’s seeing and hearing, Stacey recognises the signs.

The bap van owner realises that she is experiencing psychosis and tries to convince Denise to go see a doctor.

Later on, Ricky Branning (Frankie Day) is convinced Denise is having a breakdown when he overhears her saying strange things, but Amy (Ellie Dadd) insists she just needs to sleep.

Denise then rushes out of the back door and hides in a bush, terrified by her own thoughts.

Stacey gets Denise inside, where Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) and Pastor Clayton (Howard Saddler) arrive to give her counsel.

In other scenes, Stacey insists to the other members of the remaining Five that Denise needs to see a psychiatrist.

Sadly, Denise has gone to see the only person she believes can help her now - her former husband and serial killer Lucas Johnson.

But much like everybody else, Lucas is very worried by Denise’s behaviour and the things she is saying.

Later, Denise arrives home in an agitated state and frightens the life out of Amy and Ricky.

She explains she must get far away to keep them safe and grabs the car keys.

Amy convinces Denise to let her go too, and they drive off while Ricky desperately tries to reach his father Jack Branning (Scott Maslen).

Elsewhere, Stacey confides in Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) that she’s been seeing Jack and he now believes his marriage is over.

Suki insists she must convince him to stay with his wife and end things for all their sakes as the end of her fragile marriage could push Denise over the edge.

Later, Stacey tells Jack their affair is over, but the conversation is interrupted when Lucas calls to share his fears about Denise.

Meanwhile, Denise and Amy drive at high speed through a wooded area until Denise stops the car and rushes off into the night, leaving Amy distraught.

Will they find her before it's too late?

At The Vic, word reaches the punters that Denise is missing, and residents start co-ordinating a search party.

Denise's daughter Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) and Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) have a tense conversation about Denise.

Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) is then rattled by Chelsea’s questions and struggles to hide it, while Suki is determined she’s going to find a way out of this, no matter what happens.

Suki insists to Stacey that the women need to rally around Denise and look after her in shifts once she is found if that’s what it takes to protect their secret.

Could the Four be trying to bite off more than they can chew?

EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.