EastEnders is renowned for inflicting misery on the residents of Albert Square – and it's no different for Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford) on her 50th birthday.
Denise Fox (Diane Parish) throws a surprise birthday party for her friend Carmel but then does something that gives Carmel no reason to celebrate.
Denise finds herself confiding in Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) about relationships… And Masood takes that as a cue for a kiss.
And at that exact moment, tipsy Carmel appears! And it looks to Carmel as if Denise is taking the birthday present she was hoping to unwrap.
Birthday girl Carmel gets a shock when she sees Masood's interest in Denise (BBC)
Is that what Denise is doing, though?
Denise hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to men. Ex-husband Owen Turner (Lee Ross) physically abused her and a short marriage to the unfortunate Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels) ended with his death.
The walk down the aisle with Lucas Johnson (Don Gilet) was a recurring nightmare as he was jailed for murder, then planned to escape and torment Denise some more. And let’s not get into that unbelievable fling with Fatboy (Ricky Norwood) or the bizarre engagement to Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).
Masood’s problematic marriage to Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia) ended in divorce, but he has also had his trials and tribulations. Who can forget his affair with Jane Beale (Laurie Brett)?
But Masood, who was at one time getting close to Carmel, is yet to find the right woman to settle down with once more. Is Denise interested in being that woman?
Or will Carmel turn his head again?
You can see this story unfold in EastEnders on BBC1, Thursday, June 23
