It looks like Denise Fox is about to add Kush to the long list of men she's conquered in EastEnders, so we've had a look back at all her previous Albert Square squeezes… and there are plenty of them!
Denise Fox (Diane Parish) is certainly not lacking in male admirers, but her biggest trouble is keeping them interested! Here's our reminder of the string of disastrous men in Denise's roller-coaster 10 years in Walford...
Owen Turner (Lee Ross)
Denise should have known ex husband Owen – father of her daughter Libby – was a wrong’un, having already ditched him once for being a violent drunk. But for some reason she decided to sleep with him when he showed up in Walford out of the blue looking for Libby. Naturally their reunion didn’t last long – jealous Owen beat Denise up, then held her hostage in her flat where she tried to escape by stabbing him with a fork.
To top it off, he kidnapped Libby and tried to kill her in a car filled with exhaust fumes! He later came to a sticky end when he was strangled by Denise’s twisted third husband Lucas Johnson.
Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels)
After a bumpy start when he slept with his ex, Shirley, and she dallied with evil Owen, Denise and family man Kevin tied the knot in 2007. At last it seemed Denise had found a good guy, someone prepared to put up with her hot-headed temper tantrums. But in Denise’s life nothing ends well and her marriage to Kevin was no different. Just months after their nuptials, wheeler-dealer Kevin was killed in a crash involving a knocked off ‘cut-and-shut’ car he’d been selling for Phil Mitchell.
Lucas Johnson (Don Gilet)
Denise may have picked some bad boys in her time, but killer Lucas Johnson wins the gold medal. Having once abandoned Denise and their baby daughter Chelsea because of his drug addiction, you’d have thought Denise would have steered well clear. But when Lucas arrived in Albert Square as a newly reformed preacher, Denise quickly found herself back in his arms and planning a dream wedding.
Of course things quickly unravelled. First, twisted Lucas killed his ex Trina, impaling her on a rake, then he strangled Denise’s ex, Owen, on his wedding day to Denise! Lucas then turned his evil intentions towards Denise herself. He faked her suicide while keeping her prisoner in the basement of an empty house next door. Thankfully she escaped and he was finally arrested and sentenced to life in the nick.
Earlier this year, though, Lucas was back in her life again when she visited him in prison and seemed to warm to him again. Will she ever learn?
Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti)
Bizarrely Denise thought that her best mate Zainab’s ex-husband Yusef would be a good bet to help her heal the wounds left by Lucas when he ws ssent to prison. But the romance was short-lived when it became clear that conniving GP Yusef was still in love with Zainab and would stop at nothing to win her back from Masood.
It seemed Denise had a lucky escape when Yusef began controlling Zainab, pushing her to a nervous breakdown – only for Yusef to end up setting fire to the B&B that Denise and sister Kim had worked so hard to make a success of! Yusef ended up dying in the fire, becoming the third of Denise’s exes to be killed.
Fatboy (Ricky Norwood)
On paper it shouldn’t have worked, but after all her heartache you couldn’t help but root for Denise and Arthur ‘Fatboy’ Chubb when they began a secret tryst. Despite the age gap, things first got steamy between them when the hapless DJ rescued Denise from some unwanted attention in The Vic. But after a just a few days, Denise ended the affair after Fatboy pushed her to go public with their romance. He didn’t give up though and made several cheeky attempts to win her over before Denise fell back into his arms at her engagement party to Ian!
Sadly Fatboy will always remain as Denise’s ‘one that got away’ after he was accidentally killed off by Ronnie.
Ray Dixon (Chucky Venn)
With Denise sinking into a pit of loneliness, it wasn’t long before she set her sights on sister Kim’s fella Ray Dixon. The pair shared a heart-to-heart over Denise’s relationship woes, which ended in a passionate clinch.
In the cold light of day, guilty Denise realised it wasn’t her finest moment and told Ray the kiss meant nothing. But it was too late to brush her betrayal under the carpet – unfortunately a humiliated Kim quickly found out about the kiss, gave her a slap and chucked her out of the B&B!
Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt)
You couldn’t find a more unlikely pair than Denise and Ian, but with Denise’s track record it could have been anyone from Fat Elvis to laundrette owner Mr Papdopulous! Still, romance blossomed when Denise and Ian accidentally got locked in the storage cupboard at the Minute Mart. But Ian was never really completely committed to Denise, which soon became obvious when his ex-wife Jane returned to Walford.
Despite Ian popping the question, Denise began to resent playing second fiddle to Jane and decided to leave Ian, but her plans were scuppered when Ian's daughter Lucy was killed. She only plucked up the courage to get out of the doomed affair after discovering Ian had slept with prostitute Rainie on the night of Lucy’s murder!
Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden)
They may hate each other's guts, but with a little bit of alcohol it seems anything can happen in Walford and it certainly did when Denise recently shared a night of drunken lust with arch-enemy Phil! The miserable pair found themselves bonding over a bottle of wine before ending up on Phil’s sofa in a night of passion that, fortunately for Denise, Phil immediately forgot – and we bet Denise is hoping she can put to the back of her mind, too!
Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra)
Denise’s best mate Carmel wanted nothing more than a romance with unlikely Lothario Masood. But when Denise organised a surprise 50th birthday party for her pal, she ended up becoming the object of his affections instead! As the pair shared a cosy drink away from the revellers, Masood misread her signals and leaned in for a kiss – only for Carmel to catch him in the act.
Though nothing happened between them this time, Denise has always shared a bit of flirty banter with Masood. Watch this space!
Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami)
Officially single since her loveless engagement to Ian Beale ended two years ago, Denise has made no secret of the fact that she’s lonely and looking for love – and now the shop assistant has decided to set her sights on best friend Carmel’s son Kush!
Kush agreed to become her personal trainer leading to weeks of outrageous flirting during their training sessions and the pair are set to have a few drinks at Martin Fowler's birthday celebrations this Friday where it looks like the passion is finally about to ignite.
If they do end up together, will Denise be able to fill the gap in Kush’s life left by Shabnam? And if not, who will be next on Denise’s hit list?
EastEnders shock: Phil Mitchell and Denise Fox get intimate
EastEnders: is it an unhappy birthday for Carmel when Masood makes a move on Denise?
Enders’ Diane Parish wants Denise back with Fatboy: ‘It was a sexy relationship,’ she says
It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to! Carmel has an unhappy 50th on EastEnders
Denise falls for Kush in EastEnders
