00:00I think it's difficult. I think it's quite isolating. Even acting it, I'm finding it quite isolating because in a
00:07weird way, my co-actors are sort of taking extra care of me.
00:13They've sort of almost really imbued the storyline into themselves. Denise has always been that matriarch, that one that takes
00:23care. She doesn't like to be told what to do by anybody, whether it's her husband, her children or anybody.
00:30So, yeah, it is extremely difficult to be that vulnerable and to tap into that vulnerability, let go of the
00:37fact that, you know, she wants control and accept that she needs to be cared for and looked after.
00:43Parrish made her first appearance on EastEnders as Denise Fox in 2006, and her character was recently diagnosed with acute
00:53myeloid leukaemia in an emotional storyline developed closely with National Charity Blood Cancer UK.
01:01Parrish went on to describe the storyline as obviously great, but said she was most looking forward to it, highlighting
01:08the difficulties minority groups face when finding donors.
01:12Patients from minority ethnic backgrounds often face major challenges finding a matching stem cell donor because of a lack of
01:20donor diversity, according to Blood Cancer UK.
01:25Denise's mindset's like that, I think, because historically, some people might remember those little beats where Denise was left alone
01:32to care for Kim.
01:33She was her sort of mum because her mum wasn't the greatest mum. Their mum wasn't the greatest mum.
01:39She hasn't had anyone to be that real caregiver to her. Her father abandoned her. Her mum wasn't a great
01:46mum. She had to step in for her sister, her little sister, and I suppose all her life she's had
01:52to care for others, so it's what she's used to.
01:55So if she ever let up on that strength, things would fall apart. Things would fall apart for Chelsea and
02:03Libby. Things would fall apart for Raymond, you know, because his parents were killed in a car crash.
02:10So she's always had to be the person that holds it together so that things work out.
02:14For years, I've wanted to champion and taken part in events for the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust.
02:23Because of the lack of donors that there are, the amount of people that register is so low, the chances
02:32of finding a match are so extremely low.
02:35So when Ben brought this story to me, I was like, wow, on so many levels, not for the storyline
02:40necessarily purpose, which is obviously great, but that it was going to highlight this story in particular for minority groups
02:48finding matches.
02:51The accuracy in terms of the cancer aspect is really important to me because so many people have reached out.
02:57It's overwhelmed me, actually.
