tells Phil the truth about his son and he goes to the hospital, demanding to see him but then agrees to the adoption. Libby, Emerald and Carmel come to accept Denise's decision but Kim is against it, calling her selfish and saying Denise is dead to her. Denise is injured in a bus crash, but rejects Kim when she tries to support her. After a check up at the hospital, Denise admits to Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) that Kim was right and that she should never have given up her son for adoption, though he reassures her that it is the best decision she has made for him. Denise soon realises that Kim still sees her as a mother figure since Emerald abandoned them as children and thinks that if Denise can give up her son, then she can abandon Kim, so Denise tells to consider herself abandoned. Denise later goes to Emerald's farewell party where Emerald criticises Kim's parenting; Denise stands up for Kim and Kim admits that she is thankful for her sister, to which Emerald replies that they are not sisters and that Denise was brought to her as a baby. Emerald then leaves and Kim and Denise hug. Denise confronts schoolboy Keegan Baker (Zack Morris) after he vandalises the garden in the square. After continuously insulting Denise, she hits him in the face. Using witnesses to his advantage, Keegan reports Denise to the police and she is consequently fined £250. Denise later learns that her son's potential adoptive parents have named him Raymond and she signs the adoption forms. While she is adamant that she will not change her mind after that, she continues to struggle with her decision and angrily tears up a newly arrived letter from Raymond's adoptive parents without reading it. Kim then wrongly believes that Ian is Raymond's biological father and confronts him, causing Denise to break down and admit to her that Phil is the father, shocking Kim, and she begs Kim not to tell anyone. With Kim's help, Denise finds the letter from Raymond's parents in the recycling bin, informing her that he is happy with them, which comforts and reassures her. Denise and Kush start a relationship, but when Denise talks to a reporter, criticizing the community and the Minute Mart, she quits her job after they decide to send her on a course. Denise struggles financially and is