Maxine start to develop feeling for each as Darren supports her getting custody of her daughter, Minnie, from her abusive ex-partner Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield). They later start up a relationship which Patrick tries to wreck so Darren retaliates by trying to frame Patrick. On Freddie Roscoe (Charlie Clapham) and Lindsey Butterfield's (Sophie Austin) wedding day, Darren witnesses Joe Roscoe (Ayden Callaghan) try to shoot Freddie with Grace Black's (Tamara Wall) gun. Trevor Royle (Greg Wood) orders Darren to get rid of the gun but Patrick records him burying it and blackmails him into saying Maxine is an alcoholic and she loses custody of Minnie. Darren later finds Maxine on top of a church roof and pleads with her not to jump as Minnie needs her. Later when they are alone he reveals that Patrick blackmailed him and he couldn't go to prison as he needs to be there for Oscar and Charlie. Maxine forgives him and they remain together. Darren helps Maxine set up her own cab business Minnie Cabs so she stands a chance at getting Minnie back. When Darren finds out that Patrick is dying he tells Patrick that he is sticking by Maxine and that when he's dead he'll be dancing on his grave. Darren and Mandy later start an affair behind Nancy and Luke's back. They have sex and when Luke comes in, Darren hides under the bed. Luke proposes to Mandy and she accepts. Darren pressures Mandy into telling Luke the truth and tells her he is going to tell Nancy, but later changes his mind. When Sienna is being stalked, she suspects it is Darren. When she asks Darren to fix a broken pipe for her, she knocks him out and ties him to a radiator. Darren convinces Sienna it isn't him and confesses to having an affair. Sienna promises to keep it a secret but later blackmails him into giving her two grand. Darren and Mandy end their affair on multiple occasions but keep turning to each other for support. When Nancy decides to foster Brooke Hathaway (Tylan Grant), the daughter of Becca's killer, Darren is against the idea but Nancy ignores him. After a talk with Grace, Darren decides to split up with Nancy and tells her their marriage is over. He runs into Mandy and they decide to run away together. Nancy suffers an MS attack and tells Darren and