EastEnders spoilers follow.
Denise Fox has decided to form an alliance with Phil Mitchell in EastEnders in order to win back custody of baby Raymond.
Friday's (October 23) episode opened with Phil (Steve McFadden) and his high-priced lawyer Ritchie Scott (Sian Webber) trying to convince Denise (Diane Parish) and Jack (Scott Maslen) to back their play for a custody battle against Ellie Nixon (Mica Paris).
Jack was insistent that Denise's best option was to go to the police, not make an alliance with Phil and his attorney.
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"The old Bill get in, they could put Raymond in care. We'll never see him again," Phil warned, with Ritchie agreeing: "The only way to get the child arrangement order is if Ellie is proved unfit to parent, otherwise she'd need to agree to it… All we need now is for you to agree to a private fostering arrangement."
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When Jack questioned how Phil would get Ellie on side, he would only tell the copper and Denise that he was "working on it".
Demanding that Jack and Denise make their decision that very night, Phil insisted: "You need to be quick. Ellie is a very dangerous woman and we need to protect our son."
Jack and Denise were very much at odds over Phil's offer, with the copper warning that it would be dangerous to put any trust in the Mitchells.
"We can't just stand by. We've got to do something," Denise insisted. "I gave him up to give him a better life. If that ain't true, then what was the point?"
When Jack gave Denise some time to make her decision, she went to the Mitchell house to tell Phil that she would agree to his terms.
Jack was furious as he found out about Denise's decision at the Vic later, but she gave him food for thought by insisting she needed him to stand by her to raise Raymond.
The final scene featured Ellie arriving at The Arches for a clandestine meeting with Phil, where he told her he'd changed his mind about her offer to give him Raymond for £150,000.
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However, Ellie wasn't in a bargaining mood, so she changed the terms to £250,000 – or she'd put Raymond into care.
"Tomorrow, or you'll never see your little boy again," Ellie demanded.
The episode left Phil thinking over the bombshell demand, but was his intention for the meeting genuine? Find out next week…
EastEnders continues on Monday (October 26) at 8.05pm on BBC One.
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