The BBC has shared details of scenes that ended up being cut from the live episode of EastEnders earlier this week.

Celebrations for the show’s 40th anniversary concluded with the live episode last night, which featured the death of a beloved character. It also revealed the outcome of a public vote over a love triangle involving three others.

Fans voted to decide whether Denise Fox (played by Diane Parish) would choose Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) or Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). It was announced in the middle of the episode that the public had chosen Jack through the vote, which closed 20 minutes before the live broadcast began.

Denise turned up at Jack’s house to reveal that she saw her future with him and they embraced, before later being seen cuddled up on the sofa at the end of the episode. The cast also prepared for the possibility of Ravi winning the vote and photos from dress rehearsals for those scenes, which didn’t air due to the result, have now been released by the BBC.

Providing a glimpse at what would have happened if the vote had gone in Ravi’s favour, the photos show Denise in his home, instead of at Jack’s house. It appears that, instead of knocking on Jack’s door, she would have turned up at his rival Ravi’s home to propose a future with him instead, had he won the vote.

One photo from the unaired scene shows Denise and Ravi stood together in his home, with his hand touching her face. Another shows them kissing, just as she ended up doing with Jack in the live episode. Whilst another photo from an apparent later scene, which would seemingly have replaced Denise and Jack on the sofa in his house, showed her cradled by Ravi on his couch. Denise is seen with a blanket over her, unlike in the alternative scene that aired.

During the episode, in a scene that ended up airing due to the outcome of the public vote, Denise turned up at Jack’s house, where she professed her love for him. She told him: “I feel safe with you, Jack. I want to feel safe.” He however questioned: “What about Ravi? What about when you want a bit of danger?” Denise said: “No, it’s not like that. Ravi and me – it’d never go anywhere. We’re from like two different worlds.”

She continued: “And I see a future with you, Jack. And our history, that runs deep. Baby, my feelings haven’t changed. I still love you.” Jack asked: “How do I know it’s gonna be different this time?” Denise replied: “We forgot to make time for ourselves before. We’re not just parents. We’re people in our own right. And I want that passion back. I’m wanna listen and I wanna be heard. I want to get to know you all over again.” Moments before they shared a kiss, Jack teased: “Hello, my name’s Jack Branning. Nice to meet you.”

Following the live episode, cast member Diane shared her thoughts on the outcome of the vote in a livestream. She said: “Thank you guys so much for everything you did voting. Tell me whether you are happy or not with the result, because I am very happy.” She added: “I’m of course sad for my mate Aaron.”

She later added: “I would have been happy if it was Ravi but in a different way. But I’m happy that it’s Scott and Jack because there’s mileage there and it’s family innit. Family!” And teasing over her character’s future, she said: “There will still be more drama. It ain’t gonna end there. It’s not like [Denise and Ravi are] gonna be severed. We’re gonna still have to tell the story of what happened after, y’know? So let’s see.”

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