EastEnders’ Whitney Dean has a sexually transmitted infection.
The beautiful barmaid (Shona McGarty) is currently on cloud nine after learning she’s expecting a baby with her partner Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard) but it’s all set to come crashing down next week when she learns she’s contracted Chlamydia after her lover recently cheated on her with Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald).
Danny-Boy said: "Lee’s not the sharpest tool in the box in some ways. When Whitney receives the news, he doesn’t immediately think, ‘OK, I’ve had sex with someone else and that person could have Chlamydia.’ He doesn’t know that Abi caught it from her ex, Ben [Mitchell], so there are a hundred different scenarios whirling around in Lee’s head. Eventually it dawns on him."
However, Whitney’s diagnosis spells trouble for the couple as she wonders how she managed to contract it in the first place.
He explained: "This is all a very complicated process for Lee, but I think he does want to pluck up the courage to tell Whitney. In some respects it would take the weight off his shoulders if the truth about everything did come out."
But it’s not just the truth about the Chlamydia that’s getting to Lee as he’s also worried he won’t make a good father to the baby.
Danny told Inside Soap magazine: "I think Lee’s worried that he doesn’t meet the standards of being a good dad.
"He thinks, ‘I can barely look after myself, so how can I take care of a child?’ He’s very reliant on Whitney in terms of his mental health, so to take responsibility for another human being is very daunting. The thing with Lee is that he’s a selfless person."