Is EastEnders’ blood cancer storyline increasing awareness of Blood Cancer UK?

On 28 May, EastEnders aired an episode in which longstanding character Denise Fox was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a rare form of blood cancer. Ahead of the episode, Blood Cancer UK reportedly worked alongside the show's writers to help ensure the storyline reflected the realities of diagnosis, treatment and living with a hard-to-treat blood cancer.

With EastEnders attracting one of the largest soap audiences in Great Britain (around 6% of the population according to YouGov Profiles data) this storyline could potentially drive significant awareness of blood cancer as a disease, and the Blood Cancer UK charity. Using YouGov BrandIndex data, we explore whether the storyline coincided with changes in Awareness and Impact on Cause of the charity among regular BBC One viewers, and how these trends compare with the nationally representative population.

Blood Cancer UK Awareness increased among BBC One viewers

YouGov BrandIndex data indicates a notable shift among regular BBC One viewers in the weeks following the episode. Both Awareness and Impact on Cause scores for Blood Cancer UK increased, with the strongest movements occurring shortly after Denise’s diagnosis aired.

Awareness of Blood Cancer UK reached a peak of 46.8 points on 9 June among regular BBC One viewers.

Impact on Cause — a measure of whether consumers think a charity is having a positive or negative impact on its cause — also rose, reaching 26.2 points on 4 June.

The increases were relatively short-lived, however. By the end of June, both metrics had largely returned to the levels recorded before the storyline began.

The movement was less pronounced among the nationally representative population. Tracking BrandIndex metrics across May and June shows smaller shifts following the episode, suggesting the effect was more concentrated among people more likely to have been exposed to the storyline. Buzz recorded a modest increase in the wake of the episode, while Donation Consideration also edged up over the same period.

Overall, the data suggests the Denise Fox blood cancer storyline coincided with stronger levels of awareness and brand perception for Blood Cancer UK among BBC One viewers than among the wider public, with the largest uplifts occurring immediately after the diagnosis storyline aired.

Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Awareness is based on the question: “Which of the following charities have you ever heard of? Please select all that apply.” Impact on Cause is based on the question: “Which of these charities do you believe has a POSITIVE impact on their cause? / Now which of these charities do you believe has a NEGATIVE impact on their cause?” and is based on daily UK surveys weighted by age, gender, region, social grade, and ethnicity. Figures cover the period 1 May – 30 June 2026, with sample size ranging from 214 to 813.

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