Virgin Media criticised the character's original dress sense stating "he might be male, but that doesn't mean Darren can escape the fashion police. He may have gone to prison once already, but with his chunky gold jewellery and sinister string vests, it won't be long before he is carted away in cuffs for his crimes against style". Fellow cast member Jessica Forrest who plays Leanne Holiday opined that the character's style was the best style of any character from the show but "back in the day... with the string vests and highlighted hair".