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Dennis Alan "Den" Watts was the father of Dennis Rickman, Vicki Fowler and Sharon Watts and ex-husband of Angie Watts and the late husband of Chrissie Watts. He is portrayed by Leslie Grantham and made his first appearance on 19 February 1985.

Backstory[]

Den was born Dennis Alan Watts on 11 July 1946 to Dennis Watts and Mrs Watts. He grew up in Walford. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Den went to school with people who later became crooks and gangland members, such as members of The Firm (Walford Investments). Because of this, Den could easily become involved in crime. He was friends with Ted Hills, Gavin Sullivan, Eric Mitchell and Henry Hubbard. Soon Den began associating himself with criminal East End organisations. Den developed a reputation as a womaniser and, among others in his youth, he had sex with Pat Evans - the first wife of his best friend Pete Beale.

He then settled down at a young age with his school friend Angie Shaw. They married in February 1968. Den backed away from the crime scene once he married but he occasionally bought and sold stolen goods. Together Den and Angie leased the tenancy for The Queen Victoria public house but their marriage was tempestuous and Den had affairs. He had one affair with a young woman named Paula Rickman in late 1973 which resulted in a pregnancy and she gave birth to Den's son, Dennis Rickman, in August 1974. Den knew nothing of the child for decades. Unable to have children together, Den and Angie adopted a young girl named Sharon Watts. Den and Angie's relationship was mainly sexless and in 1980 Den began a long-running affair with the upper-class Jan Hammond.

Storylines[]

1985-1986: Relationship with Angie, affair with Jan and secret daughter[]

In February 1985, Den found the dead body of Reg Cox.

Den carried on seeing his mistress Jan and kept trying to make secret phone calls to her - but was always interrupted by family or guests coming into room, especially Angie and Sharon.

Despite being married and having a mistress, Den is unable to turn down the advances of his daughter's best friend, Michelle Fowler. In 1985, they have sex one night after closing time in the Queen Vic. When 16-year-old Michelle falls pregnant, she refuses to name the father, fearing repercussions for Den and herself.

Den and Angie's marriage continues to sour, despite their strong professional personas. However, Angie struggles to contain her jealousy regarding Den's mistress. She grows desperate and becomes severely depressed and attempts suicide in March 1986 but Den puts a stop to it. Still, Den makes plans to leave Angie permanently. In a bid to prevent this, Angie fabricates a story that she is dying and has only six months to live. Den is gullible enough to fall for the lie and opts to stay with her and he attempts to rebuild his relationship with Angie, promising to be there with her until her death.

Michelle gives birth to a daughter, named Vicki Fowler, in May 1986, Den is prohibited from having anything to do with her - he is allowed to hold his daughter once and Den provides money for Michelle in secret.

Den takes Angie to Venice for a second honeymoon in November 1986. It turns out that Jan is also there, so he liaises with her. Guilty about her lie, Angie gets drunk on the return journey via the Orient Express and confesses the truth to a barman - that she is not actually dying. Angie is unaware that Den has overheard her drunken confession. He bides his time and gains revenge on Angie by serving her divorce papers on Christmas Day 1986. He then says "Happy Christmas Ange".

Also on Christmas Day, Michelle's mother Pauline Fowler witnesses Den handing Michelle money in secret and is one of the first to realise the truth about Vicki's father. This starts a feud between Den and Pauline.

1987-1989: Divorce from Angie, involvement with The Firm, prison and 'death'[]

Den and Angie divorce and Angie damages Den by demanding a large divorce settlement. Den runs the Vic alone, initially assisted by Jan but this relationship ends when Jan grows disillusioned with Den's treatment of her.

Den has a fling with the Vic's caterer Magda 'Mags' Czajkowski but is scorned when she eventually opts to date Simon 'Wicksy' Wicks instead. When single again,

Den begins to realise that the Vic's trade is floundering without Angie and, with some meddling from Sharon, Den and Angie decide to reunite as business partners and she returns to live at the Vic. However, it is short-lived, because Angie falls in love with her friend Sonny. Realising that Angie is planning on leaving him, Den visits a solicitor and makes certain that Angie has no claim on the Vic. Angie leaves Walford for Spain in May 1988 with nothing.

Frank Butcher liaises with Den to take over the tenancy of the Vic. He does this so he can run Strokes Winebar with Joanne Francis, which is really the Firm's illegal gambling den. When Kathy Beale is raped by James Willmott-Brown, Den manipulates a Firm member, Brad Williams, to burn down James' business in revenge. The attack, however, goes against the Firm's wishes, and when the police begin an investigation they start to suspect the Firm's involvement and the true nature of Strokes Winebar is close to being discovered.

The Firm's bosses, including Gregory Mantel, force Den to take the blame for the arson in order to distance their organisation from the attack. They take Den to a safe house, promising to alter his identity. Den soon realises this is a cover and, in truth, the Firm are planning to kill him. Den manages to escape and hands himself in to the police to save his life and in September 1988 he is remanded in custody at Dickens Hill prison.

In Dickens Hill, Den struggles initially, with many of the inmates refusing to trust him. Inmate Queenie Price takes an instant dislike to Den and suspects him of being a "grass", one night cornering him in his cell with some friends and beating him. Despite this, Den unveils Queenie as the true prison-snitch and gains respect, rising through the prison ranks to become "Number 1" of his landing.

On the outside, the Firm decide that Den is still a liability - they fear he will inform the police about their dealings and again decide that Den has to die. They break Den out of captivity and kidnap him while he is being accompanied to trial in February 1989. However, Den escapes again and makes plans to flee the country. He contacts Michelle, requesting that they meet by a canal where they have held secret meetings in the past, so he can say goodbye to her and Vicki. Unaware that the Firm is following her, Michelle unwittingly brings them straight to Den and he is shot by a man who is hiding a gun in a bunch of daffodils. A splash is heard, indicating that Den's body has fallen into the canal.

The police search for Den's body - initially it is not found. Hhowever, after Sharon finds Den's signet ring being sold on a market stall in 1990, she requests that the canal be searched again, unaware that Den had not been wearing the ring at the time of the shooting. This time, a body is found and Sharon identifies it as Den - even if there is a small bit of room for doubt. The body is buried that year. Den's old cellmate Barnsey even attends the funeral.

2003: Dennis, return from the dead and feud with Phil[]

Sharon and Vicki discover that Den has a son that he did not know of - Dennis Rickman - who joins them in Walford. Like Den, Dennis has involvement with the Firm, and after some digging he discovers that Den is not actually dead. After surviving the shooting in 1989, he fled to Spain with help from Jan and went undercover. Hearing this, Vicki traces Den and brings him back to Walford in September 2003.

Sharon has mixed emotions: upset and anger, having assumed him dead for so many years. Den explains that the body found in the canal was that of Mr Vinnicombe, a senior member of the Firm, who was murdered as punishment for Den's escape and dumped in the canal, his teeth having been bricked out to prevent dental identification. Vinnicombe's body had wrongly been identified as Den's and Jan had assisted in this cover-up by planting Den's signet ring by the canal. Den admits to Sharon that at his "funeral" in May 1990, he stood in some trees nearby watching the service. He mentions how Sharon was wearing a red coat that day. Den's grievances with the Firm are pardoned by its acting boss, Andy Hunter and Den returns to live in Walford to assist Sharon in managing her nightclub.

Den reunites with some old faces and soon learns that his former position as top-dog has been taken over by Sharon's ex-boyfriend, Phil Mitchell. When the two men eventually come face to face, a rivalry begins between Den and Phil. As such, Den finds out that Phil had slapped Sharon and arranged for Dennis to get beaten up - the latter of which is the result of Phil and Dennis' ongoing feud. The rivalry between Den and Phil develops as Den sleeps with Phil's sister Sam Mitchell, then dumps her promptly as part of his revenge tactic. Den then acquaints himself with Phil's ex-fiancé Lisa Fowler - seeing that she too hates Phil due to being mistreated by him and the fact that he is restricting her from gaining access to their baby daughter Louise following a custody battle between them, Den promises Lisa that he will help her get Louise back from Phil's custody.

Den wants to buy the Vic from Phil and is planning on doing a warehouse robbery with Dennis to get enough cash for the price. Den talks Phil into accompanying him and Dennis on a warehouse robbery, but soon Dennis grows annoyed at being told what to do by the two rivals. He later gets arrested, leaving Den and Phil to do the robbery on their own. The robbery is initially successful, but then Den takes the money and obstructs Phil's getaway by confiscating the ladder. Den reveals his true motives before throwing the money down and dropping a loaded handgun to further implicate Phil for the crime. Shortly afterwards, Den escapes and Phil gets caught by the police; Phil is arrested and remanded in custody, whilst Den helps Lisa escape the country with Louise.

Phil calls Den and vows to kill him. As Christmas draws nearer into 2003, Phil manages to escape from prison and everyone learns about it in the Square. On Christmas Day, Phil confronts Den and punches him. They fight until Den knocks Phil down with a wooden stool. Knowing that Phil's resolve to keep gunning for him puts his family at risk, Den convinces Phil to take the £200,000 from the robbery and call it quits. Left with no other choice, Phil reluctantly agrees and he parts ways with Den and Dennis before leaving. Den then celebrates his victory by joining his family and everyone else in celebrating Christmas, all the while Phil goes on the run as he flees into the night.

2004-2005: Family problems, reclaiming the Vic and murder[]

In 2004, family problems arise when Den discovers that Sharon and Dennis are in a romantic relationship. Den accuses it of being incest - despite Sharon and Dennis not being blood-related. He attempts to split them up, goading Dennis about his neglected childhood and the sexual abuse he experienced in a children's home. In fury, Dennis assaults Den and accidentally hits Sharon in a rage. Den tells Dennis that, in order to remain part of the Watts family, he must split from Sharon. Dennis obliges and begins a relationship with Zoe Slater.

Weeks later, it emerges that Den had remarried whilst in Spain in 1999 and soon his estranged wife Chrissie Watts arrives to be with him in Walford. However, Den still cannot remain monogamous and he soon begins an affair with Phil's ex-wife Kate Morton behind Chrissie's back. Eventually, Chrissie learns the truth and threatens to leave Den. Their relationship was in tatters. Meanwhile, Dot was arguing with her husband, Jim Branning and was very reluctant to tell him about her secret cancer illness. Den and Dot forced each other to examine their relationships with others. Den leaves for a few months.

When Den returns, he manages to reconcile with Chrissie - who threatens to kill him if he ever cheats on her again. He resettles with his family and he even forces Vicki's older boyfriend Tommy Grant to leave the Square for being unfaithful towards her.

Den resolves to regain the Vic from the Mitchells. He blackmails their lawyer Marcus Christie into convincing Sam that Phil, who is still on-the-run, needs immediate money. Sam sells the Vic to Den at a vastly reduced price and he reinstates his family at the pub in time for Christmas. Things go wrong when Den discovers that Sharon and Dennis have resumed their affair, and in order to split them up, Den persuades Zoe to lie that she is pregnant with Dennis's baby. Unwilling to allow Dennis to leave his unborn child, Sharon leaves Walford with Vicki, leaving Dennis and Zoe unhappily together. In apparent retribution towards Dennis for inadvertently being the cause of Sharon's departure, Den manipulates Zoe into having sex with him so she can get pregnant and pretend the baby is Dennis'. When Dennis catches them having sex, Den appears pleased. In the wake of this, Dennis leaves in search of Sharon but not before telling Chrissie about Zoe and Den's affair.

When Zoe discovers she is pregnant with Den's child, Chrissie persuades her to abort it and concocts a plan of revenge on Den to ruin him in the eyes of Sharon and gain ownership of the Vic. She recruits Zoe and Sam (both scorned by Den) and they confront him, setting it up for Sharon to discover Den's deeds. Sharon subsequently disowns Den in February 2005 and in a rage, Den assaults Chrissie and is only stopped by Zoe, who hits him over the head with an iron doorstop in the Vic. Den is assumed dead, but when Chrissie is alone with him, he stirs and grabs her ankle exclaiming, "You'll never get me out of the Vic!". Chrissie responds by hitting him on the head with the doorstop. He dies moments later. This time, he is dead. The three women bury Den in the Vic cellar and then concrete the floor over.

Whilst Chrissie believes that she has gotten away with killing Den, what she didn't know was that Sam had secretly witnessed the fatal blow. Chrissie nonetheless continues to allow Zoe to think it is she who has killed Den. Soon arguments between the women occur and a feud erupts between Sam and Chrissie over getting ownership of the Vic as well as getting Zoe on side. Zoe eventually learns the truth about Chrissie killing Den but decides to flee the country after telling her mother Kat Slater the truth about it.

Following Zoe's departure, the feud between Sam and Chrissie escalates - with Sam blackmailing Chrissie and digging up Den's body in the hope that Chrissie will be imprisoned, and Chrissie subsequently framing Sam for Den's murder. At first Sam is implicated as the killer and gets imprisoned, but then her mother Peggy Mitchell returns and learns the truth. She confronts Chrissie on the day of Den's funeral and slaps her, which causes Chrissie to fall on Den's grave. Peggy's efforts to exonerate Sam seem hopeless until Phil and his brother Grant Mitchell return to help. Together with Billy Mitchell, the Mitchells manage to get Sharon and Dennis to learn the truth about their father's murder. They all work together to prevent Chrissie and her boyfriend Jake Moon from escaping, with Sharon punching Chrissie in revenge for Den's murder before Chrissie herself is arrested for the crime; Chrissie is subsequently imprisoned after pleading guilty.

In 2015, it is revealed that Den was once in a gang which included Phil's father Eric Mitchell - along with his partner-in-crime Gavin Sullivan and their associates: Henry Hubbard and Ted Hills. It soon transpires that Gavin is actually Sharon's biological father and that Den had apparently done a deal with Gavin - he would adopt Sharon in exchange for Gavin partaking one of Den's criminal jobs.

Kill count[]

Attempted murder victims[]

  1. Chrissie Watts (18 February 2005) - Attempts to beat her to death in revenge for turning his adopted daughter Sharon Watts against him, but is hit over the head by Zoe Slater.

Background information[]

  • In late 1984, Leslie Grantham won the role of Den Watts, the womanising small-time dodgy landlord of The Queen Vic. In February 1985, Leslie's conviction for murder almost 20 years before was splattered all over the front pages. He was reprieved from the sack this time due to serving his sentence, and was welcomed by cast members despite him initially offering to quit the role if his past made them uncomfortable. Due to his major role in the show, and that characters rollercoaster relationship with Angie, Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson (who played Angie) were under media scrutiny all the time.
  • Grantham quit the role of 1988 shortly after Dobson left as Angie. Not wanting the show to lose both characters within a short space of time, a majority of Grantham's remaining scenes were shot which then were aired over the following year. Den was sent to prison to help with this, with all his scenes being filmed in a month. Tony Holland and Julia Smith intended for Den's dead body to be seen in the canal following him being shot, but the BBC bosses requested for the scene to be cut to keep the possibility of Den surviving open. Holland and Smith removed their names off the credits in protest.
  • Throughout the 1990s, Grantham was offered to return to the show several times, but he turned them down. Eventually he agreed in 2002 following the reintroduction of Sharon Watts as the introduction of Den's illegitimate son Dennis Rickman. Den's return scenes aired in September 2003 after a 14 year absence, with a special documentary being shown about Den's original 1985-1989 stint on the show.
  • Grantham left the show in late 2004, with Den being killed off (this time for good) in February 2005 on the show's 20th Anniversary episode. Grantham was sacked from the series due to committing a sex act on camera, although he claimed in his autobiography that he was only intended to be back for 18 months, with Den's death marking the 20th anniversary special.
  • The ghost of Den Watts appeared in a 2006 episode of Doctor Who in which a made up episode of EastEnders was shown on the TV depicting Peggy Mitchell barring Den from her pub. The 'ghost' bore no resemblance to the human Den watts, and was in actuality the Doctor Who villain the Cyberman.
  • On 15th June 2018, the news came that Leslie Grantham had died aged 71.

Quotes[]

"Cor, stinks in 'ere, dunnit?" (First line upon entering Reg Cox's house. This was the first line spoken in EastEnders)


"Look at my shirt, look at my bleedin' shirt!" (After he throws Nick Cotton and Ali Osman out of The Queen Victoria)


"Pauline, either put up or shut up." - to Pauline Fowler.


"Oh, you could keep this performance up for a lifetime. Like on the Orient Express. Like in the bar, chatting up the barman. 'Oh, I've told my husband this terrible lie. Not a little white one, but a big black one'. Remember Ange? Because I do, because I was sitting four feet away from you lapping up every word. Six little months to live. Six tragic little months, and poor old Angie's gonna pop off. That has got to be the sickest joke you've ever played, and Den Watts fell for it. Well now the joke's on you. This, my sweet, is a letter from my solicitor telling you that your husband has filed a petition for divorce. It also tells you to get yourself a solicitor pretty damn quick. Happy Christmas, Ange." (To Angie Watts)


"Yeah. Be lucky." (Last line before his 1989 departure, to Michelle Fowler)


"Hello Princess." (First line after his 2003 return, to Sharon Watts)


"What you see is what you get, take it or leave it!" (To Dot Branning)


"There's not one single person here that I give a toss about." (To Chrissie Watts and Zoe Slater)


"You'll never get me out of the Vic!" (Final line before he was bludgeoned to death with a doorstop by Chrissie)

See also[]

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