Den Watts

Den Watts
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Leslie Grantham
Duration	1985–1989, 2003–2005
First appearance	Episode 1 "Poor Old Reg" 19 February 1985 (1985-02-19)
Last appearance	Episode 2892 18 February 2005 (2005-02-18)
Created by	Tony Holland
Introduced by	Julia Smith (1985) Louise Berridge (2003)
Book appearances	Blind Spots Swings and Roundabouts
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Other names	Dirty Den
Occupation	Pub landlord Club owner
Family Family Watts Father Dennis Watts Wife Angie Watts (1968–1987) Chrissie Watts (1999–2005) Sons Dennis Rickman Daughters Vicki Fowler Adoptive daughters Sharon Watts

Den Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den".

Den is the original landlord of The Queen Victoria. He has a stormy love-hate relationship with his alcoholic first wife Angie Watts (Anita Dobson). After nearly 19 years of marriage, he hands divorce papers to her in the 1986 Christmas Day episode that was watched by a record-breaking 30.15 million viewers, more than half of the UK population at the time. He is also involved with the criminal gang known as The Firm that eventually leads to an attempt to kill him in 1989. This is believed to be successful, but Den returns to Walford in September 2003. Seventeen months later, his character was killed off again, this time for good, at the hands of his manipulative second wife Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman). Den's last appearance was on the 20th anniversary of both the show and the character's first episode.

His character has been described by EastEnders executive producer Louise Berridge as being arguably one of the most iconic soap characters ever.^{[citation needed]}

Storylines[edit]

1985–1989[edit]

On Christmas Day 1986, 30.1 million viewers watched as Den served Angie with divorce papers.

Den and his wife Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) are landlords of The Queen Victoria pub in Albert Square, Walford. Despite being married, in his late thirties and having a mistress in Jan Hammond (Jane How), Den is unable to turn down the advances of Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully), the 16-year-old best friend of his adopted daughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), 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. When she gives birth to a daughter Vicki in 1986, Den is not allowed any contact with her; he is allowed to hold his daughter once and financially supports Michelle in secret. For many years the secret is kept hidden but Michelle's mother, Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard), is one of the first to realise the truth, igniting a feud between her and Den, which intensifies when he admits to her in January 1988 that he is indeed Vicki's father.

Den and Angie's marriage continues to sour, despite their strong professional personas. However, as Angie struggles to contain her jealousy regarding Den's mistress, she grows depressed and attempts suicide during 1986. Still, Den makes plans to leave Angie permanently; hoping to stop him, Angie claims that she is dying and has only six months to live in October that year. Den chooses to stay with her and tries to rebuild their relationship, promising to be there for her until her death. He takes Angie to Venice for a second honeymoon, but liaises with Jan, who is also there. Feeling guilty about her lie, Angie gets drunk on the way home via the Orient Express and admits to a barman that she is not dying, unaware that Den has overheard her drunken confession. He bides his time and gets revenge by serving her divorce papers on Christmas Day.

The couple's divorce is finalised in 1987 and Angie damages Den by demanding a large divorce settlement. Den runs The Queen 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 Czajkowski (Kathryn Apanowicz), but is scorned when she eventually opts to date Simon Wicks (Nick Berry) instead. When he discovers that they are seeing each other, he punches Simon, sacks him and throws him out of his home in the Vic. He gets revenge on the two by manipulating an immature Simon into flirting with other women when his relationship with Magda hits a rocky road. Simon eventually starts seeing Donna Ludlow, and his rejection hurts Magda. Den uses this opportunity. He feigns mock sympathy and seduces her, but before he gets her into bed, he tells her that he has to go on an errand. He instructs Magda to "get ready" for him, telling her that he will be back soon. He then leaves Magda undressed and waiting in his bed for hours, before instructing Simon's mother, Pat, to inform her that he is otherwise engaged, leaving her humiliated.

Whilst single again, Den begins to realise that The Vic's trade is floundering without Angie. 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 to leave him, Den visits a solicitor and makes certain that Angie has no claim on The Queen Vic. Angie leaves Walford for Spain in May 1988 with nothing, and they never see or hear anything of each other again.

Having had a lengthy association with the criminal organisation known as The Firm, Den's involvement escalates over the summer of 1988. He hands over the tenancy of the Vic to Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) and takes over Strokes wine bar, which he runs with Joanne Francis (Pamela Salem). The wine bar is merely a front to the Firm's illegal gambling den. When Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) is raped by James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde), Den manipulates a Firm member, Brad Williams (Jonathan Stratt), to burn down The Dagmar (Wilmott-Brown's wine bar) in revenge and the next day, he smugly hints to Wilmott-Brown that he organised it before pinning him against a wall and threatening him. This, however, is against the Firm's wishes so when the police investigation starts suspecting the Firm's involvement and what the Strokes wine bar is really used for, the Firm's bosses 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 in Manchester, promising to alter his identity, but Den realises this is a cover and that the Firm are planning to kill him. Den escapes and hands himself in to the police to save his life and is remanded in custody in September 1988 at Dickens Hill prison.

In Dickens Hill, Den struggles initially, as many inmates refuse to trust him. Homosexual inmate Queenie Price (John Labanowski) takes an instant dislike to Den and suspects him of being a "grass", leading to Queenie and his friends beating him up in his cell. Despite this, Den unveils Queenie as the true prison-snitch and gains respect, rising through the ranks to become "No.1" of his landing. On the outside, the Firm still feel that Den is a liability; fearing that he will tell the police about their dealings and decide that Den has to die.

Den was shot by a man carrying a gun, hidden in a bunch of daffodils.

They ambush and kidnap Den when he is being accompanied to trial on 23 February 1989 but Den escapes again and makes plans to leave 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 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 has fallen into the canal. The police search for Den's body but don't find anything until Sharon finds Den's signet ring for sale on a market stall in May 1990 and requests that the canal be searched again, unaware that Den was not wearing it when he was shot.^[1] This time, a body is found, and Sharon identifies it as Den.

2003–2005[edit]

In the intervening years, Sharon and Vicki grow up, although not always living in Walford, and in early 2003 they discover that Den has a son he did not know of, Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman), who joins them in Walford. Dennis was the product of Den's fling 30 years earlier with a woman called Paula Rickman.

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 under cover. 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's grievances with the Firm are pardoned by its acting boss, Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs), and Den returns to live in Walford to assist Sharon in managing her nightclub.

Den gets embroiled in a feud with Sharon's former boyfriend, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), after hearing Phil has hit her and had also arranged for Dennis to be beaten up by a gang. As revenge, he has sex with Phil's sister, Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf), then dumps her promptly. He then promises another of Phil's former girlfriends, Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin), that he will help her get back her daughter, who is in Phil's custody. After Phil plants drugs in the club and nearly gets it shut down, Den fakes a truce and talks Phil into accompanying him and Dennis on a warehouse robbery. During the robbery, Den takes the money and obstructs Phil's getaway, resulting in Phil getting caught by the police and remanded. Den then helps Lisa flee the country with Phil's daughter. The feud brings Dennis closer to his father. Having lost his wife, his daughter and his freedom, Phil manages to escape from prison several weeks later, confronting Den on Christmas Day; after an intense brawl in which Den hits Phil with a chair in order to stop him killing him, Den pays Phil off and he flees. Den spends the rest of Christmas happily with his family before leaving for Spain on Boxing Day to tie up some loose ends.

Family problems arise when Den returns three months later and discovers that Sharon and Dennis are in a romantic relationship; Den accuses it of being incest, despite Sharon and Dennis not being blood-related. During a tense meeting between the two in the Vic, Den fails to calmly convince Dennis to finish the relationship with Sharon and instead turns angry. Dennis manages to ignore Den's insults about the their bonding session at Christmas being fake and he mocks Den, who then hurls him through some doors in the Vic. Dennis once again laughs this off and prepares to leave and return to Sharon. Den, playing his last card, taunts Dennis with the insinuation that someone had sexually abused him while he was in a children's home, successfully provoking Dennis into accidentally hitting Sharon (who had just arrived) whilst trying to attack him. A guilt-ridden Den later apologises and explains his reasons for not wanting his son and daughter together, because he wants both of them in his life and he cannot have that if they are sleeping together. Den then tries to explain to Dennis that his feelings for Sharon are simply misguided due to the abuse he suffered as a child, which leaves Dennis confused and he decides to break up with Sharon in order to have a father-son relationship.

In 2004, it is revealed that Den had remarried whilst in Spain in 1999, and his estranged wife Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) arrives in Walford to collect some money from him. They then continue their romantic relationship and despite Sharon's heartache over Dennis, the Watts reform their close bond. Den plays a heroes role when a Fairground collapses in Walford and he saves numerous of the Residents. He also tells Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) that Gary Hobbs (Ricky Groves)' baby, Bobby Beale (Kevin Curran), is actually his and that he should be a father to him, with himself knowing how much of a strain his own absence had on Dennis' life. Ian accepts Bobby as his son and asks Den to be Godfather at the Christening.

Den however still cannot remain monogamous, and when Chrissie discovers that he has been sleeping with Kate Mitchell (Jill Halfpenny), she leaves Walford. Ian, who had been close to a relationship with Kate, finds out about the affair and punches him, though Den quickly shrugs this off and mocks him. Den's family are furious with him and Sharon and Vicki both go on an extended holiday when Den refuses to call Chrissie, as he is too proud to apologise despite missing her himself. In order to deal with this, Den starts becoming reckless by going on the pull with Dennis and trying to his refind his status as 'King of the Square'. He organises a poker game and when it eventually ends with a one-on-one with Andy Hunter, he puts both his house and the club on the line, in an attempt to get both the bookies and the Vic. When Andy narrowly beats him, he reveals he's not going to take what Den put on the table, as he only owns half the club and has a family which needs a roof over their heads, he does, however, shame him for what he’s become.

In order to get one over Andy, Den attempts a scam in the bookies and recruits Pat who's one of Andy's employees. The scam is initially a success, with Den winning thousands from fraudulent betting slips, and he celebrates in the Vic. Andy soon finds out, however, after Pat confesses and when Den insults her in the Vic, Andy humiliates him by revealing to packed pub and the returning Sharon that Den had put everything on the line in the poker game and lost. Den, stubborn as ever, refuses to apologise to Pat despite insistence from Sharon and leaves the pub. Thoroughly angry and depressed, the next day Den is rude to customers in the club and nearly gets into a fight with one of his own bouncers before Dennis sends him home. Whilst having a drink with Dennis girlfriend, Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) , he tries to kiss her just as Dennis enters. Dennis berates his father to the extent that Den punches him before swiftly leaving into to the night to consider his actions. After saving Dot Branning from a few youths, the two of them have a heart-to-heart in the launderette in which Den discovers she has cancer and that she hasn't told her husband. They both agree to speak to their loved ones, and Dot tells Jim about her illness whilst Den finally calls Chrissie to meet up, after apologising to Dennis and Zoe. Den tells Chrissie how sorry he is but when she tells him she's too hurt, Den jumps in her cab and goes to the airport where he returns to Spain in order to get some time away.

Den returns two months later and claims that he's a changed man. He apologises to Ian and Pat, before catching up with Dot who has overcome her illness. Chrissie eventually reunites with him but promises that if he ever cheats again, she'd kill him. When Den finds out that Vicki's older boyfriend, Tommy Grant (Robert Cavanah), tried to cheat on her, he beats him up and forces him to leave for Thailand. To rebuild his family, Den attempts to regain the Vic from the Mitchells just before Christmas 2004; he blackmails their lawyer Marcus Christie (Stephen Churchett) 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, after kicking the Moon family out on Christmas Eve. With him now owning two of Walford’s most thriving businesses and his family together, all seemed perfect for Den.

Things go awry when Den discovers that Sharon and Dennis have resumed their affair and are planning on departing to the U.S. unless he can accept them both as a couple. In order to split them up, Den persuades Zoe to lie that she is pregnant with Dennis's baby. Den’s plan completely backfires when Sharon decides to leave instead of Dennis and Zoe, as she was unwilling to allow Dennis to leave his unborn child. While trying to persuade Sharon to stay, he tells her that he does not have half the feelings for Vicki that he does for her, not realising that Vicki was behind him and overheard everything. Vicki then decides to leave with Sharon and Den is devastated at having lost both his daughters at Christmas, ironically because of his own lies and deceit.

Chrissie kneeling over Den's corpse during the 20th anniversary episode. Consolidated figures reveal the episode was seen by over 17 million viewers (nearly 1/3 of the British population).^[2]

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's; when Dennis catches them in bed together, Den appears pleased.

In the wake of this, Dennis leaves in search of Sharon but not before telling Chrissie, who had been briefly out of town, about Zoe and Den's affair when he sees her at the train station. Instead of revealing to Den that she knows, Chrissie pretends to be non the wiser whilst slowly planning her revenge on Den. When Zoe discovers she is pregnant with Den's child, Chrissie persuades her to abort the baby and concocts a plan to gain ownership of the Vic. She recruits Zoe and Sam (both scorned by Den) and they confront him after closing time at the Vic one evening in February 2005. Den criticises them all for their weaknesses and refuses to sign over the Vic, even when Chrissie threatens to reveal Den's true character to the rest of the Square. Den smugly admits to everything he’s done and says “There isn’t one single person round here who I give a toss about”. Sharon then emerges from the shadows - Chrissie had lured her back from America with the pretence that Den was seriously ill. This is revealed to be Chrissie's true trap and Sharon then disowns Den before leaving. In a rage, Den violently throws Chrissie against a fruit machine and is only stopped by Zoe, who hits him over the head with an iron doorstop, presumably killing him. Minutes later, however, whilst Zoe and Sam are out of the room, Den stirs and grabs Chrissie's ankle, telling her "You'll never get me out of the Vic!" - Chrissie responds by hitting him on the head with the doorstop. He dies moments later.

Sam secretly witnesses the fatal blow, but Chrissie continues to allow Zoe to think it is she who has killed Den. The three women bury Den in the Vic cellar and concrete it over. Arguments between the women occur, and Sam and Chrissie become embroiled in a feud to regain ownership of the Vic, with Sam blackmailing Chrissie. Sharon and Dennis return in June to confront Den but are surprised when Chrissie tells them he left with another woman after signing over the Vic to her. A drunken Sam digs up Den's body on the day of Sharon and Dennis' wedding in the hope that Chrissie will be imprisoned, but Chrissie subsequently frames Sam for Den's murder. By November 2005, the truth is revealed, and Chrissie is imprisoned after pleading guilty. Den is finally given a proper burial in his 'original' grave next to Angie, and Dennis visits the grave and tearfully mourns the father he never had.

Post-Death[edit]

Despite his death, Den still influenced lives on the square. Zoe and Sam were forced to flee the country to avoid being imprisoned for their roles in the murder, with Sam being arrested upon her return in 2009. Sharon discovered she was pregnant on Christmas Day 2005, which was considered a miracle considering that she had been initially told she couldn't have children. Her and Dennis looked forward to being parents before tragedy struck on New Years Eve, when Dennis was stabbed to death on the orders of Johnny Allen (Bill Murray), whom Den had known years before. Sharon left Walford shortly after and Johnny wouldn't get his comeuppance until months later when he was arrested, before suffering a heart attack in October 2006 whilst in prison. Sharon returned in 2012 with her son, Dennis jr, meaning that Den would have been a Grandfather.

In 2015, it is revealed that Den was once in a gang which included Eric Mitchell, Henry Hubbard, Ted Hills (Brian Croucher) and Gavin Sullivan (Paul Nicholas). Gavin is revealed to be Sharon's birth father, and it is said that Gavin and Den did a deal in which Den would adopt Sharon in exchange for Gavin being part of a criminal job that Den knew about.

Character creation[edit]

Background[edit]

Den Watts was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. The character of Den was originally going to be named Jack^[3] and he, his wife and adopted daughter were to be the occupants of the soap's local pub, now famously known as The Queen Vic. Holland, who had worked as a barman in his youth, called upon his own personal experiences to invent the Watts family and the pub they lived in.^[3] Holland and Smith had always been critical of the way pubs had been portrayed on television feeling they lacked vitality and life, so they were determined that their pub and occupants were going to be more realistic.^[3] The Watts were seen by Holland as integral to the show's success, partly because he had already guessed that the pub was going to be a monstrous battleground where emotions would run high on a regular basis, and also because the occupants would be providing the majority of the drama.^[3]

Den's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story. In this passage, Den will be referred to as Jack, his wife as Pearl, his daughter as Tracey and his dog as Prince (known now as Angie, Sharon and Roly respectively).

"Jack and Pearl are not criminals. They're not angels either. Villains perhaps? Well, he certainly is. They've been married for fifteen years, and haven't had sex with each other for thirteen of them. The marriage is a front for the sake of the pub's image. The daughter, Tracey is adopted—maybe for the same reason. They have a dog too—Prince—an Alsatian...Even with a marriage on the rocks, Jack still likes the area. His mates are here, it's friendly and it's his territory. "Local lad makes good"...People look up to him. If you've dragged yourself up by the scruff of the neck and moved up a notch, you need a few people around you who didn't quite make it, or you might as well be invisible. He's had a mistress for five years...Unlike Pearl, she's a very up-market woman, a lady, real class. Jack's her bit of rough, and they're happy. They actually talk. With Pearl, you shout - or shut up...He's a smart dresser. Changes his shirt twice a day and his shoes sparkle. He runs a good pub. He's firm and fair with the staff (if you've got any problems—go to him, not her.) The cellars are well organised and spotless. His masculinity is the key to his character. It was called into question at an early stage in his marriage and he's defended it ever since. Some call him a ladies' man (because of his good looks) others - a man's man...He's a con man and has the gift of the gab. He can defend himself smartly in a brawl. (He's only ever thumped Pearly once.) You can accept Jack being a snob—because it's not malicious: it's done with a grin. Like Pearl, he's also trapped by is background...Jack and Pearl's relationship is pretty heated...The smooth public face (workers in pubs are always on stage); the trial reconciliations; the rows; the fights and the tears...Will Jack ever bring his mistress into the pub, which is Pearl's territory? Will Pearl accept too many free drinks from punters and lose control in public?...They were lovers. They are husband and wife. There was affection...love...if it came to it, could they give each other up? The private grins and winks to each other when they're working as a team—which usually means taking money. The love turning to hatred...Jack the lad and the artificial Pearl...They're an electric couple." (page 74).^[3]

Casting controversy[edit]

EastEnders' lead director Matthew Robinson recommended the actor Leslie Grantham for the part. Grantham had previously appeared on the London Fringe in a stage play Robinson had written. His only TV appearance at that point had been as Kiston, a small part in a 1984 Doctor Who serial Resurrection of the Daleks directed by Robinson. Julia Smith remembered that she had taught Grantham at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and regarded him as a "mature student", although she had never seen him "in action".^[3] They needed the character of Den to have "panache, charisma and electricity". They were initially uncertain about casting Grantham, but they both felt that the actor had "something", which they went on to describe as a "tensed up internal emotion of some sort, that was being held in. There was something behind the eyes, too. Barely contained violence almost..."^[3]

After a successful reading with the actress Jean Fennell (who was originally cast as Angie), he was offered the part. However, shortly afterwards Grantham contacted Smith and asked to speak to her urgently. He revealed that he had been found guilty of killing a German taxi driver while on army service in 1967, and spent 10 years in prison. Although there were fears that if this story got out, the resultant publicity would do enormous damage to the programme and the BBC, Smith decided not to withdraw Grantham from the role. In her opinion, he had paid the full penalty that society requires for a mistake committed in his past and it was a "Christian duty to forgive".^[3]

The story found its way into the British press much faster than expected. Three days after the transmission of episode one, EastEnders made the front page of a national newspaper for the first time with the headline "EASTENDERS STAR IS A KILLER." The security gates at Elstree Studios (where EastEnders is filmed) were swamped with journalists and photographers, and so began a "double-edged" relationship between EastEnders and the popular press.^[3] The devisers of the programme were quick to realise that whilst a newspaper's publicity may sometimes boost a soap's position in the ratings, it could equally help to tarnish it. In conjunction, soaps could help to sell newspapers, and from then on stories about EastEnders and the cast began to fill their pages.^[3] Grantham was hounded by the press and the BBC was forced to put out a statement supporting him and their decision to employ a convicted murderer. In order to keep the press at bay, Grantham was smuggled out of the studios by the back route and decoy cars were used to lure the press away from his home, all of which put an increasing strain on the actor. Eventually the furor quieted down, but it never went away entirely and nearly every article written about the actor during his first stint in the show referenced his past. Press began to blur the characters in the show with the actors and it was at this point that Julia Smith — in an attempt to dispel confusion about reality and fiction — introduced the rule that no actor was ever to appear in public "in character".^[3]

Character development and impact[edit]

Despite the controversy surrounding Grantham, the Watts, with Anita Dobson as the newly appointed Angie, were the surprise hit characters of the show. Angie and Den were a live-wire couple whose on/off relationship made the Queen Vic pub exciting and unpredictable and the viewers tuned in their millions to watch the destruction of their relationship on-screen. Den's clashes with Angie brought EastEnders to a peak of popularity and toppled rival soap Coronation Street from the top of the ratings chart.^[4]

"Dirty Den"[edit]

In 1985, Den was the first person to speak on the first episode of EastEnders: "Stinks in here dunnit?" just before he found out that Reg Cox (Johnnie Clayton) had been murdered. Early on in the series, the character of Den became central to the programme and was the focus of a controversial storyline involving the teenage pregnancy of Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully). Press interest in the show escalated as journalists continuously tried to predict who had fathered Michelle's baby. In true whodunnit fashion, the audience had been kept in the dark as to the real identity of the father and were given teasers implicating several residents on the Square. The audience finally discovered the culprit in episode 66 of the programme, October 1985. The episode was written by series co-creator/script editor Tony Holland and directed by co-creator/producer Julia Smith, and was considered to be a landmark episode in the show's history. Four possible suspects were seen leaving the Square in the early half of the episode: Tony Carpenter (Oscar James), Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih), Andy O'Brien (Ross Davidson) and Den Watts. As Michelle waited by their rendezvous point a car pulled up and finally the fluffy white legs of Roly the poodle bounded out of the car, and gave it all away: Den Watts was the man meeting Michelle and it was he who had fathered her baby. It was when Den was revealed as the father that his famous nickname "Dirty Den" was created by the British press. The rest of the episode consisted of just one long scene, where Den and Michelle discussed whether or not to keep the baby. Up to that time it was the longest scene ever done in a soap-opera, lasting fifteen minutes. For a series that in its first eight months of existence had established a reputation for being fast-moving and rapidly cut, this was a bold experiment.^[5] It relied on just the one story and two actors to hold the audience for over half an episode. Tony Holland's handling of the awkward scene between a teenage girl and the father of her best friend is deemed as one of the highlights of EastEnders first year.^[5] The finishing touch was the use of an alternative end title music, a variation of the normal one which replaced the dramatic drum beats with a longer, gentler piano solo introduction.^[5]

After this storyline the programme started to appear in newspaper cartoons as it moved more and more into the public mainstream. One such cartoon showed the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, telling her cabinet that the best way to alert the country to the dangers of AIDS was to give the disease to Den.^[3]

Den and Angie mania[edit]

During 1986 the series became dominated by Den and Angie's storylines and the focus of the programme was very much concentrated on their combustible relationship. The emphasis began early in 1986 with the arrival of Den's mistress Jan Hammond (Jane How). Jan had been a powerful off-screen presence for the first year, a menacing voice at the end of the telephone, which severely affected the mood of both Den and Angie and kept the audience on edge every time the phone rang. Jan's physical arrival at the Vic in January 1986 was one of the show's dramatic highlights.^[5] Her invasion of Angie's territory was a springboard to future emotional fireworks and a precursor to Angie's further dependence on alcohol and her attempted suicide.

Den and Angie's traumatic two-hander episode in October 1986 was another risky experiment for EastEnders — A thirty-minute episode with only two people in it had never been attempted in a soap before.^[5] Holland and Smith feared that the episode would not hold up, however press and audience alike were in agreement that it did.^[5] Once it was done, it set a precedent and the programme has featured two-handers ever since. The episode was structured like a "tennis match" between Angie and Den, with a non-speaking window-cleaner forever strolling innocently into the action. It began with Den trying to tell Angie that he wanted a divorce. Angie was shocked and for a moment defeated, but she then dropped her bombshell and told Den that she only had six months to live. At first Den didn't believe her, but eventually Angie's hysterical performance convinced him. He crumbled and promised to stay with her and only after he left did Angie smile in triumph, letting the audience in on her secret that it was all a big lie. Written by Jane Hollowood and directed by Antonia Bird, this episode is considered to be one of the finest episodes in EastEnders' catalogue.^[5]

The Den/Angie/Jan triangle was to continue for many months. The climax was a trip to Venice when Angie — convinced that Den had finished with his mistress — was taken there for a second honeymoon, returning to London on the Orient Express. This gave the writers and producers an opportunity to open the show up from the confines of Albert Square.^[5] However the trip to Venice was fraught with problems and Dobson, Grantham and Jane How were hounded by the press at all times. Their photographs appeared in British newspapers, thus ruining the shock surprise that Tony Holland had created, by including Den's mistress in the episode.^[3] Despite huge efforts from all involved the Venice episodes were only moderately successful, although the revelations discovered by Den in the episode set the scene for one of EastEnders' most renowned episodes, which aired on Christmas Day that year.^[3] After over-hearing his wife confess that her illness was fabricated, Den filed for divorce. 30.1 million viewers tuned in on Christmas Day in 1986, to witness Den handing Angie her divorce papers, giving the soap its highest ever episode rating, which has yet to be beaten by any other plotline from any other soap in the UK.^[6]

This storyline saw the separation of Den and Angie. Holland and Smith had anticipated that Den and Angie would be popular, but they had not guessed how hysterical the reaction to them would be. It was decided that Den and Angie would have to be played down for a while so that other characters would have the opportunity to shine through.^[3] The next few years saw Den and Angie struggle to get by without each other and eventually they reunited as business partners.

Arrest and demise[edit]

However, at the beginning of 1988 Anita Dobson decided that she wanted to move on after three years playing Angie. She made her final appearance in May that year. Leslie Grantham had also decided that he wanted to move on, but Julia Smith didn't want the programme to suffer the double blow of losing both Den and Angie so close together. The solution to the problem was one of the soap's most complex and creative exercises, that required intricate planning.^[5] The idea was to enable Den to stay as an on-screen presence until 1989, while keeping Grantham working for EastEnders only until the autumn of 1988. Tony Holland and writer/editor Bill Lyons came up with a story to put Den in prison for a year, intending that material recorded in a block of intensive filming would then be included in the programme for the rest of the year. The programme didn't want to make Den into a criminal, however, so he had to be put in prison for doing something that could be justified to the viewing public — otherwise there would be no sympathy for him.^[5] The answer lay in a storyline that was running with another character — the rape of Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). After simultaneously getting in way over his head with a criminal organisation (The Firm), Den torched Kathy's rapist's winebar in retaliation, and was then made to take the blame for the deed by the firm. After he refused, went on the run, and was nearly killed by the firm's heavies, Den turned himself into the police and was put on remand at Dickens Hill prison in September 1988. For the next five months he was seen, in the company of a small group of new characters also confined in the prison, on a regular basis in EastEnders. This material was shot in less than a month at Dartmoor Prison, Devon. When these segments were written and recorded, they were done so entirely in isolation and in advance - the production team had no real idea of other material that would have to fit around it.^[5]

The character was eventually to bow out on 23 February 1989 in one of the programme's most famous episodes which attracted more than 20 million viewers. After escaping from custody, Den returned to the famous canal (in Alperton) for one last rendezvous with Michelle. The episode ended with Den being shot by a member of the firm (who was carrying a gun concealed in a bunch of daffodils) and then falling into the canal. The scene where Den actually hit the water had to be taped at the BBC's Ealing Film Studios using a water tank, because the waters of the Grand Union Canal were deemed unsafe. When the episode was finished, however, Jonathan Powell, controller of BBC1, requested that the final shot be removed to allow for the possibility of Den returning at a later date. In protest, Tony Holland and Julia Smith had their names taken off the episode's credits. Den's exit ended up being the creators' final contribution to the show.^[5]

Controversial return[edit]

However, after 14 years presumed dead, executive-producer Louise Berridge made the highly controversial decision to reintroduce the character to the series and reunite him with his daughter Sharon, played by Letitia Dean. Grantham has alleged that the producers of EastEnders asked him to reprise the role many times since 1991, but he turned each offer down as he was unhappy with the returning storylines. Subsequent offers between 1995 and 2001 were also rejected because Den's screen family were no longer in the show and Grantham felt that a return at this time would have been little more than a publicity stunt. However, he accepted Berridge's offer to return in 2002 as he approved of the storyline and because Den had family ties within the cast - his adoptive daughter Sharon had returned after six years away, his other daughter Vicki was due to return, and Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) - the son Den hadn't known existed - was also due to join.

The reintroduction of Den was part of a plan by scriptwriters to fight back against the continued success of ITV's long-running soap, Coronation Street. The character made his "dramatic return" in an episode that aired on 29 September 2003.^[7] On-screen, Den walked into Sharon's nightclub, Angie's Den, and greeted his stunned daughter with the words "Hello, princess." More than 16 million viewers watched his long-awaited homecoming, attracting 62% of the viewing public;^[8] it has been voted as the favourite TV soap comeback in an AOL online poll of over 23,000 viewers, taking over a third of the vote (37%).^[9]

Despite claims from the British press that the plot was unrealistic and that it questioned the show's credibility, Den's return sparked a huge increase in ratings for the last few months of 2003. After a successful Christmas storyline, Grantham took a short break from the show after securing a lengthy contract. ^[10] However, a severe press backlash followed after actor Grantham was outed in an internet sex scandal in May 2004,^[11] which coincided with a swift decline in EastEnders ratings. Grantham was subsequently suspended for two months and his character departed on 30th August, before returning on the episode broadcast on 11th November. Newly appointed executive-producer Kathleen Hutchison then made the decision to axe the character and he was killed off in a high-profile storyline, which saw his body buried in the cellar of The Queen Vic.^[12]

Grantham has denied that he was dismissed from the show as punishment for the internet sex scandal.^[13] He has claimed in his autobiography that he only ever intended to return to the soap for 18 months so his character's second demise would tie in with the show's 20th anniversary.

In 2006, EastEnders' scriptwriter Tony Jordan revealed how it was his idea to bring Den back in 2003. Jordan had started working at EastEnders in 1989, after Den had already left the series. Jordan had always wanted to write material for Den and Angie and so he campaigned for the return of Den for many years.^[14] He told the Daily Mirror, "At story conferences I'd say, 'How do we know he's dead? They never found a body'. Eventually, just to shut me up, they made me write an episode where Den's body was found and identified by his ring."^[14] Jordan finally got his way in 2003; however, according to the writer, Leslie Grantham's internet sex scandal spelled the demise of the character. Commenting on this, Jordan said, "If [the scandal] hadn't come out I think it would have worked and he'd still be in the show. When I saw him on screen after those revelations came out, suddenly I couldn't believe in the character any more. I was starting to love the character and buying into all of it, but after that I saw him as Leslie Grantham - not Den Watts. He was older, and flawed in all the wrong ways. I think a lot of viewers felt the same, and the cast as well, probably."^[14]

Reception[edit]

Despite the controversy surrounding Grantham, the character of Den remains one of the most popular and high-profile characters in EastEnders history and was voted the 75th greatest television character of all time in a Channel 4 poll.^[15] He has also been branded the villain "you most love to hate" and was voted the number one TV Bastard in a 2002 poll.^[16] In addition, the moment when Den served Angie divorce papers has been voted the number one soap moment of all time in a 2004 poll.^[16]

Impact on popular culture[edit]

In the short story Brief Encounter: Mistaken Identity by Gary Russell, published in Doctor Who Magazine Edition 174, the mercenary Lytton meets Den Watts in the Queen Victoria and mistakes him for Davros's adjutant Kiston. Leslie Grantham had played Kiston in an early television role in the Doctor Who serial Resurrection of the Daleks.

The 2006 episode of Doctor Who entitled "Army of Ghosts" features a scene where Peggy Mitchell tells the "ghost" of Den to "get outta my pub!" as the only spirits that will be served are vodka, whiskey and gin. Given that the episode later reveals the "ghosts" to be fully converted Cybermen, Leslie Grantham is not seen in this episode.

In 1986 the duo Whisky and Sofa released a single called "Dirty Den", with lyrics making direct references to the character.

In an episode of the fifth season of Old Harry's Game, Satan (the main character), takes control of the BBC and, in an effort to improve human morality, decides to insert moral messages into EastEnders, including reintroducing Den as a "force for good", when executives challenge Den's reintroduction, stating that he can no longer feature in the show as he was murdered, Satan replies dismissively "Oh, he's always being murdered", a reference to Den's 2003 resurrection.

See also[edit]

• List of EastEnders characters (1985)
• List of soap opera villains

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Den Watts at BBC Online