Den Watts

Dennis Alan "Den" Watts was played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den".

Backstory
Den was born 11 July 1946 and grew up in Walford. He had a villainous past, engaging in petty crime and associating himself with criminal East End organisations. Den developed a reputation as a womanizer,and among others in his youth he had sex with Pat Beale (Pam St. Clement), the first wife of his best friend Pete Beale (Peter Dean). He then settled down at a young age with his school friend Angie Shaw (Anita Dobson); they married in February 1968.

Together Den and Angie leased the tenancy for The Queen Victoria public house, but their marriage was tempestuous and Den had affairs. One affair with a woman named Paula Rickman resulted in a pregnancy, and she gave birth to Den's son, Dennis (Nigel Harman), in 1974; Den knew nothing of the child. Unable to have children together, Den and Angie adopted a young girl named Sharon (Letitia Dean); both doted on her. Den and Angie's relationship was mainly sexless, and in 1980 Den began a long-running affair with the upper-class Jan Hammond (Jane How); Angie knew about the affair and developed alcoholism.

1985–89
Despite being married and having a mistress, Den is unable to turn down the advances of his daughter's best friend, Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully), 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, named Vicki, in 1986, Den is prohibited from having anything to do with her; he is allowed to hold his daughter once, and provides money for Michelle in secret. For many years the secret is kept hidden, but Michelle's mother Pauline (Wendy Richard) is one of the first to realise the truth, igniting a feud between Den and Pauline.

"Happy Christmas Ange"
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, becomes severely depressed and attempts suicide. 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 opts to stay with her and he attempts to rebuild his relationship with Angie, promising to be there with her until her death. He takes Angie to Venice for a second honeymoon, but liases with Jan who, it turns out, is also there. 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.

The Wattses 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 dissillusioned 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 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 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.

The Firm
Having always been connected with the criminal organisation known as The Firm, Den's involvement escalates in 1988. He gives up tenancy at the Vic to run Strokes Winebar with Joanne Francis (Pamela Salem), which is really 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 James's 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 (Pavel Douglas), 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 (John Labanowski) 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 "No.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 "murder" investigation
The police search for Den's body. Initially it is not found; however, 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.The body is buried that year.

2003–05
In the intervening years, Sharon and Vicki grow up and discover Den has a sonwhomhe did not knowof, Dennis, who joins them inWalford. Like Den, Dennis has involvement with the Firm,andafter some digging he discovers that Den is not actually dead; after surving 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 assumedhim deadfor 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 murderedas punishmentforDen'sescape anddumped in the canal,his teethhavingbeen 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 tolive in Walford to assist Sharon in managing her nightclub.

Den gets embroiled in a feud with Sharon's ex-boyfriend Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) after hearing Phil has hit her. He sleeps with Phil's sister Sam (Kim Medcalf), then dumps her promptlyas part of his revenge tactic. He then promises anotherofPhil's formergirlfriends, Lisa Fowler (LucyBenjamin), that he will help her get back her daughter,who is in Phil's custody. Den talks Philintoaccompanying him and Dennis on a warehouse robbery, but during the robbery,Den takes the moneythen obstructs Phil's getaway, and Phil is caughtbythe police andremanded. Philmanagestoescape severalweeks later, confronting Den on ChristmasDay; in order to stop Phil attacking him, Den pays PhiloffandPhil flees.

Keeping it in the family
Family problems arise when Den discovers that Sharon and Dennis are in a romantic relationship; Den accuses it of being incest, despite SharonandDennis not beingblood-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 (Michelle Ryan).

The new Mrs. Watts
In 2004, it is revealed that Den had remarried whilst in Spain in 1999, and his estranged wife Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) moves to be with him in Walford. Den still cannot remain monogomous, and when Chrissie discovers that he has been sleeping with Kate Mitchell (Jill Halfpenny), she threatens tokill him if he ever cheats again. To rebuild his family, Den attempts to regain the Vic from the Mitchells; he blackmails their lawyer Marcus Christie (Stephen Churchett) into convincing Sam that Phil, who is still on-the-run, needs immediate money.Samsells the Vic to Den at a vastlyreduced price andhe reinstates his family at the pub in time for Christmas. Things go awrywhen Den discovers that SharonandDennis 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.Inapparentretribution towards Dennis forinadvertently 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 havingsex, 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.

"You'll never get me out of the Vic!"
When Zoe discovers she is pregnant with Den's child, Chrissie persuades her to abort 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 (bothscorned by Den) and theyconfronthim,settingitup forSharontodiscoverDen's deeds. Sharon subsequently disowns Den in February 2005 and in a rage, Den assaults Chrissie andis 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 second later. Sam secretly witnesses the fatalblow,butChrissie continues toallow Zoe tothink itis she whohas killedDen. The three women bury Den in the Vic cellar and concrete it over. Arguments between the women occur, and Sam and Chrissie becomeembroiled ina feud toregain ownershipofthe Vic,withSamblackmailing Chrissie and digging up Den's body in the hope that Chrissie will be imprisoned, and Chrissie subsequently framing Sam for Den's murder, which leads to Sam's imprisonment. Eventually the truth is revealed, and Chrissie is imprisonedafterpleading guilty.