Howard "Howie" Danes is the father of Denzel Danes, ex of Delilah and boyfriend of Kim Fox. He made his first appearance on 11 October 2021. He is portrayed by Delroy Atkinson.
Backstory[]
Howie's parents met in a fish canning factory, and his mother now lives in the Caribbean. Howie states she can't lie to save her life. At one point, Howie met Delilah and the two had sex, leading to Denzel Danes being born. Howie was absent for quite a lot of Denzel's life, however he recalls that he told Delilah he didn't care if Denzel was a boy or a girl, but deep down he was hoping for a girl so his child wouldn't be like him, but when Denzel was born, and Howie held him for the first time, he knew Denzel was perfect. Howie would watch Denzel sleep for hours, and whenever he woke up, he would reach for his thumb. At some point while at work, Howie witnessed Vincent Hubbard being taken to the junkyard by Aidan Maguire's henchmen and never coming back out (Aidan or his henchmen shot Vincent dead). Howie then found Vincent's wallet.
Storylines[]
2021 to present: Arrival, getting justice for Vincent, relationship with Kim and bonding with Denzel[]
Howie is a Children's Entertainer that found Vincent Hubbard's wallet. He used to work as a security guard at a junkyard, he finds Vincent's wallet and creates a new identity for himself, "Vince Hubbard". When Kim finds out about him, he offers to help bring justice to the now deceased Vincent but is scared away by Phil Mitchell on the orders of Jack Branning.
He then re-appears when Kim Fox visits the Junkyard where Vincent was murdered. Howie tells her that Phil Mitchell threatened him to not go to the police about the murder.
He later arrives at Kim's door with presents for her kids the day before Christmas Eve. He returns again to tell Kim that he will go to the Police.
In February 2022, he returns as Kim's "superfan" Panda41, after this he helps Kim raise funding for her daughter, Pearl Fox, to attend private school by getting sponsors from his friends for Kim the advertise their products on her Kimfluencer streams, one of witch is a poop scooper. Shortly after this, Howie trips on Kim's bag on Bridge Street Market and injures his leg, resulting in him using a wheelchair. Kim invites him to stay with her and her family at 20 Albert Square as he lives on the fourteenth floor of Walford Towers and the lifts often break down, Howie accepts her offer and joins the Fox-Trueman household, however, Howie finds Kim's support overwhelming, and when he can use crutches, he tries to avoid her by hiding at 1 Albert Square, but Kim comes to see Whitney, Chelsea and Jordan and she finds him. When he is fully recovered, he moves back to Walford Towers, however before he has even left the square Kim drops a bag on his leg, resulting in him staying. After this, Howie confesses his feelings towards Kim and the Two agree to give it a go. While attending Avery Baker's party at the Laundrette, Howie revives a call from a woman regarding money, who he tells he loves her. This later turns out to be Delilah, calling him about his son Denzel Danes. She turns up in Walford on 1 August 2022, annoyed at Howie for not telling Kim about Denzel and giving him one day to do so. On 1 August 2022, Howie attempts to tell Kim about his son, Denzel, but Kim believes he's talking about them getting married. Patrick then walks in with Denzel, greeting Howie. Denzel then begins setting up his gaming set up and the Fox-Trueman living room while Howie and Kim talk, and Howie attempts to gaslight Kim into thinking he'd told her but she doesn't remember as he's drunk. Howie says that Delilah needs Howie to look after Denzel while she's in Ibiza. Howie says he's trying to find a flat, and tells Kim that when he said they needed to talk, it was about Denzel staying. Howie admits he's not need a good dad and wants to be more like Kim is with her kids. Howie says Denzel is staying for two weeks, and Kim says Denzel is welcome. Later when Denise visits, she reveals that Pearl is excited about having a new step brother. Kim reveals to Denise she thought Howie was talking about a dog called Derek, and Kim reveals she's scared Denzel won't like her.
The next day, Howie helps Denzel make room for his gaming set up, and when Kim asks what's happening, He says Delilah is bringing Denzel's chair over later. Kim says Howie can fit a whole department store in the living room, let alone a chair, and Denzel corrects Kim by saying it's a gaming chair. Howie suggest the three of them can play together later, but Kim seems uninterested. Later, Howie suggests to Kim finding somewhere for just him and Denzel, and Kim days she doesn't mind. Howie then goes to get Denzel's stuff. Kim then sees Patrick, who says Howie was asking if he should leave, not telling her he wants to. When Delilah shows up, she tells Howie to help with the chair, and then sees Denzel's stuff on the sofa. Howie says there's a been a change of plans and Delilah says this is the only chance Howie will get at seeing Denzel. So he shouldn't mess it up. Kim then walks in, and Delilah asks how old she is, with Kim saying she's old enough to have her number. Delilah asks what the change of plan is, and Kim says there isn't one. Delilah remarks Howie picked a right one before leaving, and Kim says it's a good thing as he evidently picked a wrong one last time. The next day, Howie tries to get Denzel to play football in the park, but he declines the offer. Kim then remarks to Patrick that it’s like they're from different planets, but Patrick reminds her it's not easy to bond with your son and reminds Kim of him and Isaac. Kim and Patrick later try to get Howie and Denzel to bond over a England vs Germany party, merging their two interests of football and gaming together. Howie and Denzel then play a game of FIFA together. On 9 August 2022, Kim and Howie approach Amy Mitchell, Lily Slater, and Tommy Moon, and the three agree that whatever Kim wants they're not doing, but when Amy sees that Kim wants the three to hang out with Denzel, Amy takes an interest, feeling attracted to him. Kim says that Howie and Denzel have been playing games too much so she needs Amy to play with Denzel for a bit, and Howie says she means hang out. The two then leave
At the vic on 15 August 2022, Howie and Kim attend Avery Baker's wake. Howie tells Kim that Tara Misu has a lovely voice, but Kim tells him she's lip syncing. Howie then reveals that Delilah has decided to stay in Ibiza, saying she met someone out there. Kim asks what's happening to Denzel, and Howie asks Kim if he can stay, but Kim is angered, and Howie walks off. Kim later says that Denzel can stay as he deserves a relationship with his father.
On 27 September 2022, Howie receives a call from the school, saying there was a fight that could lead to expulsion. It's revealed that Amy tore Davinder's jacket after he grabbed her bag. The two get into an argument in the corridor of the school, and Denzel tries to calm it down, just as the parents arrive. The six go into the office and have a meeting with a teacher, during which Denzel takes the blame to protect Amy and Davinder from expulsion. Denzel says that hun and Davinder had an argument and that Amy's bag was damaged as the two knocked it over while fighting. Howie later finds Ravi Gulati, Davinder's father, on Bridge Street and apologised for being rude earlier, revealing that when Kim washed Denzel's sports kit, she found a note in his bag saying him and Davinder are on their final warning after Davinder had a go at a teacher and Denzel backed him up.
On 29 September 2022, Kim and Howie call Jack round to their house to fix their blocked pipe. Amy and Denzel them come downstairs, ready to go to Davinder's birthday party, and Kim and Howie compliment them and Howie gives them some money and Kim takes their picture. Jack gets angry that Lim didn't tell him Amy was there and that the two of them were alone upstairs together. Kim and Howie joke about the two getting a smoothie with two straws, but Jack lashes out, saying they shouldn't be spending time together as they're in enough trouble already. Amy tells him to calm down, and Jack refuses to, saying he's protecting Amy from Denzel. Howie and Jack have an argument, with Howie saying kids make mistakes, but Jack says Amy never did until Denzel showed up and calls Howie a part-time dad at best. Denise then arrives and attempts to defuse the situation, but to little success. Denzel then snaps, saying Amy is one of the best friends she's ever had and says that they were upstairs together and Amy was helping him choose an outfit for Davinder's party and that Ravi is there if he wants to speak to him, but Denise says it won't be necessary. Jack later apologises to Howie and Kim, saying he overreacted and was just protective of Amy.
On 5 October 2022, Alfie lies to Howie saying they’re having pre party drinks for Jay’s birthday at the Vic. Howie believes him and decided to go. He later goes to Peggy’s when Lola comes and gets everyone Alfie lied to. A robbery later breaks out at the party, but Howie is unharmed. Later at the Vic, Howie reveals to Kim, Honey and Patrick he starts his new job as a post man Tomorrow. Kim, Howie and Patrick drink too much, and Alfie has to help Patrick get home. The next day, Howie starts his new job, and jokes with Alfie. After this, he’s stopped by Chelsea, asking him to fix her washing machine. Howie reminds her he’s a postman and not a plumber, before giving her a parcel and a letter before leaving, and passing Kim on the way. When Denzel wants to impress Amy, he borrows Howie’s aftershave. Kim says it smalls awful which upsets Denzel. The next day, Howie attends Hope Fowler’s birthday party as his clown act Mr Tinkle and makes Hope a balloon dog.
Kim and Howie later plan a date night at Walford East, only for Jack and Denise to be there. The two join Jack and Denise before Stacey interrupts them. Stacey apologises for interrupting, and Tells Jack and Howie that their kids are planning on having sex together. When Jack gets home, He opens the room to see the two kids kissing. Jack lashes out and grabs Denzel and pins him against the wall, screaming at him that Amy is thirteen.
Kill count[]
Connected murders and deaths[]
- Vincent Hubbard (20 April 2018) (forced association) - Witnessed Vincent getting kidnapped by Aidan Maguire's henchman, Howie knew Vincent had been murdered but didn't report it for over three and a half years out of fear of being murdered himself, Howie eventually reported the crime when Kim Fox-Hubbard tracked him down.
Employment history[]
| Occupation | Years active |
|---|---|
| Security guard at junkyard | Unknown start date-2021 |
| Children's entertainer | 2021 to present |
| Cameraman at Kimfluencer | 2022-2023 |
| Barman at The Albert | 2022 |
| Postman | 2022 to present |
Residence[]
| Address | Years |
|---|---|
| Walford Towers | ??-2022 |
| 20 Albert Square | 2022 to present |
Background information[]
- On 16 May 2022 Kim says Howie likes Taylor Swift and sings along to her in the shower.