Dennis Rickman

Dennis Rickman
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Nigel Harman
Duration	2003–2005
First appearance	Episode 2499 14 April 2003 (2003-04-14)
Last appearance	Episode 3075 30 December 2005 (2005-12-30)
Classification	Former; regular
Created by	Louise Berridge
In-universe information Occupation Gangster Doorman Barman Bookmaker Family Watts Father Den Watts Mother Paula Rickman Stepmother Chrissie Watts Half-sisters Vicki Fowler Sharon Watts (adoptive) Wife Sharon Watts (2005) Sons Dennis Rickman Jnr Granddaughters Alyssa Lennox

Dennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nigel Harman. He made his first appearance on 14 April 2003 at the funeral of his late mother, Paula, before going on to become one of the show's central protagonists from 1 May 2003 up until his last appearance in the episode broadcast on 30 December 2005, when the character was fatally stabbed at the start of the New Year Fireworks.

He originally came to Walford - a fictional borough in East London - in 2003 as a new member of the Watts family who had a difficult past and rough childhood, though his identity was unknown for almost thirty years. Dennis soon became a regular presence in Walford's market town Albert Square, and in the summer of that year he murdered his former gangland boss Jack Dalton (Hywel Bennett) after discovering that the latter was responsible for the apparent death of Dennis's illegitimate father Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) in February 1989. Before he killed Dalton, however, Dennis discovered that Den had actually survived the shooting and - thanks to the help of his father's old mistress Jan Hammond (Jane How) - partly contributed to Den's eventual return in September 2003. The follow-up of Den's comeback saw him and Dennis compete against each other in a longstanding conflict that eventually came to an end in 2005 when Den was ultimately killed off on the show's twentieth anniversary episode dated 18 February 2005; Dennis later discovered his father's fate on 29 August 2005, the same day he finally married his adopted sister Sharon (Letitia Dean) after the couple managed to repair their once-forbidden romance.

During his time on the show, Dennis established an intense feud with his alpha-male rival and the square's undisputed top-dog kingpin Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) - also Sharon's on-off boyfriend. He also bonded with his and Sharon's half-sister Vicki Fowler (Scarlett Alice Johnson); formed a mutual friendship with Dalton's right-hand mobster Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs); embarked on an initial relationship with his brief girlfriend Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan); developed a warm companionship with local gossip Dot Cotton (June Brown); slept with his acquaintance Kate Morton (Jill Halfpenny) during her marriage prospects with Phil; instituted major interactions with Sharon's family friend Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) along with fellow neighbour Pat Harris (Pam St Clement) and Zoe's surrogate father Charlie (Derek Martin); temporarily clashed with Phil's brother Grant (Ross Kemp) over the latter's previous marriage with Sharon; and later teamed up with the Mitchell brothers, along with their mother Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) and cousin Billy (Perry Fenwick), to help their family bring Sharon's stepmother Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) to justice for killing Den and framing Peggy's daughter Sam (Kim Medcalf) for his murder.

In his exit storyline towards the climax of 2005, Dennis became enemies with the square's reigning crime lord Johnny Allen (Billy Murray). This came to an unfortunate end when Dennis brutally attacked Johnny for threatening him and throttling Sharon into leaving Walford, as well as killing Andy on the night Den died earlier on. Subsequently, Johnny survived the attack and arranged for his henchman Danny Moon (Jake Maskall) to kill Dennis in retribution; Dennis was later stabbed on that night amid the New Year fireworks celebrating 2006 and he ultimately died in Sharon's arms.

Nearly three months after the character's death, Dennis became the posthumous catalyst for the Get Johnny Week storyline in which Phil and Grant sought to help Sharon avenge his death by bringing Johnny to justice; in the end, Dennis's death was avenged when his killer Danny was shot dead by his brother Jake (Joel Beckett), while Johnny was forced by his daughter Ruby (Louisa Lytton) to surrender himself to the police after she discovered that her father was responsible for Dennis's murder. Later on, Dennis's death ends up getting avenged by Ruby's boyfriend Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky), when he causes Johnny to die of a heart attack, following the latter's sentencing to life imprisonment for Dennis's murder. Sharon later gave birth to her and Dennis's son, Denny. In early January 2014, Sharon finally learned the truth about Dennis's death from Phil, and the subject is raised again after Denny dies in February 2020, following a quarrel with the show's protagonist Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) in the programme's 35th anniversary special.

The character of Dennis Rickman quickly became established as the show's leading man and a "soap sex-symbol",^[1] with Harman noted for his "dark good looks" and "fantastic" physique.^[2] In 2003, Harman won the "Best Newcomer" award at the National Television Awards, and for two years straight (in 2004 and 2005) won both "Best Actor" and "Sexiest Male" categories at the British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards.