List of East Enders Characters (1985) - Den Watts

Den Watts, played by actor Leslie Grantham, is the original landlord of The Queen Victoria. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". He perhaps is best remembered for his stormy love-hate relationship with his alcoholic first wife Angie (Anita Dobson). After nearly 20 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 well known for his later involvement with the criminal gang known as The Firm that eventually leads to an attempt on his life in 1989. For 14 years, it was believed that he had been killed, but he returns to Walford in September 2003. Seventeen months later, his character is killed off again, this time for good, at the hands of his manipulative second wife Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman). Den was described by EastEnders executive producer Louise Berridge as being arguably one of the most iconic soap characters ever.