Dennis Rickman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| EastEnders character | ||||||||||||||||
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| Dennis Rickman | ||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Nigel Harman | |||||||||||||||
| Created by | Louise Berridge | |||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2003–2006 | |||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 14 April 2003 | |||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 1 January 2006 | |||||||||||||||
| Profile | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 28 August 1974 | |||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 1 January 2006 | |||||||||||||||
| Status | Deceased | |||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Bookmaker | |||||||||||||||
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Dennis Rickman was a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He was played by Nigel Harman.
Dennis first appeared in the show on 14 April 2003 and his last appearance (in which the character was killed off) was screened on 1 January 2006. Dennis died seconds into 2006.
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[edit] Arrival in the Square
Dennis was the product fresh of a fling between his mother Paula and "Dirty" Den Watts back in 1974, though it was nearly 30 years before Dennis met his father. Den also had no idea that his fling with Paula Rickman (who had died earlier in 2003) had produced a son. The relationship between the two became a highlight of the show after Den's return; the violent and unpredictable Dennis became almost puppylike when humoured by Den.
Dennis's half sister is Vicki Fowler, while his adoptive half sister Sharon Watts later became his wife which was a mistake for them. Other flames include old friend and lover Kate Mitchell, her sister-in-law Sam Mitchell, Tracy, Joanne Ryan, Kat Slater and finally Zoe Slater.
When Dennis first arrived in Walford he ran after some muggers who took Dot Branning's handbag and became firm friends with Dot. Dennis speculated that Dot's mothering him had something to do with the established irredeemability of her own son, Nick.
[edit] Jack Dalton's death
East End ganglord Jack Dalton was Dennis's father figure as he used to work for him collecting in debts amongst other things. His prison stint was due to his work for Jack Dalton. Phil Mitchell was forced to do a favour for Jack Dalton who ordered for Dennis to be killed after he was becoming independent of him. Dennis persuaded Phil though that he would kill Jack Dalton so both would be free of him. Dennis marched him out into the woods at gunpoint and, following Dalton's admission that he had ordered Den's murder, shot him in the head. Dennis was racked with guilt though and never recovered from the shock. Despite this, Dennis remained friends with Dalton's second-in-command, Andy Hunter, was best man at the latter's wedding to Sam Mitchell and was left the local bookmakers in Andy's will.
Dennis was put in charge of security at Angie's Den, the nightclub owned by the Watts family, which was subsequently bought by Johnny Allen and renamed Scarlet after his dead child.
[edit] Feud with Phil Mitchell
Dennis's first appearance was in handcuffs, as he was on day release from his prison sentence for GBH in order to attend his mother's funeral. His introduction as a full-time character was marked by his flooring previous Albert Square hardman Phil Mitchell with a single punch in The Queen Vic. This launched a rivalry with Phil which continued when Phil reneged on an agreement to meet Dennis for a fight at Phil's garage, The Arches, by bringing along several associates who gave Dennis a severe beating. Although Phil outwitted Dennis on this occasion, it can safely be assumed that Dennis had more fun; he infuriated Phil by seducing his sister Sam, his wife-to-be Kate Morton (who was a former flame of Dennis) and his daughter's nanny Joanne Ryan.
The rivalry was concluded more successfully by Dennis's father Den upon his return to Albert Square. Den tricked Phil into committing an armed robbery of a local factory then absconded with the escape ladder and most of the loot, though he did leave Phil with a few stolen notes to avenge his attacks on Dennis and Sharon and a gun to incriminate him. Phil subsequently escaped from custody but was arrested in April 2005 when he returned to the Square to beg for money. The Watts-Mitchell feud subsequently brought Dennis closer with his estranged father. After a bitter rivalry over Sharon and Vicki's attentions they shook hands on Christmas day, each speaking of their eagerness for a father-son relationship before Den left for Spain on a business trip, saying a heartfelt farewell to Dennis.
[edit] Fling with Sharon
Dennis had a passionate fling with Sharon on the eve of Den's return but found himself rejected when her father replaced him. They resumed their affair in secret but Den couldn't accept a relationship between his children and used his keen observations of Dennis's psychology and past in elaborate plots to split them up. Most memorably Den taunted Dennis with the insinuation that 'some sick nonce' had sexually abused him while he was in a children's home, successfully provoking Dennis into accidentally hitting Sharon. A guilt-ridden Den later apologised and explained his reasons for not wanting his son and daughter together, because he wanted both kids in his life and he couldn't have that if they were sleeping together. Den then tried to explain to Dennis, in all seriousness, that his feelings were Sharon were simply misguided due to the abuse he suffered as a child, which left Dennis confused and he decided to break up with Sharon in order to have the father-son relationship with Den he'd always wanted.
Despite Sharon's heartache, the Watts reformed their strong bond, including the introduction of Den's new wife Chrissie. Dennis moved in with Zoe Slater but couldn't reciprocate her love and Sharon seduced him again. They continued their affair in secret behind Zoe and Den's back until Sharon decided she was sick of sneaking around and her and Dennis planned to leave on Christmas Day.
[edit] Zoe's Lies
When the two announced over the dinner table on Christmas day that they were in love and going to America together, Zoe, desperate to keep Dennis announced that she was pregnant. Dennis soon realised that he could never be an absent father to the baby, just as Den had left him (although Den had never known Paula was pregnant). Sharon went to America without Dennis, and Vicki joined her after overhearing Den persuading Sharon to stay and claiming that he didn't love Vicki half as much as he loved Sharon. Dennis was in disbelief, as his sex life with Zoe had been virtually non-existent.
Dennis stayed with Zoe but refused to sleep with her. She was desperate to get really pregnant so resorted to sleeping with Den. In February 2005 Dennis finally caught his girlfriend in bed with his father, who greeted him with a deadpan 'Hello son!'.
[edit] Marriage to Sharon
Dennis left the Square a broken man upon this discovery and did not appear again until the following June. Before leaving, he had informed Chrissie that Den had been sleeping with Zoe.
In June 2005, Dennis and Sharon both returned to Walford as a couple and demanded to see Den. They stayed with Pauline Fowler and then moved back into The Vic with Chrissie. Dennis saw through his stepmother's story that Den had left her for another woman but, still bitter over Den's reaction to him and Sharon, avenging his father was not a priority for him and he dropped the matter to spare Sharon's feelings.
On 31 August Dennis and Sharon returned from their wedding to learn that Sam Mitchell had exhumed their father's body from his concrete grave in The Vic's cellar with a pickaxe and had consequently been arrested on suspicion of his murder. On 8 November Dennis and Sharon brought Chrissie to justice with the help of former foe Phil Mitchell and his brother Grant and sold The Vic back to the happy Mitchells, apparently marking the conclusion of the Watts/Mitchell feud. Sharon and Dennis went on a late honeymoon and then Dennis's new friend Phil helped them find their own house at 29 Albert Square.
Dennis then discovered the truth about his father's death. Zoe had actually become pregnant after sleeping with Den, and aborted the baby under Chrissie's advice - not knowing that she knew that the baby was Den's. Den had also bought the Queen Vic at a knock-down price after conspiring with Marcus Christie to trick Sam Mitchell into selling Phil's assets to "help him" while he was on the run (having escaped from prison while remanded for an armed robbery that Den had set him up for). Chrissie, Zoe and Sam had confronted Den in the Vic after all the customers had gone, and provoked him into confessing all his sins. Chrissie had also lured Sharon back to Walford by lying that Den was ill, only for her to hear the full truth about Den's sins. Sharon had then walked out on Den and flown back to America. Den finally snapped at Chrissie on realising that she had organised the scam to lose him the love of the person he loved most in all the world, and in the argument Zoe had hit him on the head with a doorstop. While Sam and Zoe were locking the pub up, Den suddenly grabbed Chrissie, who delivered a fatal blow with the doorstop. The three women had then buried his body in the basement.
[edit] Death
On Christmas Day 2005, Sharon was admitted to hospital with suspected serious food poisoning. After being examined by the doctor, she came out to Dennis and told him she was pregnant. This was a wonderful surprise from them both, especially as Sharon had supposedly been left infertile a decade earlier due to an abortion.
On New Year's Eve 2005 Dennis was ready to leave Albert Square with his wife and make a new start in the States. Sharon had talked him into leaving without telling him the real reason why: that Johnny Allen had threatened to kill him if they weren't out by midnight. Unfortunately she confided in Phil Mitchell, who saw an opportunity to use Dennis as a weapon against Johnny. Phil told Dennis about Johnny threatening Sharon and also that Johnny had murdered Dennis's friend Andy Hunter. Although Dennis acknowledged that Phil was manipulating him, he took the bait anyway and battered Johnny to the brink of death in the office of his nightclub, Scarlet. Johnny begged for help as he thought he was dying, so Dennis tossed him a mobile phone at him and said if he could reach the phone to call an ambulance then he might live.
Dennis was later stabbed as he crossed the Square to meet Sharon. He died in her arms as fireworks filled the sky, a few steps away from the taxi in which he planned to escape his life of violence. His last words were 'we did it', in reference to their baby, who was born six months later and named Dennis in honour of his father and grandfather.
In March 2006, the Mitchell brothers went to confront Johnny Allen at his new home in Essex to uncover the truth about Dennis's death. Johnny ordered his henchman Danny Moon to kill the Mitchell brothers in nearby woodland after he had captured them, only for Jake Moon to shoot Danny as he was about to kill Grant Mitchell. Danny died instantly and Jake told the Mitchells that Danny had killed Dennis. Johnny was soon arrested after his daughter Ruby summoned the police, and he was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering Dennis's murder, as well as killing Andy Hunter. The trial judge recommended a minimum of 27 years for Johnny, but he died in October 2006 after suffering a heart attack in prison.
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