Leslie Grantham
Leslie Grantham as Den Watts
Born	April 30, 1947 (1947-04-30) (age 60) Camberwell, London, England
Years active	1984 to present

Leslie Michael Grantham (born April 30, 1947, in Camberwell, England) is a British actor best known for playing "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1985 to 1989 and again in 2003 to 2005. Image File history File links Den. ... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Camberwell is a district of London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year. ... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Camberwell is a district of London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... Dennis Den Watts was a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... For Philippine soap opera, see Teleserye. ... EastEnders is a popular BBC television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 on 19 February 1985[4] and continuing to date. ...

Personal life

Grantham was born in Camberwell, London and enlisted in the British Army in 1965, at the age of 18. On 3 December the following year he attempted to rob a German taxi driver, Felix Reese; when it went wrong, Grantham shot him dead in his cab.[1][2][3] In his statement to the police following his arrest, he claimed that he did not know the gun was loaded and it had gone off during a struggle with the taxi driver. He was subsequently convicted of murder, a surprise verdict after being advised by his lawyer that a manslaughter verdict would probably be returned. Camberwell is a district of London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 337th day of the year (338th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...

Grantham sentenced to life imprisonment in 1967 with a recommended minimum of 11 years. Although he had committed the killing in Osnabrück, Germany, he served the entirity of his imprisonment in various British prisons. This was because soldiers and officers convicted of any criminal offence that warrants a sentence of over three months are automatically transferred to HM Prison Service, since they are also automatically dishonourably discharged. Grantham was released in 1977, having served 10 years. While he was in Leyhill Prison, he acted in several plays for inmates and members of the public, and edited the prison newspaper. He was encouraged to get more involved in acting professionally by disgraced politician T. Dan Smith, who had also been an inmate at Leyhill. Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... , Osnabrück (IPA: ) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. ... Her Majestys Prison Service is the British Executive Agency reporting to the Home Office tasked with managing many of the prisons within the United Kingdom. ... A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from his or her obligation to serve. ... Leyhill Prison is a low-security (open) HM Prison situated in South Gloucestershire, England. ... Thomas Daniel Smith (May 11, 1915 - July 27, 1993) was a British politician who was Leader of Newcastle upon Tyne City Council from 1960 to 1965 and a prominent figure in the Labour Party in the north-east of England, such that he was nicknamed Mr. ...

Career

Early Work

On release from prison Leslie decided to pursue an acting career and trained at The Webber Douglas drama school (as did Anita Dobson, but not at the same time). He became good friends with the actress Louise Jameson, best known for her role as Leela in Doctor Who and made his first television appearance in a 1984 Doctor Who serial, Resurrection of the Daleks. He then appeared as a Signals Sergeant in episode 12 of the mini TV series The Jewel in the Crown. He also wrote a play entitled A Reason To Live, which won the Gloucester Drama Festival award for best original play. In 1985 he made a brief appearance in the film Morons from Outer Space. Louise Jameson Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is a British actress, most famous for playing Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the mysterious Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Leela is a fictional character played by Louise Jameson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... For other uses, see Doctor Who (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Doctor Who (disambiguation). ... Resurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from February 8 to February 15, 1984. ... The Jewel in the Crown is a British television drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and based on the Raj Quartet novels by Paul Scott. ... Morons from Outer Space is a 1985 comedy / science fiction film, directed by Mike Hodges. ...

EastEnders first stint

In 1984 he auditioned with the BBC for a part in its new soap opera EastEnders, which was due to go on air in February 1985. Grantham had auditioned for the role of market trader Pete Beale, but when the series went on air he got the part of Dennis Watts. The character, landlord of the Queen Victoria public house, quickly became a national favourite and gained the nickname Dirty Den mostly because of the way he treated his wife Angie, played by Anita Dobson, and at the age of 39 he fathered a child with 16-year-old Michelle Fowler. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... For Philippine soap opera, see Teleserye. ... EastEnders is a popular BBC television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 on 19 February 1985[4] and continuing to date. ... Peter Pete Beale was a fictional character played by Peter Dean on the popular British BBC1 soap opera EastEnders. ... Dirty Den Watts is a character in the British soap opera Eastenders played by actor Leslie Grantham. ... Anita Dobson (born April 29, 1949 in Stepney, London) is an English television actress. ... Michelle Fowler (previously Holloway) was a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. ...

On Christmas Day 1986, Grantham's character served his on-screen wife with the divorce papers, with the famous line - "Happy Christmas Ange" and the episode was watched by a record 30 million viewers - over half the British population. In 1988 the character Den Watts sold his pub to Frank Butcher and gradually drifted out of key storylines until finally departing in February 1989. Den had got involved with The Firm and his only option was to flee the square. Viewers watched a mysterious gunman shoot at Den with a gun hidden in a bunch of daffodils, before hearing a splash. A shot depicting Den's death was cut from the final scene, as the show's producers hoped that Grantham might one day be persuaded to return to the role. The following year, a body believed to be Den's was found in the canal, although again, not shown on screen. Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus, at the first Christmas Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... Francis Frank Butcher was a fictional character in the popular British soap opera EastEnders. ... The Firm is a fictional gangland organisation in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, probably inspired by the notorious real-life criminal gang run by the Krays. ...

Other Work

From 1989 to 1990 he played Danny Kane in the crime television series The Paradise Club alongside Don Henderson. He went to appear in many more television series such as Cluedo as Colonel Mustard, The Detectives (1993) and 99-1 (1993-4). In 1994 he narrated Volume One of Frank Harris's erotic classic My Life and Loves.^[1] In 1997 he produced and starred in the sci-fi mini-series The Uninvited. Don Henderson as General Tagge in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Colonel Mustard is one of the six suspects in the Hasbro board game Cluedo/Clue, and one of the five to survive into the new 2002 edition of the game. ... The Detectives (1993-1997) was a British comedy series, starring Jasper Carrott, Robert Powell, and George Sewell. ... Frank Harris by Alvin Langdon Coburn. ... Sci-fi is an abbreviation for science fiction. ... A miniseries, in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... The Uninvited is an ITV science fiction television series first shown in 1997. ...

He became best known as the co-host of the popular game show Fort Boyard with Melinda Messenger which he presented from 1998 to 2002. He also reunited with his EastEnders co-star Anita Dobson in a one-off television film The Stretch which aired in 2000 and in a 2004 British gangster film Charlie. “Quiz show” redirects here. ... Fort Boyard, as seen from the sea. ... Melinda Jayne Messenger (born 23 February 1971 in Swindon, Wiltshire) is an English television presenter and was one of the countrys most successful glamour models. ... A television movie (also TV movie, TV-movie, made-for-TV movie, etc. ...

EastEnders second stint

In September 2003, 14 years since his character was supposedly killed off Leslie Grantham returned to EastEnders in a plotline that could be said to have stretched the soap's credibility as his 'Den Watts' character (initially bumped-off in 1989) arrived at the nightclub now owned by his adoptive daughter Sharon. Sharon Watts (now known as Sharon Rickman) is a character on the popular BBC1 soap opera EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean. ...

It had been revealed he survived the shooting and fled to Spain, with the help of former mistress Jan Collins, while the body found a year later in the Canal was wrongly identified. Over 17 million people watched one of the most anticipated TV events of the year on Monday 29th September as Den spoke the famous words, "Hello, princess".

There had been much speculation in the media after Den's departure as to whether the character really was dead. BBC bosses said that Den's return had been on the agenda almost every year since the character's departure in 1989, and the first offer for him to return had been made as long ago as 1991. But Grantham had turned down every offer to return until the one made to him in early 2003, feeling that his character did not have adequate links to the show for a comeback to be anything more than a publicity stunt - particularly when Den's daughter Sharon was away from the show from 1995 to 2001, which left Den without any family in the cast. This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

Den's former on-screen wife Angie had left the show in 1988, and actress Anita Dobson was made several offers to return to the show, but turned each one down and felt that the character would be ruined if she made a comeback. BBC bosses finally gave up on having Angie back in the show and the character died off-screen in 2002. Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Anita Dobson (born April 29, 1949 in Stepney, London) is an English television actress. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

In December 2004, Dirty Den arranged a scam to get back the Queen Vic from Sam Mitchell; 16 years after he had sold it to Frank Butcher. Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... EastEnders is a popular BBC television soap opera, which was first broadcast on February 19, 1985. ... Samantha Sam Mitchell (previously Butcher and Hunter) is a fictional character in the popular British BBC1 soap opera EastEnders. ... Francis Frank Butcher was a fictional character in the popular British soap opera EastEnders. ...

Internet sex scandal

In May 2004 a Sunday newspaper printed photographs of Grantham exposing himself and masturbating whilst sucking his finger in a sexually-suggestive manner via a webcam from his dressing room to an undercover reporter named "Amanda". Amanda logged onto MSN Messenger, calling herself "Halo Polisher" and was soon chatting to Grantham who called himself kwanertoo@hotmail.com - explaining it was a play on the word wanker. Woman masturbating, 1913 drawing by Gustav Klimt. ... A typical webcam A web camera (or webcam) is a real-time camera (usually, though not always, a video camera) whose images can be accessed using the World Wide Web, instant messaging, or a PC video calling application. ... MSN Messenger is a freeware instant messaging client that was developed and distributed by Microsoft between 1999 and 2005 for computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, and aimed towards home users. ... Look up wanker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

He also allegedly dressed as Captain Hook whilst pleasuring himself, shared his sexual fantasies about animals [4], insulted several cast members of EastEnders (including Shane Richie, Wendy Richard and Jessie Wallace) and made comments regarding the poor quality of the scripts. Grantham released a statement which read, "I am wholeheartedly ashamed of my behaviour and feel that I have let down my colleagues, as well as my friends and family." He also added, "In some small recompense I intend to make a donation to charity as a mark of my apology." Captain James Hook is the villain of J. M. Barries play and novel Peter Pan. ... Shane Richie (born Shane Patrick Roche, 11 March 1964) is an English actor, television personality, comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. ... Wendy Richard MBE (born Wendy Emerton on 20 July 1943) is a popular English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? from 1972 to 1985 and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders from 1985 to 2006. ... Jessie Wallace (born Karen Wallace on September 25, 1971) is a British actress who trained at the The Poor School. ...

He had apparently described co-star Shane Richie (who played Alfie Moon) as "self-infatuated", but Richie subsequently stated that Grantham had been forgiven by the cast and they were happy to joke with him about it. Shane Richie (born Shane Patrick Roche, 11 March 1964) is an English actor, television personality, comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. ... Alfred William Alfie Moon was a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. ...

Departure from EastEnders

In November 2004, it was confirmed that Grantham would be leaving EastEnders in the New Year. Bosses stated that the character would be killed off, but this time "the coffin lid would be nailed shut". Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On 18 February 2005, 16.2 million viewers tuned in to view his character's second demise, this time at the hands of new wife, Chrissie who hit him over the head with a dog-shaped iron doorstop after he attacked her during an argument. Grantham's departure from the soap was reportedly the result of adverse newspaper publicity generated by the actor's Internet sex scandal months earlier for which he had initially received a suspension from the programme, although he has stated that he did not want to renew his contract. is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ... Look up shape in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of programming in television broadcasting. ...

Six months after Den's last appearance, he returned again, this time as a corpse. Sam Mitchell was arrested after being caught digging up a body in the basement of the Queen Vic. The body was quickly identified as Den's, and Sam was charged with his murder. In Autumn 2005, Sam's brothers Phil and Grant returned to Walford and managed to put her in the clear by obtaining a tape-recorded confession by the real killer, Chrissie who eventually went to jail.

Life after EastEnders: 2005 onwards

Grantham has since appeared in two UK tours of Beyond Reasonable Doubt, a stage adaptation of a Jeffrey Archer play, alongside Simon Ward and Alexandra Bastedo, and remains a popular Christmas pantomime villain. He directed and starred in a pantomime of Peter Pan at the St. Albans arena during Christmas 2005, which was a sell-out and received excellent reviews. Not to be confused with Geoffrey Archer. ... Simon Ward (born London, October 19, 1941) is an English actor. ... Alexandra Bastedo, Stuart Damon, and William Gaunt in The Champions (1968). ... The Christmas Pantomime colour lithograph bookcover, 1890 Pantomime (informally, panto) refers to a theatrical genre, traditionally found in Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, which is usually performed around the Christmas and New Year holiday season. ... This article is about the play by J.M. Barrie. ... St Albans, St. ...

In January 2005 a newspaper report claimed that Grantham was in the process of writing his autobiography, which he denied. However in June 2006 he confirmed he was in fact working on the book, titled Life And Other Times, for which he had been offered a "substantial sum" by Timewell Publishing. The book went on sale in bookshops across the UK on 18 October 2006. He discussed his book in an interview with Digitalspy,[5] where he also mentions that his return to Eastenders was only ever going to be 18 months long, as bosses want his exit to tie in with the 20th anniversary of the popular soap. This put paid to endless speculation that he had been forced out the show as punishment for the internet sex scandal. Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In October 2006 it was announced that, in his first television role since leaving Eastenders, he would appear in the long-running ITV1 police drama series The Bill, reprising the role of Gangster Jimmy Collins on the run from prison. The episode aired on February 8, 2007. This was Leslie's second appearance in The Bill as he previously appeared in 1998 for a few episodes. ITV1 is the name, in England, Wales and the Scottish borders, for a terrestrial, free-to-air television channel, broadcast in the United Kingdom by the ITV network. ... This article is about the British TV series. ...

Since February 2007, he's been touring the UK with the Donald Churchill play, The Decorator.

In April 2007 it was announced that he will play Private Walker in a stage production of Dad's Army leading the Daily Mail to comment that "At least there'll be one member of the cast who has actually shot a German" Private Joe Walker is a fictional black market spiv (or Wholesales Trader, as he politely puts it) and Home Guard platoon member portrayed by actor James Beck on the BBC television sitcom Dads Army. ... Dad’s Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War, written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. ... The Daily Mail is a British newspaper and the oldest tabloid, first published in 1896. ...

Trivia

• Grantham lives in South West London with his wife, actress Jane Laurie, and their three sons - Michael "Spike" (born 1987), Jake (born 1989) and Danny (born 1994). Danny has Down's Syndrome.

• He is a keen cricketer and often plays in celebrity tournaments. In March 2006 it was announced that he would be a contestant in a celebrity poker tournament on Challenge alongside another former EastEnder, Michael Greco.

• He is a keen football supporter and follows West Ham United. During his first spell in EastEnders, Den would attend West Ham games to be met with the chant "There's only one Den Watts". He revealed this in his autobiography.

Greater London is divided into a number of constituencies for London Assembly elections. ... Jane Laurie (born 1952) is a British actress, most notable for being the wife of actor Leslie Grantham. ... A cricketer is a term used to refer to a person who plays cricket. ... For the domestic fireplace tool, see fireplace poker. ... Challenge is a British digital TV channel owned by Virgin Media Television. ... Michael Greco (born to Italian parents in 1970 in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland) is a British actor and poker player, now living in England. ... Look up Football in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in West Ham, London Borough of Newham, East London, and have played their home matches at the 35,146 capacity Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904. ...

Selected filmography

• Charlie (2004) .... Richard
• Heartbeat (2002) ..... George East
• The Stretch (2000) ..... Terry Greene
• The Bill (1998)..... Jimmy Smith / (2007) .... Jimmy Collins
• Fort Boyard (1998-2002)..... Boyard
• The Uninvited (1997)..... Philip Gates
• 99-1 (1993-4) ..... Mick Raynor
• The Detectives (1993) ..... Danny Kane
• Cluedo (1993) .... Colonel Mustard
• The Paradise Club (1989-1990) .... Danny Kane
• Alas Smith & Jones (1986)
• EastEnders (1985-1989, 2003-2005)..... "Dirty" Den Watts
• Morons from Outer Space (1985) .... Motorway Policeman
• Dramarama (1984)
• The Jewel in the Crown (1984) .... Signals Sergeant
• Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks (1984) .... Kiston

Heartbeat is a long-running British TV police drama series set in 1960s Yorkshire. ... This article is about the British TV series. ... Fort Boyard is a fort located between in the île dAix and île dOléron in the Pertuis dAntioche straights, on the west coast of France. ... The Uninvited is an ITV science fiction television series first shown in 1997. ... The Detectives (1993-1997) was a British comedy series, starring Jasper Carrott, Robert Powell, and George Sewell. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Alas Smith and Jones was a British comedy sketch series featuring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones. ... EastEnders is a popular BBC television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 on 19 February 1985[4] and continuing to date. ... Morons from Outer Space is a 1985 comedy / science fiction film, directed by Mike Hodges. ... Dramarama was the name of a British Childrens television series broadcast on ITV between 1983 and 1989. ... The Jewel in the Crown is a British television drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and based on the Raj Quartet novels by Paul Scott. ... For other uses, see Doctor Who (disambiguation). ... Resurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from February 8 to February 15, 1984. ...

References

External links

• Leslie Grantham at the Internet Movie Database
• Audio Interview at BBC Wiltshire