User:Junipers Liege/workspace/Dennis

Dennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nigel Harman. He entered the show on 14 April 2003 and made his last appearance on 30 December 2005, when he was fatally stabbed as the midnight fireworks began. He is part of the Watts family; his storylines centring around the troubled relationship with his infamous father, Den and romance with his adopted sister, Sharon.

Dennis is characterised by his roguish manner, a "bad boy" cast in the mould of a "young Dirty Den". During his time, he often butted heads with various alpha-males, including Phil Mitchell and Johnny Allen, but developed a warm friendship with gangster Andy Hunter. Dennis became quickly established as the show’s leading man and a "soap sex-symbol", with Harman noted for his "dark good looks" and "fantastic" physique. The character had numerous romantic liaisons with the show's female line-up, but it was his relationship with Sharon that dominated dramatic action.

Background
Dennis Rickman was created by the show's producers as the hardman successor to the character of Steve Owen, who had bowed out during the previous year. It was also part of a move to bring the Watts family back to the forefront of EastEnders, with the re-introduction of Vicki Fowler occurring at the beginning of 2003, and the highly anticipated return of Den Watts in September. Executive producer Louise Berridge was also keen to rectify what she felt was a gender imbalance in the cast, commenting after his arrival that Dennis had "provided a surge of testosterone in a show that was rather female-heavy since the arrival of the Slaters."

Casting
Harman was working as a lorry driver for supermarket chain Sainsbury when he was cast in the role of Dennis Rickman. However, Harman revealed in a 2003 interview that he actually auditioned for a character called "Tim", and had no idea that he was set to join the Watts family as the unknown son of the soap's most "iconic" figure, Den Watts. Part of Harman's appeal lay in his dark good looks and appealing physicality. EastEnders executive producer Louise Berridge noted: "We cast Nigel for his tremendous acting ability and his screen presence, but there's no question he's also a very sexy young man." Dennis Rickman's role as "EastEnders beefcake" made Harman uncomfortable. In an interview with The Independent in 2003 he commented on his character's status as a sex symbol: "It's Dennis, not me... I am a bit embarrassed... I don't get off on it. I walk into the living-room in the morning in my jogging pants, with my hair all over the place, and my flatmates say: 'So, you're supposed to be one of the sexiest men in the country?' And I go: 'I know. I don't get it either.'"

Personality
Dennis Rickman has been described as a "smouldering thug"

Nigel Harman spoke of his character as "a bit of a rough diamond," but "he's got a sensitive side. All that crap."

"tough-as-nails"