Former EastEnders favourite Nigel Harman has revealed all about his character Dennis Rickman's death, admitting he was the reason Dennis was tragically stabbed.
Nigel played bad boy Dennis Rickman from 2003 to 2005 in EastEnders and was the husband of Sharon Watts played by Letitia Dean (who was also his sister by adoption) and the son of 'Dirty' Den Watts (Leslie Grantham).
Dennis met his heartbreaking end when he was fatally stabbed by Danny Moon (Jake Maskall) on the orders of crime lord Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) and died in Sharon's arms in the Square.
Talking to Inside Soap, Nigel reflected on his time in EastEnders and why he decided that his character should be killed off, much to the heartbreak of fans.
He said: “That was part of my reasoning [to be killed off]. I had a very strong instinct that I wanted to draw a line underneath the character. I think that’s why he’s resonated for so long.
“I wasn’t aware [how popular Dennis was] at the time. People still come up to me 20 years later [and that’s when] I’ve noticed the impact that Dennis has had."
Sharon and Dennis had a son together, who Sharon named Dennis 'Denny' Rickman Jr. (Bleu Landau) in his father's memory.
However, the teen died in the Thames boat crash in February 2020, caused by Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).
Nigel looks back on his soap alter ego's death following the news that he was cast as Dr Max Cristie in Casualty this month.
He teased some exciting details about his daring character to What To Watch as he told us: “He’s very front-footed! Max gets stuck in, speaks his mind, and stands up for what he believes is right, which gets him in a few scrapes. He practises medicine on instinct and is very at home with trauma surgery. He acts quickly if it means saving a life and worries about the fallout afterwards. It makes him slightly dangerous and exciting to be around!”
Nigel made his Casualty debut on Saturday, February, 18 on BBC One.
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
