Dennis Sharon EastEnders
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Remembering Dennis Rickman Jr: EastEnders’ character’s legacy and actors

It's been two years since Dennis has died

It has been two years since EastEnders character Dennis Rickman Jr died, but what happened to him and who played him?

EastEnders: Who is Dennis Rickman Jr?

Dennis Rickman Jr is the son of Sharon Watts and Dennis Rickman. Sharon was the adoptive half-sister of Dennis Rickman.

Dennis Rickman Jr, also called Denny, was born on July 4 2006 and died on February 14 2020.

His father was stabbed and killed on New Year’s Day 2006 so Dennis never got a chance to meet his son.

Dennis is the son of Sharon Watts and Dennis Rickman (Credit: BBC)

Sharon named their son after his late father.

Denny’s stepfather Phil Mitchell became a father figure to him.

Denny also had a younger half-brother Albie, who is the son of Sharon and Keanu Taylor.

Who played Dennis Rickman Jr in EastEnders?

From 2012 until 2015, Dennis was played by actor Harry Hickles.

In 2015, Bleu Landau took over the role and played Dennis until the character’s death in 2020.

What is Bleu Landau up to now?

Bleu appears to still be acting. Last month he revealed he had just finished filming Sky drama Code 404 and had been working with Stephan Graham and Daniel Mays.

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A post shared by Bleu Landau (@bleu.landau)

He captioned his Instagram post: “Code 404! It’s a wrap. Been great being back filming what what a privilege to work with these two quality actors, it was a very fun one to be a part of.

“Can’t wait to see it on TV!”

Recently Bleu also revealed he is playing for Kent FA’s under-18s.

EastEnders: How did Dennis die?

Dennis died in February 2020 and he was only 13 at the time of his death.

In February last year The Vic celebrated winning Best Pub in London by having a party on a boat on the River Thames.

Dennis was on the boat and was being tracked down by Sharon’s best friend, Ian Beale.

Dennis had been bullying Ian’s son, Bobby, online, leading to him getting beat up and needing surgery.

Ian found Dennis on the boat and locked him in a room on the lower deck of the boat with the plans of taking him to the police station when the boat docked.

Dennis died during the soap’s 35th anniversary week (Credit: BBC)

Read more: Emmerdale’s Amy Walsh and EastEnders’ Toby-Alexander Smith announce name of baby daughter

However Keanu and Phil got into a fight on the boat causing it to crash and take on water.

Dennis was trapped in a room filling with water. However Ian decided to go back and try and save him.

Ian managed to get Dennis out of the room, but a surge of water caused the teenager to drown.

Meanwhile Sharon was giving birth to her second son. Shortly after his arrival, Keanu went to the hospital and told her that her oldest son had died.

Sharon’s revenge

Dennis left Sharon a voicemail telling her Ian trapped him and the boat was taking on water.

Dotty Cotton got hold of the voice note and blackmailed Ian. However when she told Sharon, she refused to believe her.

Sharon found out about Ian’s part in Dennis’s death (Credit: BBC)

Eventually it was revealed Sharon knew about the voicemail and her and her ex-husband Phil were trying to get revenge on Ian.

They plotted to kill him, however Ian ended up fleeing Walford.

Finding out Dennis Rickman Jr fathered a baby before his death

Last year a baby was left on Sharon’s doorstep with a note saying: “Alyssa is yours, please take care of her. I can’t do this anymore.”

With no idea who Alyssa’s mother could be, Zack thought he was her father. Eventually Martin realised there was a chance Alyssa could be his child and both men decided to get a DNA test done.

However when Zack and Martin got the DNA results back, it showed neither of them were Alyssa’s father.

Read more: EastEnders star Louisa Lytton shows off bikini body during family holiday

Later Sharon found that one of Alyssa’s missing toys had been returned. Zack soon spotted a girl and he and Sharon caught up to her.

She told them her name is Jada and she’s Alyssa’s mother, but she never got a chance to tell him he’s a father.

Jada then told Sharon that her late son, Dennis Rickman Jr, is Alyssa’s father.

Currently Sharon, Martin, Zack, Jada, Alyssa and Sharon’s son Albie, are living together.

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EastEnders usually airs Mondays at 8.05pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.35pm and Fridays at 8.30pm on BBC One.

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Charlotte Rodrigues
Soap Contributor
Charlotte Rodrigues joined Entertainment Daily in April 2018, as Audience Engagement Executive. A huge soap fan, Charlotte then became Senior Soap Writer, delivering the latest storylines and spoilers to our followers.