Leslie Grantham, best known for playing 'Dirty' Den Watts on EastEnders, was also the father of Call the Midwife star Daniel Laurie. The actor's portrayal of the first Queen Vic landlord remains one of the BBC soap's most iconic roles.
Den Watts: An Iconic EastEnders Character
EastEnders debuted on BBC One in February 1985, introducing Den Watts and his long-suffering wife Angie (Anita Dobson) as the first landlords of the Queen Vic, alongside their adoptive daughter Sharon (Letitia Dean). Although Den wasn't a gangster, he was a tough guy with a broken moral compass, yet that didn't stop the ladies from showing plenty of romantic interest.
Den had an unforgettable sneer, cockney charm, and superbly controlled spite, along with feeling pleasure from inflicting pain - all of which made him both unforgettable and unbearable. At Christmas in 1986, more than 30 million viewers watched the pub landlord serve divorce papers to his wife with his iconic words: "Happy Christmas, Ange."
Dirty Den's Dramatic Exits
In February 1989, it appeared Den's time was up as he was shot dead by a gangland henchman at a canal lock. However, he survived the assault, and in a jaw-dropping twist, Den returned in September 2003 before being killed off again in February 2005. Den's exit came as he was bludgeoned with a doorstop in The Vic by his second wife, Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), and his body was buried in the cellar before being discovered by police.
Life After EastEnders
During his break from the soap, Leslie hosted the game show Fort Boyard between 1998 and 2001. Dirty Den's fame meant Leslie was guaranteed to land starring roles in other shows, including fight promoter Eddie Burt in Winners and Losers (1989) and Danny Kane in The Paradise Club (1989-90). Other parts included Bob Grove in a 1991 one-off revival of the 1950s soap opera The Grove Family, as well as stints in The Uninvited (1997) and Cluedo (1993). He also made various appearances in The Bill, starred in one episode of Heartbeat, and went on to appear in the Bulgarian television series The English Neighbour in 2010.
Life after his final EastEnders exit was always busy for the iconic actor, as he enjoyed stints in pantomimes and wrote his autobiography, Life and Other Times, in which he admitted his personal weaknesses, reports BBC News. "I could have gone out and written how marvellous I am, like everyone else does, but I'm not a marvellous person," he said. "I've got a huge amount of frailties, a huge amount of complexes and a huge amount of problems." He also wrote a children's book, Jack Bates and the Wizard's Spell (2016).
Family Life and Legacy
Following his 2013 divorce from the actor Jane Laurie, whom he married in 1981, Grantham lived in Bulgaria for several years. Leslie died on June 15, 2018, aged 71, following a battle with lung cancer, after returning to the United Kingdom from Bulgaria for medical treatment. He is survived by their three children.
Jane and Leslie's son, Daniel Laurie, followed in his parents' footsteps by becoming an actor and has been playing Reggie in the BBC period drama Call the Midwife since 2017. In a heartfelt 2006 Daily Mail interview, Daniel's mother Jane reflected on Leslie's role as a father, recalling: "When he was just a few days old, Leslie looked down at the baby and said, 'You know, there are some hard things in life, but this isn't one of them.'"
Daniel's major breakthrough came in 2016 when he secured the role of Jamie in Sky One's comedy-drama Stella, sharing the screen with Gavin and Stacey's Ruth Jones. His career took off further with a role as Adam Beecher in an episode of ITV's Vera in 2020 and his portrayal of Sheemie in The Dark Tower. In 2021, Daniel took on the character of Zach in ITV's drama Finding Alice, starring alongside TV favourites Keeley Hawes, Nigel Havers, and Joanna Lumley.
