Was killing off Den Watts a mistake?
Mattehhhftw
Posts: 8,688 Forum Member
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I loved his exit storyline in 2005, it was very gripping and really made a great character out of Chrissie but I can't help but feeling killing him off was a mistake? What are other thoughts? 
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His return from the dead is one of the worst story arcs EE has ever done imo
The best thing to come out of it was Chrissie
I didn't want Den to be killed off because he was a great character, legend even.
However his death set the stage for a brilliant 2005 for EE and Chrissie really came into her own.
His return was a dud & it damaged his iconic status.
I agree. Den was a legend and had he stayed dead (the first time) he would have remained one. His resurrection and most of what followed ruined that for me. The only bit I can say I enjoyed was Chrissie.
True. And now the same has happened to Sharon.
On one respect, Den's murder storyline was really well done, twisting and turning and involving half the cast in it most of the time, centred around good characters with their own personal histories with each other (Sharon and Grant, Kat and Zoe etc) and one of the best nuanced characters they've had, Chrissie Watts.
That being said
No matter how good a death storyline is, once its done... that's it. The character can never come back. I cite Pat as an example here. Her death, Brannings aside, was brilliant (but shouldn't have been over and done with within 3 weeks), bringing back David and Simon, but now... she's dead. And by God does the show miss her. The same can be said for Den Watts. Yes, 2004 was not a good year for Den, but there were such shades of brilliance. He was just such a bloody good character. A manipulator, with barley any remorse. He could fight, but used words to get what he wanted, and the vast majority of the time succeeded in that.
There was tonnes more scope for the character. But the webcam scandal nailed the coffin shut. After they brought him back from the dead, to save the show's reputation they couldn't just have him leave, as it suggests he can come back. They had to completely wash their hands of him. And kill him off in a way that cannot be disputed. We saw his brains all over the floor. He was definitely dead.
Had that webcam thing never happened... who knows? I don't think the actor would have stayed this long, but maybe could have been an on-off character. If Bianca can come and go when she pleases, I think they could have let Dirty Den do that. Come on.... how sweet would a scene between Den and Grant have been? I mean, really.
This basically but I wouldn't have killed him off. I also hated the writing for his towards the end - they turned him into a dirty old man with an obsessive, almost sexual fixation with Sharon.
I felt like they were punishing the actor with some of the leery stuff they made him do.
I think killing Den off was a punishment to the actor because of the webcam business & him calling several actors awful names publicly. However he was a good character who played women at the same time. Plus he & Chrissie were a good couple IMO especially when they were running the Vic.
If I recall him & Dot did a two hander in the launderette in 2004 I think? I remember watching something on YouTube a while back.
To millions upon millions Den Watts was the biggest character Walford has ever had.
Perhaps with him around TPTB would finally have removed their heads from Philth's saggy fat arse for a couple of seconds. >:(
Whilst I agree that the original Den was indeed a fantastic character, Angie was nothing but a screechy neurotic drunk.