Leslie Grantham (Actor) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Leslie Grantham Male Born Apr 30, 1947 Leslie Michael Grantham is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the soap opera EastEnders. He is also a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a German taxi driver, and he generated significant press coverage as the result of an online sex scandal in 2004.… Read More related links British Slasher Film Deadtime Gets Censored In The Uk Dread Central - Apr 30, 2012 ' First A Serbian Film then The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) and now the UK is censoring one of their own flicks. We\'ve just gotten word that the British film Deadtime had to have footage removed to make the necessary BFFC18 rating. \n However, apart from the bad news of the censoring, we can happily report that we\'ve got the trailer for Deadtime below. Oh and if you were wondering what it was censored for, the report stated: In order to obtain the necessary BBFC 18 rating, distributor...

Op Ed: Chindamo â The Boy Who Was Given A Second Chance Digital Journal.Com Google News - Aug 24, 2011 '... gang member Nicky Cruz traded in his switchblade knife for a Bible; and perhaps most notably, convicted murderer <mark>Leslie Grantham</mark> turned his talents to acting, and made the transformation from real life villain to soap opera villain' The English Neighbour Quest Bulgaria Property Magazine Google News - Aug 23, 2011 'However, one that I find with a most amusing story line in the news at the moment is the mini series starring ex Eastenders star <mark>Leslie Grantham</mark> that will be aired in September on the BNT channel.

The star, who had been involved earlier this year in' On The Scent Of A Good Fund Prfire (Press Release) Google News - Aug 18, 2011 'Only yesterday (10th August 2011) it was predicted by <mark>Leslie Grantham</mark>, the renowned market commentator that forestry alongside farming is one of the most secure investment strategies for the next 10 to 20 years, as it has been for the last century' Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Leslie Grantham. CHILDHOOD 1947 Birth Born on April 30, 1947. TEENAGE 1965 18 Years Old He enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers regiment of the British Army in 1965, at the age of 18. 1966 19 Years Old On 3 December 1966, Grantham attempted to rob a taxi driver, Felix Reese, in OsnabrÃ¼ck, Lower Saxony, West Germany. … Read More A struggle between Grantham and the driver followed, and Reese died from a gunshot wound to the head.

In his statement to the police following his arrest, Grantham claimed that he did not know the gun was loaded and it had gone off during the struggle, which would have resulted in a conviction for manslaughter if a jury believed this version of events. Read Less TWENTIES 1967 20 Years Old However, at his trial in 1967 he was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. … Read More Although he had committed the murder in West Germany, he served the entirety of his imprisonment in various British prisons. This was because soldiers and officers convicted of any criminal offence that warrants a sentence of over two years are automatically transferred to Her Majesty's Prison Service, since they are also automatically dishonourably discharged. Read Less THIRTIES 1977 30 Years Old Grantham was released in 1977, having served 10 years. … Read More While he was in Leyhill Prison, he acted in several plays for inmates and members of the public, and edited the prison newspaper. He was encouraged to get more involved in acting professionally by disgraced Labour Party politician T.

Dan Smith, who had also been an inmate at Leyhill in the mid 1970s. He also met actress Louise Jameson during her visit to Leyhill in the mid-1970s; she had also encouraged him to take up acting and he became good friends with her.<br /><br /> On release from prison Grantham decided to pursue an acting career and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. His theatre work included a role in a play at the Battersea Free Theatre written by television director Matthew Robinson. Read Less 1982 35 Years Old In 1982 Grantham made his television debut as Boollie in a BBC2 Playhouse edition called Jake's End. … Read More The following year he appeared as Frank on an episode of the short lived sitcom Goodnight and God Bless. Read Less Show Less Grantham was then cast by Matthew Robinson as Kiston, the henchman of Davros, in a 1984 Doctor Who serial, Resurrection of the Daleks. … Read More He also played a signals sergeant in episode 12 of the mini TV series The Jewel in the Crown.

He also wrote a play entitled A Reason To Live, which won the Gloucester Drama Festival award for best original play. In 1985, he made a brief appearance in the film Morons from Outer Space, but by the time this film was released, Grantham had found fame in quite a different environment, and with a much more high-profile role. Read Less In 1984, he auditioned with the BBC for a part in its new soap opera EastEnders, which went on air in February 1985. … Read More He was recommended by Matthew Robinson, who was to become a key member of the EastEnders production team. Grantham had auditioned for the role of market trader Pete Beale, but he got the part of Dennis Watts. The character, landlord of the Queen Victoria public house, quickly became a national favourite and gained the nickname Dirty Den mostly because of the way he treated his wife Angie, played by Anita Dobson, with one of his many affairs including occurring at the age of 39, when Den fathered a child with 16-year-old Michelle Fowler, played by Susan Tully.

Read Less 1986 39 Years Old On Christmas Day 1986, Grantham's character served his on-screen wife with divorce papers, with the famous line "Happy Christmas Ange". … Read More The episode was watched by a record 30 million viewers â over half the British population. Read Less FORTIES Show Less In 1988 the character Den Watts sold his pub to Frank Butcher and gradually drifted out of key storylines until finally departing in February 1989, although his final scenes had been filmed the previous autumn. Grantham had announced his intention to leave the show early in 1988, around the same time that it was announced that Anita Dobson would be leaving the show. … Read More However, the show's bosses had not wanted to suffer the double blow of losing its two biggest characters so close together, and set about an intensive block of filming which would allow Den to remain on screen into 1989, while enabling Grantham to remain on EastEnders only until the previous autumn. Read Less Den had got involved with The Firm over the summer of 1988 and his only option was to flee the square.

… Read More After a spell on remand in custody and a dramatic escape from the police and from members of the Firm who ambushed him on his way to court, viewers watched a mysterious gunman shoot at Den with a gun hidden in a bunch of daffodils, before hearing a splash. A shot depicting Den's death was cut from the final scene, in the hope that Grantham might one day be persuaded to return to the role. The following year, a body believed to be Den's was found in the canal. Read Less 1989 42 Years Old From 1989 to 1990 he played Danny Kane in the crime television series The Paradise Club alongside Don Henderson. … Read More He went on to appear in many more television series such as Cluedo as Colonel Mustard, The Detectives (1993) and 99-1 (1994â95). Read Less 1994 47 Years Old In 1994 he narrated Volume One of Frank Harris's erotic classic My Life and Loves.

FIFTIES 1997 50 Years Old In 1997 he produced and starred in the sci-fi mini-series The Uninvited. 1998 51 Years Old He then became best known as the co-host of the game show Fort Boyard alongside Melinda Messenger which he presented from 1998 to 2001. … Read More Also in 2001, he appeared in Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. Read Less 2000 53 Years Old He also reunited with his EastEnders co-star Anita Dobson in a one-off television film entitled The Stretch which aired on ITV in 2000 and in a 2004 British gangster film titled Charlie. However, in June 2006 he confirmed he was in fact working on the book, titled Life And Other Times, for which he had been offered a "substantial sum" by Timewell Publishing. … Read More The book went on sale in bookshops across the UK on 18 October 2006.

Read Less In October 2006 it was announced that, in his first television role since leaving EastEnders, he would appear in the long-running ITV1 police drama series The Bill, playing the role of Jimmy Collins, who was on the run from prison. … Read More The episode aired on 8 February 2007. This was Grantham's second appearance in The Bill as he previously appeared in a few episodes in 1998 also coincidentally playing another character named Jimmy. Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD FanPal.com | Leslie Grantham Leslie Grantham Birth name: Leslie Michael Grantham Born: April 30, 1947 Popularity: Biography Leslie Michael Grantham (born 30 April 1947) is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Grantham is also a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West German taxi driver, and he generated significant press coverage as the result of an online sex scandal in 2004. Read more...

Early life Grantham was born in Camberwell, London, the son of Adelaide (née Flinders) and Walter William Grantham (1915-1998). He was a promising netball player in his youth, representing South London combined schools as Wing Attack. He enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers regiment of the British Army in 1965, at the age of 18. Murder conviction On 3 December 1966, Grantham attempted to rob a taxi driver, Felix Reese, in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, West Germany. A struggle between Grantham and the driver followed, and Reese died from a gunshot wound to the head. In his statement to the police following his arrest, Grantham claimed that he did not know the gun was loaded and it had gone off during the struggle, which would have resulted in a conviction for manslaughter if a jury believed this version of events. However, at his trial in 1967 he was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Although he had committed the murder in West Germany, he served the entirety of his imprisonment in various British prisons.

This was because soldiers and officers convicted of any criminal offence that warrants a sentence of over two years are automatically transferred to Her Majesty's Prison Service, since they are also automatically dishonourably discharged. Grantham was released in 1977, having served 10 years. While he was in Leyhill Prison, he acted in several plays for inmates and members of the public, and edited the prison newspaper. He was encouraged to get more involved in acting professionally by disgraced Labour Party politician T. Dan Smith, who had also been an inmate at Leyhill in the mid 1970s. He also met actress Louise Jameson during her visit to Leyhill in the mid-1970s; she had also encouraged him to take up acting and he became good friends with her. Career Early work On release from prison Grantham decided to pursue an acting career and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. His theatre work included a role in a play at the Battersea Free Theatre written by television director Matthew Robinson. In 1982 Grantham made his television debut as Boollie in a BBC2 Playhouse edition called Jake's End.

The following year he appeared as Frank on an episode of the short lived sitcom Goodnight and God Bless. Grantham was then cast by Matthew Robinson as Kiston, the henchman of Davros, in a 1984 Doctor Who serial, Resurrection of the Daleks. He also played a signals sergeant in episode 12 of the mini TV series The Jewel in the Crown. He also wrote a play entitled A Reason To Live, which won the Gloucester Drama Festival award for best original play. In 1985, he made a brief appearance in the film Morons from Outer Space, but by the time this film was released, Grantham had found fame in quite a different environment, and with a much more high profile role. EastEnders first stint In 1984, he auditioned with the BBC for a part in its new soap opera EastEnders, which was due to go on air in February 1985. He was recommended by Matthew Robinson, who was to become a key member of the EastEnders production team. Grantham had auditioned for the role of market trader Pete Beale, but he got the part of Dennis Watts.

The character, landlord of the Queen Victoria public house, quickly became a national favourite and gained the nickname Dirty Den mostly because of the way he treated his wife Angie, played by Anita Dobson, and at the age of 39 Den fathered a child with 16-year-old Michelle Fowler, played by Susan Tully . On Christmas Day 1986, Grantham's character served his on-screen wife with divorce papers, with the famous line "Happy Christmas Ange". The episode was watched by a record 30 million viewers - over half the British population. In 1988 the character Den Watts sold his pub to Frank Butcher and gradually drifted out of key storylines until finally departing in February 1989, although his final scenes had been filmed the previous autumn. Grantham had announced his intention to leave the show early in 1988, around the same time that it was announced that Anita Dobson would be leaving the show.

However, the show's bosses had not wanted to suffer the double blow of losing its two biggest characters so close together, and set about an intensive block of filming which would allow Den to remain on screen into 1989, while enabling Grantham to remain on EastEnders only until the previous autumn. Den had got involved with The Firm over the summer of 1988 and his only option was to flee the square. After a spell on remand in custody and a dramatic escape from the police and from members of the Firm who ambushed him on his way to court, viewers watched a mysterious gunman shoot at Den with a gun hidden in a bunch of daffodils, before hearing a splash. A shot depicting Den's death was cut from the final scene, in the hope that Grantham might one day be persuaded to return to the role. The following year, a body believed to be Den's was found in the canal. Other work From 1989 to 1990 he played Danny Kane in the crime television series The Paradise Club alongside Don Henderson.

He went on to appear in many more television series such as Cluedo as Colonel Mustard, The Detectives (1993) and 99-1 (1994-95). In 1994 he narrated Volume One of Frank Harris's erotic classic My Life and Loves. In 1997 he produced and starred in the sci-fi mini-series The Uninvited. He then became best known as the co-host of the game show Fort Boyard alongside Melinda Messenger which he presented from 1998 to 2001. He also reunited with his EastEnders co-star Anita Dobson in a one-off television film entitled The Stretch which aired on ITV in 2000 and in a 2004 British gangster film titled Charlie. Return to EastEnders In September 2003, 14 years after his character was supposedly killed off, Leslie Grantham returned to EastEnders. Den Watts, who had last appeared in 1989, arrived at the nightclub now owned by his adopted daughter Sharon.

The return of the character saw Grantham pick up the largest pay cheque in British soap with a reported £500,000-a-year contract. It was revealed that Watts had survived the shooting and fled to Spain with the help of former mistress Jan Hammond, while the body found a year later in the canal had been wrongly identified. Over 17 million people watched one of the most anticipated TV events of the year on Monday 29 September as Den spoke the famous words, "Hello, princess". There had been much speculation in the media after Den's departure as to whether the character really was dead. BBC bosses said that Den's return had been on the agenda almost every year since the character's departure in 1989, and the first offer for him to return had been made as long ago as 1991.

But Grantham had turned down every offer to return until the one made to him in early 2003, feeling that his character did not have adequate links to the show for a comeback to be anything more than an attempt to boost ratings - particularly when Den's daughter Sharon was away from the show from 1995 to 2001, leaving Den without any family in the cast. By 2003, however, his daughter Vicki had rejoined the cast and a previously unknown son called Dennis Rickman, played by Nigel Harman, was also in the series - the product of an affair between Den and a young woman called Paula Rickman, 30 years earlier (more than a decade before EastEnders was created). In December 2004, Dirty Den arranged a scam to get back the Queen Vic pub from Sam Mitchell , 16 years after he had sold it to Frank Butcher. Online sex scandal In May 2004 a Sunday newspaper printed photographs of Grantham exposing himself and masturbating whilst sucking his finger in a sexually-suggestive manner via a webcam from his dressing room to an undercover reporter named "Amanda".

She had logged on to MSN Messenger, calling herself 'Halo Polisher', and was soon chatting to Grantham who called himself 'kwanertoo', explaining that it was a play on the word wanker. He also allegedly dressed as Captain Hook whilst pleasuring himself, shared his sexual fantasies about animals, and insulted several cast members of EastEnders, including Shane Richie , Wendy Richard , Kim Medcalf and Jessie Wallace. Grantham released a statement which read, "I am wholeheartedly ashamed of my behaviour and feel that I have let down my colleagues, as well as my friends and family." He also added, "In some small recompense I intend to make a donation to charity as a mark of my apology." He maintained in later interviews that he 'was set up'. Departure from EastEnders In November 2004, it was confirmed that Grantham would be leaving EastEnders in the New Year. Bosses stated that the character would be killed off, but this time "the coffin lid would be nailed shut".

On 19 February 2005, 16.2 million viewers tuned in to view his character's second demise, this time at the hands of new wife Chrissie, who hit him over the head with a dog-shaped iron doorstop after he attacked her during an argument. Life after EastEnders: 2005-present Grantham has since appeared in two UK tours of Beyond Reasonable Doubt, a stage adaptation of a Jeffrey Archer play, alongside Simon Ward and Alexandra Bastedo , and remains a popular Christmas pantomime villain. He directed and starred in a pantomime of Peter Pan at the Alban Arena in St. Albans during Christmas 2005, which was a sell-out and received excellent reviews. After Grantham left EastEnders in 2005, he spoke out publicly against the show, criticising its over-the-top, far-fetched storylines, saying 'there was a murder every week... that's not real life'. In January 2005 a newspaper report claimed that Grantham was in the process of writing his autobiography, which he denied.

However, in June 2006 he confirmed he was in fact working on the book, titled Life And Other Times, for which he had been offered a "substantial sum" by Timewell Publishing. The book went on sale in bookshops across the UK on 18 October 2006. In October 2006 it was announced that, in his first television role since leaving EastEnders, he would appear in the long-running ITV1 police drama series The Bill, playing the role of Jimmy Collins, who was on the run from prison. The episode aired on 8 February 2007. This was Grantham's second appearance in The Bill as he previously appeared in a few episodes in 1998 also coincidentally playing another character named Jimmy. In February 2007, he began a tour of the UK with the Donald Churchill play The Decorator.

In April 2007 it was announced that he would play Private Walker in a stage production of Dad's Army, leading the Daily Mail to comment that "At least there'll be one member of the cast who has actually shot a German" - in reference to Grantham's killing of the West German taxi driver some 40 years earlier. He contributed to EastEnders Revealed: Nick Cotton in December 2008, where he talked about his character's return and exits over the years, as well as those of on-screen daughter Sharon Watts/Rickman. He made a comment saying Who knows, maybe I can come back again? Grantham played Abanazar in Aladdin at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings for the 2009 pantomime season. In February 2010 Grantham appeared in EastEnders: The Aftermath on BBC Three to mark the live episode of the show and its 25th birthday. He was interviewed by Kirsten O'Brien from the bar of The Queen Victoria pub which his character had once owned. Grantham was cast for the lead role in the UK thriller movie DeadTime.

From 28 November to 11 December 2010, Grantham appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Lincoln Theatre Royal's production of A Christmas Carol. He portrayed the main character John in the Bulgarian TV series The English Neighbour, based on the novel of the same name. In 2013 he appeared in the film Mob Handed. Popularity He had made a handful of bit-part roles on other television programmes prior to joining EastEnders, most notably Doctor Who, but was virtually unknown to the British public when he made his first appearance as Den Watts on 19 February 1985. Four days later, however, the Daily Mirror revealed that Grantham had spent a decade behind bars for killing a West German taxi driver. He had warned BBC bosses about his criminal past when agreeing to join the new series in late 1984, but they had vowed to stand by him even after the media went public with Grantham's past. Grantham had also volunteered to quit the show if his colleagues were unhappy with him, but they backed him up and he remained with the show for the next four years.

Grantham's role as Den Watts had earned him iconic status among television fans by the time of his first departure at the beginning of 1989, and he built on this success by appearing in other high-profile television roles during the 1990s, though none of these attracted the media attention or public popularity that he had enjoyed as Dirty Den. The character of Dirty Den was still an icon in the eyes of many viewers by the time of his "return from the dead" in 2003, and Grantham was by now one of the most recognisable actors on British television. The decision to bring back a supposedly dead character was controversial, but it boosted EastEnders viewing figures for a while, and the character of Den was at the centre of many notable storylines for several months afterwards though much of 2004 and 2005 saw EastEnders' ratings at their lowest in the show's history and their storylines receiving much criticism from the media and critics which proved that the character was far from the hit the show bosses had hoped for. The internet sex scandal in May 2004 brought great public shame on Grantham, particularly in the tabloid press.

There were constant calls for him to be sacked, but he returned after a two-month suspension without pay. On 5 November 2004 it was confirmed that Grantham would be leaving the series, and that the character would once again be killed off - but this time there would be no comebacks and the "coffin lid would be nailed shut". Den was finally killed off in February 2005, and it was not until the autumn of the following year that he claimed that his return to EastEnders was only ever going to be for 18 months, to tie in with the show's 20th anniversary. Den was referred to in the revived series of Doctor Who in 2006. In the episode "Army of Ghosts" the Doctor and others watch a piece of an episode of EastEnders in which the ghost of Den Watts is supposedly returning to the pub. It is promptly told to leave before the channel is changed. He was also referred to in Mock The Week by Andy Parsons during the 'unlikely lines to hear in a TV show' round of scenes we'd like to see, portraying Grantham as the host of Channel 4's fictitious Wank Week.

During the 2007 Christmas holiday season, Grantham appeared in the pantomime Dick Whittington, as 'Dirty Rat'. Selected filmography leslie grantham : definition of leslie grantham and synonyms of leslie grantham (English) 6 External links Early life Grantham was born in Camberwell , London , the son of Adelaide (née Flinders) and Walter William Grantham (1915–1998), and enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers regiment of the British Army in 1962, at the age of 15. On 3 December 1966 he attempted to rob a German taxi driver, Felix Reese. A struggle between Grantham and the driver followed, and Reese died from a gunshot wound to the head. [2] [3] [4] In his statement to the police following his arrest, he claimed that he did not know the gun was loaded and it had gone off during a struggle with the taxi driver. He was subsequently convicted of murder , a surprise verdict after being advised by his lawyer that a manslaughter verdict would probably be returned.

Grantham was sentenced to life imprisonment at his trial in 1967. Although he had committed the killing in Osnabrück , Germany, he served the entirety of his imprisonment in various British prisons. This was because soldiers and officers convicted of any criminal offence that warrants a sentence of over two years are automatically transferred to HM Prison Service , since they are also automatically dishonourably discharged . Grantham was released in 1977, having served 10 years. While he was in Leyhill Prison , he acted in several plays for inmates and members of the public, and edited the prison newspaper. He was encouraged to get more involved in acting professionally by disgraced politician T. Dan Smith , who had also been an inmate at Leyhill. He also met actress Louise Jameson during her visit to Leyhill in the mid 1970s; she had also encouraged him to take up acting. [5] Career Early work On release from prison Grantham decided to pursue an acting career and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art .

He became good friends with the actress Louise Jameson , and made his first television appearance as Kiston in a 1984 episode of Doctor Who - Resurrection of the Daleks . He then appeared as a Signals Sergeant in episode 12 of the mini TV series The Jewel in the Crown . He also wrote a play entitled A Reason To Live, which won the Gloucester Drama Festival award for best original play. In 1985, he made a brief appearance in the film Morons from Outer Space , but by the time this film was released, Grantham had found fame in quite a different environment. EastEnders first stint In 1984, he auditioned with the BBC for a part in its new soap opera EastEnders , which was due to go on air in February 1985. He'd been encouraged by director Matthew Robinson, who had directed his Doctor Who serial the previous year and was to become a key member of the EastEnders production team. Grantham had auditioned for the role of market trader Pete Beale , but he got the part of Dennis Watts .

The character, landlord of the Queen Victoria public house, quickly became a national favourite and gained the nickname Dirty Den mostly because of the way he treated his wife Angie, played by Anita Dobson , and at the age of 39 he fathered a child with 16-year-old Michelle Fowler . On Christmas Day 1986, Grantham's character served his on-screen wife with divorce papers, with the famous line - "Happy Christmas Ange" and the episode was watched by a record 30 million viewers - over half the British population. In 1988 the character Den Watts sold his pub to Frank Butcher and gradually drifted out of key storylines until finally departing in February 1989. Den had got involved with The Firm and his only option was to flee the square. Viewers watched a mysterious gunman shoot at Den with a gun hidden in a bunch of daffodils, before hearing a splash. A shot depicting Den's death was cut from the final scene, as the show's producers hoped that Grantham might one day be persuaded to return to the role. The following year, a body believed to be Den's was found in the canal, although again, not shown on screen.

In the early 90s there was a reference to the possibility that Den was still alive, when daughter Sharon found his jewellery for sale in a stall. Other work From 1989 to 1990 he played Danny Kane in the crime television series The Paradise Club alongside Don Henderson . He went on to appear in many more television series such as Cluedo as Colonel Mustard , The Detectives (1993) and 99-1 (1993-4). In 1994 he narrated Volume One of Frank Harris 's erotic classic My Life and Loves . [6] In 1997 he produced and starred in the sci-fi mini-series The Uninvited . He then became best known as the co-host of the game show Fort Boyard alongside Melinda Messenger which he presented from 1998 to 2001. He also reunited with his EastEnders co-star Anita Dobson in a one-off television film titled The Stretch which aired on ITV in 2000 and in a 2004 British gangster film titled Charlie .

Return to EastEnders In September 2003, 14 years since his character was supposedly killed off Leslie Grantham returned to EastEnders as his 'Den Watts' character (who had last appeared in 1989) arrived at the nightclub now owned by his adoptive daughter Sharon .The return of the iconic character saw Grantham pick up the largest paycheque in British soap with a reported £500,000 a year contract. It had been revealed he survived the shooting and fled to Spain, with the help of former mistress Jan Hammond, while the body found a year later in the Canal was wrongly identified. Over 17 million people watched one of the most anticipated TV events of the year on Monday 29 September as Den spoke the famous words, "Hello, princess". There had been much speculation in the media after Den's departure as to whether the character really was dead. BBC bosses said that Den's return had been on the agenda almost every year since the character's departure in 1989, and the first offer for him to return had been made as long ago as 1991.

But Grantham had turned down every offer to return until the one made to him in early 2003, feeling that his character did not have adequate links to the show for a comeback to be anything more than a publicity stunt - particularly when Den's daughter Sharon was away from the show from 1995 to 2001, which left Den without any family in the cast. By 2003, however, his daughter Vicki had rejoined the cast and a previously unknown son called Dennis Rickman (played by Nigel Harman ) was also in the series - the product of an affair between Den and a young woman called Paula Rickman, 30 years earlier. Den's former on-screen wife Angie had left the show in 1988, and actress Anita Dobson was made several offers to return to the show, but turned each one down and felt that the character would be ruined if she made a comeback. BBC bosses finally gave up on having Angie back in the show and the character died off-screen in 2002.

In December 2004, Dirty Den arranged a scam to get back the Queen Vic from Sam Mitchell ; 16 years after he had sold it to Frank Butcher . Online sex scandal In May 2004 a Sunday newspaper printed photographs of Grantham exposing himself and masturbating whilst sucking his finger in a sexually-suggestive manner via a webcam from his dressing room to an undercover reporter named "Amanda". Amanda logged onto MSN Messenger , calling herself "Halo Polisher" and was soon chatting to Grantham who called himself kwanertoo - explaining it was a play on the word wanker . He also allegedly dressed as Captain Hook whilst pleasuring himself, shared his sexual fantasies about animals, [7] insulted several cast members of EastEnders (including Shane Richie , Wendy Richard , Kim Medcalf and Jessie Wallace ) and made comments regarding the poor quality of the scripts.

Grantham released a statement which read, "I am wholeheartedly ashamed of my behaviour and feel that I have let down my colleagues, as well as my friends and family." He also added, "In some small recompense I intend to make a donation to charity as a mark of my apology." He maintained in later interviews that he 'was set up'.[ citation needed ] He had apparently described co-star Shane Richie (who played Alfie Moon ) as "self-infatuated", but Richie subsequently stated that Grantham had been forgiven by the cast and they were happy to joke with him about it.[ citation needed ] Departure from EastEnders In November 2004, it was confirmed that Grantham would be leaving EastEnders in the New Year. Bosses stated that the character would be killed off, but this time "the coffin lid would be nailed shut".[ citation needed ] On 18 February 2005, 16.2 million viewers tuned in to view his character's second demise, this time at the hands of new wife Chrissie, who hit him over the head with a dog-shaped iron doorstop after he attacked her during an argument.

Grantham's departure from the soap was reportedly the result of adverse newspaper publicity generated by the actor's Internet sex scandal months earlier for which he had initially received a suspension from the programme, although he has stated that he did not want to renew his contract.[ citation needed ] In his autobiography, which was released in October 2006, Grantham sought to put an end to the rumours that he was dismissed from EastEnders by asserting that his return to EastEnders was only ever going to be for 18 months, in order for his second demise to coincide with the show's 20th anniversary. In 2008 he told Sky's "Top 50 Showbiz Comebacks" "The intention for me to go back was only ever to kill the character off." Six months after Den's last appearance, he returned again, this time as a corpse. Sam Mitchell was arrested after being caught digging up a body in the basement of the Queen Vic. The body was quickly identified as Den's, and Sam was charged with his murder.

In October 2005, Sam's brothers Phil and Grant returned to Walford and managed to put her in the clear by obtaining a tape-recorded confession by the real killer, Chrissie, who was promptly arrested. Life after EastEnders: 2005–present Grantham has since appeared in two UK tours of Beyond Reasonable Doubt, a stage adaptation of a Jeffrey Archer play, alongside Simon Ward and Alexandra Bastedo , and remains a popular Christmas pantomime villain. He directed and starred in a pantomime of Peter Pan at the Alban Arena of St. Albans during Christmas 2005, [8] which was a sell-out and received excellent reviews. After Grantham left Eastenders in 2005, he spoke out publicly against the show, criticising its over-the-top, far-fetched storylines, saying 'there was a murder every week... that's not real life' In January 2005 a newspaper report claimed that Grantham was in the process of writing his autobiography , which he denied.

However in June 2006 he confirmed he was in fact working on the book, titled Life And Other Times, for which he had been offered a "substantial sum" by Timewell Publishing. The book went on sale in bookshops across the UK on 18 October 2006. In October 2006 it was announced that, in his first television role since leaving EastEnders, he would appear in the long-running ITV1 police drama series The Bill , playing the role of Jimmy Collins on the run from prison. The episode aired on 8 February 2007. This was Grantham's second appearance in The Bill as he previously appeared in a few episodes in 1998 also coincidentally playing a character named Jimmy. In February 2007, he began a tour of the UK with the Donald Churchill play The Decorator.

In April 2007 it was announced that he would play Private Walker in a stage production of Dad's Army , leading the Daily Mail to comment that "At least there'll be one member of the cast who has actually shot a German"[ citation needed ] - in reference to Grantham's killing of the German taxi driver some 40 years earlier. He contributed to EastEnders Revealed: Nick Cotton in December 2008, where he talked about his character's return and exits over the years, as well as those of on-screen daughter Sharon Watts/Rickman. He made a comment saying Who knows, maybe I can come back again? In June 2009, Grantham was announced to play Abanazar in Aladdin at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings for the 2009 pantomime season. In February 2010 Grantham appeared in EastEnders: The Aftermath on BBC Three to mark the live episode of the show and its 25th Birthday. He was interviewed by Kirsten O'Brien from behind the bar of The Queen Victoria Public House which his character had once owned. Grantham was cast for the lead role in the UK thriller flick DeadTime.

[9] From the 28 November to the 11 December 2010, Grantham appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Lincoln Theatre Royals performance of A Christmas Carol. [10] He portrayed the main character John in the Bulgarian TV series The English Neighbour , based on the novel of the same name. Popularity He had made a handful of bit-part roles on other television programmes prior to joining EastEnders, most notably Doctor Who , but was virtually unknown to the British public when he made his first appearance as Den Watts on 19 February 1985. Four days later, however, the Daily Mirror revealed that Grantham had spent a decade behind bars for killing a German taxi driver. He had warned BBC bosses about his criminal past when agreeing to join the new series in late 1984, but they had vowed to stand by him even after the media went public with Grantham's past. Grantham had also volunteered to quit the show if his colleagues were unhappy with him, but they backed him up and he remained with the show for the next four years.

Grantham's role as Den Watts had earned him iconic status among television fans by the time of his first departure at the beginning of 1989, and he built on this success by appearing in other high-profile television roles during the 1990s, though none of these attracted the media attention or public popularity that he had enjoyed as "Dirty Den". The character of Dirty Den was still an icon in the eyes of many viewers by the time of his "return from the dead" in 2003, and Grantham was by now one of the most recognisable actors on British television. The decision to bring back a supposedly dead character was controversial, but it boosted EastEnders viewing figures for a while, and the character of Den was at the centre of many notable storylines for several months afterwards though much of 2004 and 2005 saw Eastenders ratings at their lowest in the show's history and their storylines at their poorest which proved that the character wasn't quite the hit the bosses had hoped for. The internet sex scandal in May 2004 brought great public shame on Grantham, particularly in the tabloid press.

There were constant calls for him to be sacked, but he returned after a two-month suspension without pay. On 5 November 2004 it was confirmed that Grantham would be leaving the series, and that the character would once again be killed off – but this time there would be no comebacks and the "coffin lid would be nailed shut". [1] Den was finally killed off in February 2005, and it was not until the autumn of the following year that he silenced the speculators who were still claiming that he had been sacked as punishment for the webcam incident, by confirming that his return to EastEnders was only ever going to be for 18 months, to tie in with the show's 20th anniversary. Den was referenced on the revived series of Doctor Who in 2006. In the episode " Army of Ghosts " the Doctor and others watch a piece of an episode of EastEnders wherein the ghost of Den Watts is supposedly returning to the pub. It is promptly told to leave before the channel is changed.

He was also referenced in Mock The Week by Andy Parsons during the Unlikely lines to hear in a T.V Show round of scenes we'd like to see, portraying Grantham as the host of Channel 4 's WankWeek which was fictionalized by Parsons on the spot, at that same moment. [11] During the 2007 Christmas holiday season, Grantham appeared in the pantomime Dick Whittington , as 'Dirty Rat'. Following the 2004 internet scandal of her ex Eastender co-star and on screen husband Leslie Grantham, Anita Dobson publicly spoke out about the case saying he was a 'silly boy' for getting involved in such a case, and how it was sad he'd lost so much as a result of it, saying he had a very good position in Eastenders for a man of his age which was at a time in an actors life when good roles were so hard to come by. Selected filmography Former EastEnders villain turns hero to help clear smoke-filled block of flats - Wales Online Former EastEnders villain turns hero to help clear smoke-filled block of flats THE action in Swansea’s yacht- studded marina had all the hallmarks of a TV production...

Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email THE action in Swansea’s yacht- studded marina had all the hallmarks of a TV production... Firemen sprinted, alarm bells rang and former EastEnders’ star Leslie Grantham was in the thick of things. But the smoke billowing from the waterside flat was real, the Mid and West Wales firefighters were on a genuine “shout” and 62-year-old Grantham was authentically shaken up. And the veteran actor, known for his role as EastEnders’ landlord lothario “Dirty” Den Watts, emerged from the drama a real- life hero. Grantham, who once served 10 years for the killing of a German taxi driver, was praised by firefighters for alerting others to the blaze in a block of flats. He was the last out of the smoking building, having ensured that he knocked on every door in the block. Mr Grantham had been staying in a Grand Theatre flat at East Burrows Road in Swansea Marina during his week-long run at the nearby Grand Theatre in the stage play Write Me a Murder.

The actor noticed smoke and flames just after lunchtime on Wednesday and he ran out of his flat and began banging on doors of neighbouring flats to ensure everyone knew what was happening. Grantham needed treatment afterwards for cuts and smoke inhalation. But he refused to go to hospital and was dealt with by paramedics at the scene overlooking yachts and other vessels in Swansea Marina. Onlookers took photographs of the actor on their mobile phones as he recovered his breath. Finally, he was well enough to pose for pictures, putting his arms around paramedics and firefighters. Grantham told the Western Mail last night: “I want to send my regards and thanks to the fire brigade, police and paramedics who attended the fire. “I’m also extremely grateful to the person who called the emergency services.” Despite his frightening experience, the actor says he has not been put off South Wales. He said: “Indeed I look forward to further visits in the future.” Fireman Gary Williams said: “Before we arrived there was still one person trapped inside. “The gentleman managed to escape and was standing outside when we got to the scene. “I can confirm that this gentleman was Mr Grantham.

“I would like to compliment him on his actions, in which he went around the other flats telling people about the fire.” The Fire Service is continuing to investigate the cause of the blaze, which is not being treated as suspicious. A Grand Theatre spokeswoman added: “For those who have booked to see the play, I can assure them it’s a case of ‘the show must go on’ and Leslie is fulfilling all his commitments to Write Me a Murder this week.” The spokeswoman said audiences had been “excellent” for Write Me a Murder, penned by Frederick Knott, the thriller writer responsible for the classic Dial “M” for Murder, starring Neath-born actor Ray Milland. Alongside Grantham, it also features Helen Weir who played Pat Sugden in Emmerdale, Paul Opacic from Bad Girls and Emmerdale and Chris Villiers who appeared in Emmerdale. Leslie Grantham’s own life has been something of a soap opera. Enlisting in the British Army at the age of 15, in 1966, when he was 19, he attempted to rob a German taxi driver, Felix Reese, who died from a gunshot wound in a struggle between the two.

While serving 10 years in jail he took up acting, being encouraged by the disgraced politician T Dan Smith, who was also an inmate at Leyhill Open Prison. He became friendly with Louise Jameson (Leela from Doctor Who) who had been a prison visitor and got a role in a 1980s episode. But it was in 1985 he got the role as the charismatic landlord of the Queen Vic, Den Watts, after initially auditioning for the role of market trader Pete Beale. He became known as “Dirty Den” for the way he treated his on-screen wife Angie, played by Anita Dobson, and for getting another EastEnders’ character, 16-year-old Michelle Fowler, pregnant. In February 1989 he famously left the soap, after supposedly falling out with the London underworld to the noise of a gunshot and a splash in a canal, though he was not seen to die. And 14 years later, in 2003, in a plot which stretched viewers’ credulity, he returned to the nightclub owned by his adoptive daughter Sharon, greeting her with the immortal words “Hello Princess” and revealing he had been in hiding in Spain.

Like us on Facebook Acceptance (2012) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Eric Williams is a man on the run for 27 years for a murder he didn't commit. When his estranged daughter is brutally attacked in London, the police are reluctant to act and so Eric must ... See full summary » Director: "No Small Parts" IMDb Exclusive: 'Manchester by the Sea' Star Casey Affleck Ben Affleck 's younger brother Casey Affleck has been nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in critically-acclaimed drama Manchester by the Sea . Take a look at some of his earlier roles. Don't miss our live coverage of the Golden Globes beginning at 4 p.m. PST on Jan. 8 in our Golden Globes section.

a list of 666 titles created 04 Jul 2012 a list of 276 titles created 22 Jul 2014 a list of 427 titles created 8 months ago Search for " Acceptance " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. An ordinary British family and their friend are accused of murder when a stranger dies at their dinner table. Black Pond is an existential comedy drama starring two-time BAFTA winner Chris ... See full summary » Directors: Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe Stars: Chris Langham, Simon Amstell, Amanda Hadingue Gene has the world - he's a successful entrepreneur, beautiful home, beautiful car, everything he could ask for except for one thing. Then he meets Gilda and the two fall in love and marry.... See full summary » Director: Richard John Taylor THE DARKEST UNIVERSE is BAFTA-nominated directors Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley's surreal and hilarious follow-up to the critically acclaimed BLACK POND. Described by Sharpe and Kingsley as ...

See full summary » Directors: Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe Stars: Will Sharpe, Tiani Ghosh, Joe Thomas Leslie Grantham and Lucy-Jane Quinlan portray fictionalised versions of themselves in this road trip comedy that examines family, celebrity, friendship and love. When Leslie's ex wife ... See full summary » Director: Richard John Taylor David in twenty two, a film editor. He is well educated, his family are rich and he's bored. Then he meets Sean... the changes to his life are irreversible. He is drawn into a cocaine ... See full summary » Director: Richard John Taylor An underprivileged scholar from India obsessed about gaining admission into an Ivy League School lies about receiving an acceptance letter from Harvard University and ends up in the opulent world of his peers. Director: Ryan Matthew Chan Not yet released Jack comes out of prison and gets released early by his boss , but for that he has too do one more job and settle the score but with all this on his head, his wife/girlfriend wants him to ... See full summary » Director: Michael Chapman Twenty years after Britain's most notorious gangland murders, the next generation of Essex Boys vie for control as revenge is sought by all sides.

Director: Paul Tanter Edit Storyline Eric Williams is a man on the run for 27 years for a murder he didn't commit. When his estranged daughter is brutally attacked in London, the police are reluctant to act and so Eric must return to a city he no longer recognizes to deal with the culprits himself, relying on help from his last remaining friends. Written by Princess Films 27 October 2012 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Did You Know? Trivia Leslie Grantham (Ronnie) and Chris Langham (Danny) are both convicted felons. Grantham murdered a West German taxi driver Felix Reese in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony on December 3, 1966. He was convicted of murder in 1967 and sentenced to life imprisonment but only served ten years. On August 2, 2007, Langham was convicted of 15 counts of downloading and possessing child pornography. He was sentenced to ten months in prison on September 14, 2007. However, he was released on November 2, 2007 after his sentence was reduced on appeal. See more » Frequently Asked Questions

Question: In his youth, actor Leslie Grantham served ten years in prison for which crime?
Answer: MURDER