barnsey barnes, played by john hallam, is the initial cellmate of den watts (leslie grantham) at dickens hill prison, and he and den soon became friends. when den is branded a "grass", all the prisoners turned against him except barnesy, who serves as his protector. when barnsey leaves dickens hill to stand trial in january 1989, den is deeply sorry to see him go. den is shot in february 1989 and presumed dead. a body is wrongly identified as den's the following year, and barnes attends the funeral in may 1990.