jack dalton, played by hywel bennett, is a mob boss and the leader of the criminal organisation known as "the firm". he first appears in "eastenders" in may 2003, although the events surrounding the apparent death of the character den watts (leslie grantham), who was supposedly murdered in february 1989 were then retconned to include him. dalton is a fearsome gangland boss, and as head of the firm, he was responsible for ordering den's death 14 years earlier.