dennis is characterized by his roguish manner, a "bad boy" cast in the mould of a "young dirty den". harman described his character as "a bit of a rough diamond" but with "a sensitive side". during his time on the show, dennis often butted heads with various alpha-males, including hardman phil mitchell (steve mcfadden) and crime boss johnny allen (billy murray), but was friends with mobster andy hunter (michael higgs) and developed a warm relationship with local gossip, dot cotton (june brown).