dennis rickman, played by nigel harman, is introduced as the hardman successor to the character of steve owen (martin kemp), who is killed off in the series in 2002. dennis makes his first appearance on 14 april 2003. his storylines involve his difficult past and childhood, relationship with his infamous father, den watts (leslie grantham), clashes with the rival mitchell family, and a forbidden romance with his adopted sister, sharon watts (letitia dean). he is described as the show's "bad boy pin-up character." in 2005, harman quit the show alongside co-star dean, and makes his last appearance on 30 december 2005.