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The Firm is a fictional gangland organisation in the BBC soap opera EastEnders .
In late 1985, members of The Firm made local headlines when they were deemed unofficially responsible for putting Kenny Malone, a local badboy, through a sausage machine. Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), who attended school with two of the Vinnicombe brothers, The Firm's tyrannical and elusive leaders, threatened Nick Cotton (John Altman) with the gang unless he left Walford, following his blackmailing Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). The menfolk of Albert Square thought it was a bluff until Den revealed the truth to Tony Carpenter (Oscar James).
The Firm, aka "Walford Investments", first appeared on-screen in 1986, represented by the sharp-suited Gregory Mantel (Pavel Douglas), Brad Williams (Jonathan Stratt) and Joanne Francis (Pamela Salem). Mr Vinnicombe remained the organisation's boss, but never appeared on-screen.
The Firm owns Strokes wine bar, a front for illegal gambling, which is reluctantly managed by Den Watts. It is thought by Mantel that Den, a well-known local publican, will not attract any suspicion to the illegal goings-on at the bar. The Firm is also responsible for a protection racket involving the bar's rival, The Dagmar, which they financially ruin when the bar's owner James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde) refuses to let them buy into the place. When Den wants revenge on Willmot-Brown for raping Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), he persuades The Firm's Brad Williams to burn the place to the ground. This enrages The Firm's bosses, as it draws attention to the illegal gambling going on at Strokes.
Den is forced to take the blame for the fire at The Dagmar, and is remanded in custody, awaiting trial. The Firm mistakenly believe that Den has informed on them to the police while in prison, and so want him out of the way permanently. They capture him on the way to his trial with the intention of killing him. Den, with Brad's help, manages to escape, but is tracked down to the canal by Mantel. A Firm hitman shoots Den with a gun hidden in a bunch of daffodils, and he is believed to be dead but in fact escapes to Spain.
The Firm later discover this, and Vinnicombe is killed and his body is dumped in the canal to look like Den's (his teeth were bricked out to prevent identification). Vinnicombe's body is later recovered and, owing to some lazy police work (and false evidence planted by The Firm in order to save face), buried as Den's.
The Firm is re-introduced in 2003, and is represented by bookkeeper Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman); his friend Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs); and their ruthless boss Jack Dalton (Hywel Bennett), who is said to have usurped control of The Firm from Vinnicombe and ordered Den's death. When Den survived the attempt on his life (which was initially thought to have been successful), Dalton had Vinnicombe murdered.
Dalton had taken a young Dennis Rickman under his wing, unaware that Dennis is the son Den Watts never knew he had. Dennis became a professional "hardman", and it is in this capacity that he landed himself a prison sentence for grievous bodily harm. Dalton soon wants Dennis dead, and so orders his enemy Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) to kill him. Dennis turns the tables on Phil, and persuades him to let him kill Dalton. Phil agrees, and Dennis confronts Dalton, who admits that it was he who had ordered for Den Watts to be killed. Dennis reveals the truth about his parentage to Dalton, before shooting him. Dalton's last act is to reveal the fact that Den had survived the attempt on his life.
News reaches Den Watts in Spain that Dalton is dead, and he returns to Walford in 2003. Andy replaces Dalton as the leader of The Firm. This is until Andy loses his position for being a "soft touch", and is thrown out of a moving car onto the doorstep of the Queen Victoria pub. Andy is subsequently killed by a fellow mob boss, Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), when their ensuing rivalry leads Andy to try and double-cross him on a deal. Ironically, Den Watts is finally murdered that same night - though at the hands of his wife Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) in an unconnected incident.
At the end of 2005, Dennis is murdered when Johnny orders his henchman Danny Moon (Jake Maskall) to kill him. In 2006, Danny is murdered by his brother Jake (Joel Beckett) when attempting to kill Phil and his brother Grant (Ross Kemp). Johnny ultimately confesses his crimes - most specifically to his involvement behind the murders of Andy and Dennis - to the police and later dies of a heart attack whilst serving a life prison sentence.
Den Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den".
Dennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nigel Harman. He entered the show on 14 April 2003 and became one of the show's central protagonists up until his last appearance in the episode broadcast on 30 December 2005, when the character was fatally stabbed at the start of the New Year Fireworks.
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is the primary setting for the soap.
Andy Hunter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Higgs. He first appeared in the episode broadcast in the United Kingdom on 3 July 2003 and, following the murder of his gangland boss Jack Dalton, became the show’s main antagonist up until the character was axed and killed off in the series' 20th Anniversary episode, shown on 18 February 2005.
The Queen Victoria is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20. It is based on The Green Man Pub in Ewell Village.
Danny Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jake Maskall. He made his first appearance on 30 December 2004 and was initially axed in 7 July 2005, but reappeared in 29 March 2006 and was killed off in 31 March 2006.
Jake Moon is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Joel Beckett. Jake appears in the show in episodes originally broadcast in the United Kingdom between 30 December 2004 and 20 October 2006. His casting was announced by executive producer Kathleen Hutchison on 20 October 2004. Jake is introduced alongside his younger brother Danny Moon and upon his arrival was described as "the sensitive brother who had an eye for the ladies", while Beckett expressed his happiness at joining the show. In March 2005, Beckett and Maskall were axed but Jake was reintroduced to the show later in the year.
Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden. Phil was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990, and was followed by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy. Phil is one of the major introductions made by executive producer Michael Ferguson, who wanted to bring in some macho male leads. Phil and his brother Grant became popularly known as the Mitchell brothers in the British media with Phil initially portrayed as the more level-headed of the two thugs. Storylines featuring the Mitchell family dominated the soap opera throughout the 1990s, with Phil becoming a popular and long-running male protagonist into the 2000s and the 2010s. McFadden temporarily left the series in late 2003 then returned in April 2005 for a brief stint, before making a permanent return in October 2005. McFadden took a hiatus from the series at the end of Phil's liver cirrhosis storyline with the character departing on 6 February 2017. He returned on 24 July the same year. McFadden took another break in 2018 from 31 August to 22 November.
Johnny Allen is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Billy Murray. Johnny appeared on the show from 4 January 2005 until 20 October 2006, serving as the show's primary antagonist throughout that time.
Ted Hills is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Brian Croucher. He was introduced in 1995 as the patriarch of the Hills family, who are the extended family of established character Kathy Beale. Ted was axed in 1997.
Joanne Francis is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Pamela Salem. She appears on screen between 16 June 1988 and 3 January 1989, as the Manager of Strokes Wine Bar.
Dickens Hill is a fictional prison in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The prison is part of a storyline that first aired between 1988 and 1989. The storyline centres on the popular character Den Watts and was filmed on location at Dartmoor Prison in Devon. The episodes were shot in a block of intensive filming, over five weeks, but they were worked into regular episodes of EastEnders later in the year, from September 1988 to February 1989. This was done in order to keep the character Den Watts on-screen after Den's actor, Leslie Grantham, had left the show. Although not part of the original storyline, the prison also briefly appears in 2017 when Max Branning visits his former cellmate, Luke Browning. The prison also appears in a separate storyline in 2018 when Mick Carter is on remand for the shooting of Stuart Highway.
The Watts family are a fictional family in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The family consists of Den, Angie, Sharon, Dennis, Chrissie, and Vicki. Most recently, Dennis Jnr was born in July 2006 and made his first appearance in 2012.
James Willmott-Brown is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by William Boyde. First appearing in Albert Square from 1986 to 1989, the character established the square's second pub called The Dagmar - sparking a feud with Den Watts in the process - and developed a romantic obsession with his employee Kathy Beale, up to the point when he ends up raping her in 1988. Following his imprisonment for Kathy's rape, Willmott-Brown made a brief comeback in 1992 after he moved back into Albert Square; however, he was forced to leave by Kathy's former husband Pete just weeks later. After an absence of 25 years, Willmott-Brown returned in 22 September 2017 as the show's hidden main antagonist upon being revealed to be the boss of Max Branning in their vengeful plot to destroy the square; with Willmott-Brown serving as the true mastermind behind the events in Max's revenge story arc carried out by his business company, Weyland & Co. The character departed once again on 28 December 2017 after his scheme to recoup his relationship with Kathy by controlling the square had ultimately failed.