EastEnders actor Leslie Grantham, best known as the roguish “Dirty Den” Watts in the BBC One soap, has died aged 71.
The actor appeared in EastEnders from 1985 to 1989 and later returned to his signature role from 2003 to 2005.
The announcement follows news earlier this week that Grantham had returned to the UK from Bulgaria to receive medical attention.
A statement from his agent said he died on Friday morning and that a private funeral would be held.
Grantham shot to fame when he was cast as Den Watts, the landlord of the east London public house around which the action in EastEnders revolves.
More than 30 million viewers tuned in to watch a Christmas Day episode in 1986, in which his character handed divorce papers to his on-screen wife Angie.
Grantham’s life was not without controversy. In 1966 he was convicted of murdering a German taxi driver while serving as a soldier.
And in 2004 he was revealed to have taken part in webcam sex sessions from his EastEnders dressing room at Elstree Studios.
