Dan Sullivan (EastEnders)
Dan Sullivan | |||||
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EastEnders character | |||||
Portrayed by | Craig Fairbrass | ||||
Duration | 1999–2001 | ||||
First appearance | Episode 1788 7 June 1999 | ||||
Last appearance | Episode 2150 16 August 2001 | ||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||
Introduced by | Matthew Robinson | ||||
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Dan Sullivan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Craig Fairbrass. He was first introduced to the series as a regular character from 7 June 1999 to 10 July 2000 before returning as one of the show's primary antagonists from 26 February to 16 August 2001.
The character originally appeared in
By then, Dan's growing conflicts with both Phil and Steve were respectively steamed from each of their own romances with Mel — whom Dan had formerly dated after his relationship with one of the pub's customers,
Storylines
Dan Sullivan arrives in
It is at this point where Dan has become closely acquainted with
By then, Dan has romantically bonded with Phil's barmaid and Lisa's best-friend:
Six months later, Dan returns to the square in 26 February 2001 — still determined to get revenge on Phil. He plans to confirm this to Steve and, after learning that he and Mel are set to get married at the start of March 2001, sets out to visit him at his nightclub; the E20. There, he finds Phil's cousin Billy (Perry Fenwick) working as Steve's secretary and orders him to summon Steve himself. Billy initially refuses and attempts to threaten Dan by brandishing Steve's gun out of his safe, but Dan is unfazed and — after taunting Billy over how he would really feel about killing a man — easily disarms Billy, forcing him to drop his gun and discuss like "big boys". Moments later, Steve arrives and orders Billy to get out of his office. Dan then proceeds to sarcastically offer Steve his congratulations, and the two begin exchanging threats to each other when Steve reminds Dan of the last warning he gave him about leaving the square for good. Although Dan tells Steve that he is back in the square to deal with Phil and not Mel, he is dismissed at the expense of warning Steve to not be fooled by Mel as she previously did to her ex-husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). Their conversation ends with Dan offering Steve a handshake, to which Steve threateningly rejects by telling Dan to get out of his office — which prompts Dan to tell Steve that he'll regret crossing him. On the day Steve and Mel get married, Dan approaches Billy at Steve's wedding reception and demands that he bring Phil for him when the latter arrives. Billy complies and tells Phil that Dan is waiting for him in Steve's office, much to Steve's frustration. Upon confronting each other, Dan tells Phil that he plans to settle his score with him and begins to taunt him just as Phil gives Dan five seconds to get out of his sight. When Phil ends up chucking wine from his glass into Dan's face, Dan threatens Phil by promising him that he'll regret it. Later on that night, Phil is shot by an unknown assailant — though not before Dan resorts to harassing him with phone calls. Following Phil's shooting, Dan becomes a prime suspect. He soon begins to target Phil's godson Jamie (Jack Ryder), threatening to inflict violence on the youngster unless he agrees to repay him the money Phil owes him. Jamie makes his effort to avoid succumbing to Dan's threats, even when Phil learns about Dan's comeback. Dan also continues to torment Mel once more, and begins clashing with Steve over their similar issues with Phil.
It is soon revealed that Lisa is the culprit who shot Phil. After confronting Lisa over the shooting, Phil forgives her and decides to frame Dan — knowing that Dan is a much bigger threat to him than Lisa. He first contacts Dan's former crime boss,
Before the trial commences, Phil convinces Steve to work together in getting Dan imprisoned — under the guise that the pair, though archenemies, would be well-ridden of their common nemesis and Mel's tormenting ex-boyfriend once and for all. Phil also summons his lawyer
Phil and Steve are eventually successful in getting the £200,000 ransom money, but later get into an argument when Phil secretly acquires a handgun and plans to kill Dan to protect Jamie and Peggy from him. Steve argues that he just wants to get Mel back safely and insists on doing the exchange on his own, only for Dan to then call Phil and demand that he — not Steve — make the exchange on his own. Phil complies with Dan's demand and sets off to make the exchange on his own. When he arrives, Dan puts Mel in a hiding place and then cautiously gets Phil prepared for the meet-up. He first demands Phil to leave his jacket in his car, then to open the duffel bag containing the £200,000 ransom money, and lastly insists that Phil prove he is unarmed. This forces Phil to reveal the gun he hid in his jacket, and Dan forces him to leave the gun in the car before making his way up the building. As Phil obliges, Dan gets out his own handgun and sets off to confront Phil at the elevator. He then awaits for Phil's arrival, but is caught off-guard when Phil suddenly disarms Dan and holds him at gunpoint. After forcing Dan back into the room where Mel is being held captive, Phil is unable to find her and demands to know where she is kept hidden. Dan then begins to taunt Phil over his one-night stand with Mel, which provokes him in kicking Dan to the ground. Phil then prepares to kill Dan, telling him that he will become the first person who he will have intentionally murdered in light of having never really done so before. In that moment, however, Mel intervenes by cutting off the lights. This distracts Phil, and Dan uses the opportunity to disarm him before knocking Phil unconscious. Upon realizing that Mel saved his life, Dan thanks her for saving his life and gives Mel £50,000 in gratitude. When Phil starts to regain consciousness, Dan handcuffs him to a radiator and plans to kill him. Mel, however, appeals to his better nature and urges him to be better than Phil. In response, Dan asks Mel to wait outside for him while he deals with Phil on his own. Once Phil has woken up, Dan threatens to shoot him unless he begs for mercy. Phil refuses and dares Dan to kill him. Eventually, Dan pulls the trigger — causing Phil to flinch. However, the gun is not loaded; Dan reveals that he unloaded the gun to take Mel's advice in proving that he is better than Phil, whom he saw was terrified of dying at the moment he flinched when Dan pulled the trigger. After stating they are now even, Dan gets his final revenge on Phil by gagging him and leaving him handcuffed at the radiator — bidding his archenemy a morbid and taunting farewell. Phil later frees himself and leaves the area, but by then Dan is already long gone after dropping Mel off at a rendezvous point near Walford. Earlier on when they parted ways, Dan apologizes to Mel for putting her through the situation with his revenge plan and wishes her the best of luck. Dan then leaves the country with his £150,000 ransom money — considerably richer than when he first arrived in Walford.
Though he is not seen again on the square again, Dan leaves flowers on Steve's grave following the latter's death in March 2002 — at the epic climax of his feud with Phil — bearing the message "Gotcha!". In 2003, Billy is led to believe that Dan is back in the square to settle a few scores after hearing rumors of his supposed comeback — although this is off-screen. This is later revealed to be a hoax by the police to connect Phil to the alleged murder of Lisa. It soon transpires that Dan is last heard to be living in Spain, but having many brushes with the law — just like he did in the square.
Consequently, Dan is one of the few soap opera villains to not get killed off nor receive any comeuppance for his crimes.
Development
Dan was introduced as a new love interest for the returning Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson), following her separation from her husband, Alan Jackson (Howard Antony).[1]
In 2001, it was reported by
Reception
In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Dan 43rd on their ranked list of the Best EastEnders characters of all time, calling him a "East End bad boy" and calling his "love triangle" with Bianca and Carol "memorable".[4]
See also
References
- ^ "Leigh: EastEnders love to be beside the seaside". Daily Gazette. 10 May 1999. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- ^ Sara Wallis; Ian Hyland (12 June 2020). "100 Best EastEnders characters ever". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 October 2023.