Watts family

Left to right: Vicki, Dennis, Sharon, Den
Created by	Tony Holland, Julia Smith, Tony Jordan, Louise Berridge
Introduced by	Julia Smith (1985) John Yorke (2001) Louise Berridge (2003) Bryan Kirkwood (2012)
Duration	1985–1995, 2001–2006, 2012–
First appearance	Episode 1 19 February 1985
Den Watts, Angie Watts, Chrissie Watts, Sharon Watts, Dennis Rickman, Vicki Fowler, Dennis Rickman Jnr

The Watts 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.

The Watts have been a critical part of EastEnders over the years, anchoring its early success in the late 1980s and then again dominating the action with their return in the mid-2000s. Their longstanding "feud" with the Mitchell family has become a hallmark of the show, as has their warring for the Queen Vic pub, the original and traditional home of the Watts family. Over the years the fractured family has centred largely on Den and his "princess", Sharon, with familial affairs also being marked by Den's tumultuous marriages with his long-suffering first wife, Angie, and scheming second wife, Chrissie.

The Watts are one of EastEnders' original families (together with the Fowlers and Beales) and have been involved in many memorable storylines, have brought the show its biggest ratings, and have included some of its most iconic characters.

The Watts family were one of the central families introduced to viewers when EastEnders began in 1985, created by the show’s co-creators Tony Holland and Julia Smith. Holland and Smith had correctly anticipated the importance the Queen Vic setting would have to EastEnders and therefore intended the Watts to be highly dynamic and vibrant characters fuelling the drama of the show, something that has largely been a hallmark of the family ever since, even as new members have been added, with the character of Dennis a popular favourite among audiences, winning various soap and television awards, and Chrissie largely the "centrepiece" of the show during her tenure. The Watts were originally composed of Den and Angie and their adopted daughter Sharon. The early focus of the family was on the tempestuous marriage between Den and Ange, rooted in Den’s womanising. Indeed, Den’s wandering eye is a central element in the family affairs of the Watts and would frame many of their storylines over the years, leading him into affairs with women including Jan Hammond, Kate Mitchell, and finally Zoe Slater. In 1986, Sharon’s 17-year-old friend Michelle Fowler gave birth to Vicki, the product of an illicit relationship with Den, whilst in 2003 Dennis Rickman was introduced as Den’s son from an affair he had in 1974.