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1462540543-dan-sullivan-eastenders

Dan Sullivan is a major antagonist of EastEnders who appeared on the show from 7 July 1999 to 16 August 2001.

He is portrayed by Craig Fairbrass, who is also known for playing Nick Barton in The Bank Job.

Biography[]

Dan Sullivan started out as a dodgy bloke who cheated on his girlfriend Carol Jackson by having an affair with her daughter Biancia. Once Carol discovers this, she ends her relationship with Dan and aborts his baby in retribution.

Dan then developed a more villainous streak when he forged a business partnership with Phil Mitchell and stole his shared ownership of The Queen Victoria public house for £5. Phil later tricks Dan into playing poker so he could reclaim the Queen Vic. The plan works and Dan, left with nothing, vows revenge on Phil.

Dan soon discovered that Mel Healy, the best friend of Phil's girlfriend Lisa Shaw, is partly the reason why Phil stole his ownership of the pub. He begins to harass Mel with threatening phone calls. She discovers this when her fiance Steve Owen returns, and he threatens to kill Dan unless he leaves Mel alone. Dan is forced out of Walford after Steve visits him with a gun, and he seemingly leaves Walford for good.

In 2001, Dan returns to Walford so he could get revenge on Phil. When Phil is shot on the night Steve and Mel get married, Dan becomes a prime suspect and many of the residents assume that he is the shooter, even though Lisa is the real culprit. Dan soon begins terrorizing Phil's cousin Billy and godson Jamie for money, going as far as to beat up Jamie on one occasion. When Phil is released, he frames Dan for the shooting. Dan is arrested, but is found not guilty. To get revenge on Phil and Steve, who conspired with his nemesis against their common enemy, Dan kidnaps Mel after blackmailing Billy into getting leverage against them. Dan then orders Steve and Phil to each give him £100,000, which Phil is subsequently forced to deliver. Phil attempts to kill Dan, but fails after Mel distracts Phil to help Dan (after Mel is led to believe by Dan that Steve shot Phil).

Having got his revenge on Phil and Steve, Dan releases Mel and drives out of Walford with his £200,000 ransom, never to be seen again. He is last heard to be in Spain, but with many brushes with the law, as he did in Albert Square. His last reference is when Steve Owen is killed a year after Phil is shot, and at Steve's funeral Dan leaves a note baring "Gotcha".

Trivia[]

  • Dan Sullivan is one of the few villains in British Soapland to get away with his crimes unpunished.
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