who follows him back to England from Spain a few months after his return to Walford. Dennis moves in with Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) but cannot reciprocate her love and Sharon seduces him again. They continue their affair in secret behind Zoe and Den's backs, and feel unable to continue their secretive relationship, and plan to leave on Christmas Day. However, Den had spotted them kissing on Christmas Eve. When they announce that they are in love and going to America together on Christmas Day, Zoe announces that she is pregnant. Dennis does not want to be an absent father to the baby, so Sharon leaves without him. He stays with Zoe but refuses to sleep with her. Zoe, who has feigned the pregnancy in order to prevent Dennis from leaving. She is desperate to get pregnant for real and resorts to sleeping with Den, who had told her to feign the pregnancy in his own attempt to split Sharon from Dennis. Dennis eventually begins to feel love for Zoe and looks forward to a life with her and the baby. However, when Dennis catches her and Den in bed and discovers she was never pregnant at all, he leaves but not before informing Chrissie about her and Den. Dennis and Sharon return to Walford in the summer of 2005, and demand to see Den. Dennis has his doubts about Chrissie's story that Den had left her a few months before in favour of another woman, but drops the matter to spare Sharon's feelings. Dennis and Sharon go on to marry soon afterwards, and following this, they learn that Sam Mitchell had exhumed their father's body from his grave in the cellar of The Queen Victoria public house. Den had been murdered by Chrissie in February 2005 after she, Zoe and Sam confronted him about his manipulation and lies regarding the three of them - which had started just before Christmas 2004, when Den had tricked Sam into selling him The Queen Vic with the pretence that Phil needed money while still on the run from the police. Chrissie had also lured Sharon back to overhear Den's confessions so that Den would lose the one person in his life that he truly loved - which she achieved when Sharon disowned Den and left Walford again. Den had then walked back into the pub and attacked Chrissie before Zoe hit him