leg but Chrissie grabs a bar stool and hits him again over the head, killing him. Aided by Zoe and Sam, Chrissie buries Den in The Queen Vic's cellar to cover up the murder. Dennis reunites with Sharon in America and they return to confront Den, but Chrissie claims he has left with another woman. Sharon and Dennis marry, but during their reception, however, Sam is arrested for digging up Den's body to incriminate Chrissie; however, Sam is charged with Den's murder. Phil and Grant return to convince Sharon of Chrissie's guilt, and Sharon and Grant resolve their past grievances, as do Dennis and Phil, and the four work together with Peggy to bring Chrissie to justice. Sharon tries to persuade Stacey to drop her false alibi for Chrissie, so that Sam can be released, but to no avail, following an angry confrontation with Zoe’s mother Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), who is trying to protect Zoe from prosecution. Eventually, Phil and Grant manage to extract a tape of Chrissie confessing to Den's murder - thus proving her guilty to the police. Chrissie is then arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. Sharon is stunned to discover she is pregnant, and she and Dennis celebrate the potential of having a child. However, their happiness is threatened when Dennis' resolved issues with Phil leads him to become embroiled in a conflict against his enemy and the square's crime kingpin: Johnny Allen (Billy Murray). When Sharon starts to intervene in Johnny's personal affairs in an attempt to warn him to stay away from Dennis, he throttles her and proceeds to give Sharon an ultimatum; he will kill Dennis unless they leave Walford by midnight on New Year's Eve. Sharon persuades Dennis to leave after confiding in Phil about Johnny's threat. Phil, seeking upmanship over Johnny, informs Dennis about the threat, telling him that Johnny killed his best-friend Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs), and describes how Johnny threatened Sharon. Dennis ends up attacking Johnny, however, on New Year's Day, he ends up getting stabbed. He stumbles upon Sharon's arms and dies, leaving Sharon heartbroken and devastated. She refuses to speak in grief but requests that Phil avenges Dennis' murder. Concerned for her unborn child, Phil persuades Sharon to return to Florida to live with Michelle; Sharon later gives birth off-screen to a son, Dennis Rickman Jnr (Harry Hickles/Bleu Landau), and informs Pauline. During her absence, Phil