Dennis’ (played by Bleu Landau) dark secret was revealed to Sharon (Letitia Dean) on EastEnders earlier this week when former gang member Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith) told the blonde her son was caught up with drugs.
Shocked to learn her affair with Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) had caused her to take the eye off the ball with Dennis, Sharon decided it was time to tell husband Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) the truth about her deception.
However, the businesswoman stopped in her tracks when Keanu overheard Sharon seemingly hinting towards her affair in a conversation with Phil, leading her to stay quiet about her infidelity and channel her focus into protecting her son.
After a run in with Tiffany following an admission from Dennis the schoolgirl had groomed him into joining the gang, Sharon sat down with her son to try and make him understand his so-called friends were dangerous on the BBC soap.
I hate you
Dennis Rickman
As the concerned mother tried to get her son to open up to her about his ordeal, Sharon said: “Dennis. Look, I’m not angry at you, really I’m not. You know, I’m trying to understand,” to which the youngster hit back: “Interested in me now, are you?”
Already guilt-ridden over her affair with Keanu, Sharon told Dennis: “I’m always interested. Darling, I’m worried about you,” but the schoolboy wasn’t having any of it, telling his mother: “Because it suits you.
“The only time you care about me is when it suits you,” he continued, before reminding his mother she left him over Christmas, with Sharon fleeing the Square at the end of last year to get her head around her affair with Keanu.
“I was bullied. I was beaten. I even needed stitches, and where did you go? Australia. The other side of the world. At least they’re there for me,’ Dennis said, speaking of the gang who he's come to see as his friends.
Shocked by her son’s attitude, Sharon told him: “They are using you,” with Dennis going on to admit he believed the gang members cared about him more than she or his family
