Jan Hammond

Name: Jan Hammond
First Appeared: 30th January 1986
Last Appeared: 26th September 2003
Played by: Jane How

Jan Hammond sauntered into Albert Square in 1986 as the chic, upper-class mistress of Den Watts. With her posh demeanour and job at an art gallery, Jan seemed worlds apart from the gritty charm of Walford. Despite the sophisticated exterior, she was thrust into the messy world of EastEnders drama. Jan’s relationship with Den was anything but smooth sailing, given that he was still very much married to the fiery Angie Watts. Angie and Den’s adopted daughter, Sharon, despised Jan, despite her efforts to get along.

Jan briefly moved into The Queen Vic on Den’s insistence, attempting to play landlady. However, she quickly realized that pulling pints wasn’t her forte, and she moved out soon after. Den made a bold attempt to leave Angie for Jan, telling Angie that he was planning to leave her. Angie, ever the dramatic, faked a terminal illness to keep him around. Den fell for the ruse but eventually uncovered the truth while on holiday in Venice. Classic Angie!

Tired of Den’s inability to commit fully, Jan decided enough was enough and ended their affair when he refused to leave Walford with her. She left the square in 1987, eventually marrying a man named Dario Chimisso on a picturesque gondola in Venice. It seemed like the perfect fairy-tale ending, albeit far from the chaos of EastEnders.

Jan made a brief return to Walford in 2002 for Angie’s funeral. During her visit, she handed Sharon a portrait that Den had left with her years earlier. It was a bittersweet moment, bringing a piece of Den’s past back into the fold.

She popped up again in 2003, just in time for Den’s much-anticipated return. Den’s long-lost son, Dennis Rickman, tracked Jan down to get answers about his father’s fate. Jan revealed that Den had survived the shooting orchestrated by The Firm and had come to her for help. With her assistance, Den was able to flee to Spain and lay low to protect himself and his family.