Grantham, who plays "Dirty" Den Watts, has been axed from the BBC show and bosses are set to kill off the character in a dramatic plotline next year, according to reports.
A BBC insider said: "A producer has axed Grantham and is certain he'll never come back. She has asked writers for a huge storyline. 'EastEnders' is killing off Den once and for all."
In July this year, Grantham was involved in an internet sex scandal when pictures of the ageing actor sucking his finger were splashed over the tabloids. That month, 'EastEnders'' audience dropped to an all-time low of 6.3m viewers during a Tuesday night episode.
During the recorded webcam "chat" Grantham let slip what he thought of his co-stars. He branded Jessie Wallace, who plays Kat Slater, a "rough dog" and said Shane Ritchie who plays landlord Alfie "full of himself." Understandably, he was not the most popular cast member at Elstree Studios after that.
Dirty Den was first written out of the show in 1989 when he was famously shot and fell into a canal. He returned in 2003 with the famous line, "'Ello Princess" to his screen daughter Sharon Watts, played by Letitia Dean, another former cast member to have returned.
Den's return to the BBC show has coincided with some of the worst ratings during the show's 20-year history.
Executive producer Louise Berridge said in September that she was leaving after three years at the helm -- many believe due to pressure about the show's poor ratings.
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