Dan Sullivan

""Do you know Phil Mitchell? No you don't want to either. You know he set me up in business, he even give me somewhere to live, and he was the only person who backed up when everybody else treated me like scum. And then right of the blue he had me over. And you know it was like it weren't even the money that bothered me, it was the fact that someone could betray you and never even give it a second thought. But then, that's a lesson for everyone init mate -never trust anyone.... especially your best mate.""

- Dan Sullivan explaining to the right-hand man of their crime boss Ritchie Stringer about why he plans to get revenge on his best-friend, Phil Mitchell, for stealing his ownership of The Queen Victoria public house.

Dan Sullivan is a fictional character and recurring antagonist of the BBC British soap opera drama EastEnders.

He first appeared in 7 June 1999 and served as one of the show's secondary antagonists until his departure on 16 August 2001.

History
Dan Sullivan first appeared in Albert Square to reconcile with his girlfriend Carol Jackson, a local cafe manager. The two soon plan on getting married when Dan learns that Carol is expecting his child, much to the surprise of her daughter Bianca - as she and Dan had had a fling when she was a teenager on holiday many years before. Dan and Bianca end up having an affair, which Carol eventually discovers - prompting her to disown Bianca, break-up with Dan by chucking him out of her house, and abort their child before leaving Walford; Bianca would later depart from the square after she and Dan are unable to consider resuming their relationship. The impact of her affair with Dan results in him being embroiled in a dispute with Bianca's husband Ricky Butcher, which continues as Dan ends up forging a romantic interest in Ricky's younger sister Janine; the conflict soon ends with Ricky leaving Walford just months following his wife's departure from the square.

Left alone in Walford without Carol or Bianca themselves, Dan proceeds to form a business partnership with local hardman Phil Mitchell - up to the point where Dan ends up buying £5 of the share that Phil's brother Grant owns at The Queen Victoria public house. Their growing friendship quickly becomes strained when Dan discovers that Phil is running a car lot scam with his Ricky's father Frank and his close friend Roy Evans, leading him to inform the police about their activities. When Phil's girlfriend Lisa Shaw and her best friend Mel Healy learn about this, they confront Phil - who deduces that Dan was the one who tipped off the police and plots to win back his share of the pub as payback. Phil arranges a card game between him and Dan, then tricks him into losing so he could refund his £5. As a result, Dan vows revenge and begins stalking Mel - threatening her with phone calls - upon realizing that she told Phil about his tip-off, further suspecting that she was involved in Phil's plot against him. Dan continues to threaten Mel until her fiance Steve Owen appears, threatening to kill him unless he leaves the Square; Dan is initially unfazed at Steve's threat, but complies when Steve visits him with a gun - making his threat clear - and Dan leaves on 7 July 2000.

In February 2001, six months after he is last seen, Dan returns to the square - seeking revenge against Phil. Upon learning that Steve and Mel are set to get married, Dan visits Steve to sarcastically offer his congratulations. Steve reminds Dan of the last warning he gave him about leaving the square for good, but Dan ignores Steve and tells him that he is here to deal with Phil - not Mel. When Steve threateningly orders Dan to leave the square again, Dan turns on Steve and tells him that he'll regret crossing him. On the day Steve and Mel get married, Dan confronts Phil's cousin Billy and demands that he go and get Phil for him. Billy initially refuses and pulls a gun on Dan. However, Dan remains unfazed and - taunting Billy over how he would really feel about killing a man - easily disarms Billy, forcing him to drop his gun and discuss like "big boys". Left with no other choice, Billy summons Phil to Dan. Making it clear that he intends to get revenge on him, Dan threatens Phil after getting chucked with a glass of wine. Soon afterwards, Dan begins harassing Phil with phone calls - before Phil is later shot by a unknown assailant. Following Phil's shooting, Dan becomes a prime suspect. He soon begins to target Phil's godson Jamie, threatening to inflict violence on the youngster unless he agrees to repay him the money Phil owes him. Jamie makes his effort to avoid succumbing to Dan's threats, even when Phil's mother Peggy learns about Dan's comeback. Dan also continues to torment Mel once more, and begins clashing with Steve over their similar issues with Phil.

It is soon revealed that Lisa is the culprit who shot Phil. After confronting Lisa over the shooting, Phil forgives her and decides to frame Dan - knowing that Dan is a much bigger threat to him than Lisa and Steve. With Jamie's help, Phil manages to entrap Dan into the police; Dan is arrested after trying to extort money from Phil and Jamie at the garage with a gun. Dan is later charged with attempted murder, and Phil convinces Steve to work together in getting Dan imprisoned - under the guise that the pair, though archenemies, would be well-ridden of their fellow nemesis and Mel's tormentor for good. Despite their efforts, however, Dan is found not guilty. Deducing that Phil had framed him for the shooting and that Steve had been conspiring with his plan, Dan plans to get revenge on his two rivals - further coming to believe that Steve is the one who shot Phil. He first threatens Billy with violence under he provides him with leverage against Phil and Steve. Afterwards, Dan proceeds to kidnap Mel as part of his plan to get £200,000 ransom. He alerts Phil and Steve of Mel's kidnapping to blackmail the pair in delivering him the money in exchange for Mel's safety; with Phil being forced to deliver Steve's £200,000 from his nightclub. Phil plans to take down Dan with a gun, but Dan discovers this and orders Phil to extract Mel on his own. Phil appears to oblige and first, but then surprises Dan and disarms him. Phil prepares to kill Dan, admitting that his habit of never really intentionally killing a man has changed in his case; Dan gets to be the first on Phil's list. However, Mel surprisingly helps Dan by turning off the lights - allowing Dan to overpower Phil and leave him behind. Mel reluctantly helps Dan after he tells her about what Steve and Phil have been up to, without her knowing about it. After dropping off Mel at a rendezvous point, Dan leaves Walford in August 2001 - considerably richer than when he first arrived.

Though he is not seen again on the square again, Dan leaves flowers on Steve's grave following the latter's death in March 2002 - at the epic climax of his feud with Phil - bearing the message "Gotcha!". In 2003, Billy is led to believe that Dan is back in the square to settle a few scores after hearing rumors of his supposed comeback - although this is off-screen. This is later revealed to be a hoax by the police to connect Phil to the alleged murder of Lisa. It soon transpires that Dan is last heard to be living in Spain, but having many brushes with the law - just like he did in the square.

Consequently, Dan is one of the few soap opera villains to not get killed off nor receive any comeuppance for his crimes.

Quotes
""Don't spend it all at once!!""

- Dan's final words as he leaves Walford after dropping off his ex-lover Mel Healy, having kidnapped her to exact revenge on her husband Steve and their archenemy Phil Mitchell for wronging him over the latter's shooting.

Trivia

 * Dan Sullivan is currently known for being one of British Soaps' few antagonists to never receive any comeuppance for his villainous activities.
 * The character's portrayer, Craig Fairbrass, has reported in 2018 that Dan is likely to have last been heard in Spain.