John "Abs" Denham is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by actor James Redmond.

They paired him with paramedic Nina Farr (Rebekah Gibbs), but soon added her scheming step-sister Ellen Zitek (Georgina Bouzova) into the story.

Ellen realises that Abs is gullible and concocts lies to convince him to marry her so that she can obtain a visa to remain in the United Kingdom.

Producers later explored the character's backstory which included a prison sentence for causing a car accident while joy-riding.

[4] The actor had previously worked alongside head of BBC drama Mal Young and he believed this helped him secure the role.

[5] A reporter from the Bristol Post said that Casualty producers had wanted to include more actors with West Country accents, such as Redmond, to make the show appear more authentic.

[9] He has also been called "principled, gullible, sensitive, jokey, empathetic" and someone "who goes his own way and loves probing people and solving their problems.

He believed Abs was a "fantastic" role to take on because it helped to raise awareness of mental health issues and make it less taboo.

[12] A Casualty publicist told Nicola Methven from the Daily Mirror that "Abs doesn't suffer fools gladly, but he is fixated by idiots and lunatics.

Discussing the development, Gibbs told Lucy Lawrence from the Daily Mirror that the storyline would create "amazing" scenes between Abs, Nina and Ellen.

Bouzova told a reporter from Inside Soap that her character thought Abs "was a bit of a hunk" when they first met.

Martina Laird (who plays Comfort Jones) told Steve Hendry from the Sunday Mail that they had to work in "extreme conditions" where facilities were rather sparse.

[20] In 2008, producers decided to explore Abs' back story which revealed he had not always been the kind and caring character they had portrayed him as.

His alcohol abuse stemmed from the fact he was left paralysed after a car crash caused by Abs while joy-riding.

"[21] He added that Abs was to blame and that the accident brought on Danny's drink problem which eventually led to his death.

[21] Producers used the story to take Abs in a more ambitious direction as he aspires to open an alcohol support clinic.

[21] Redmond considered leaving Casualty in 2007, but his friends convinced him to stay longer because audition opportunities for other roles had dwindled.

It was revealed that his character would make his final appearance during the seventh episode of twenty-third series titled, "There and Back Again" (which aired on 18 October 2008.

He manages to conjure up the courage to attend where Stacey's girlfriend Ellie Bridges (Sarah-Jane Potts) is grateful for his support.

Abs' returned alongside various former characters to celebrate Casualty's thirtieth anniversary episode titled "Too Old for This Shift", which was broadcast on 27 August 2016.

"[29] Tom Adair of The Scotsman branded opined that Abs marrying Ellen so she could obtain a visa was "limp" story telling.

[30] Jim Shelley from Daily Mirror branded Abs a "bizarre character" who "insists on dressing the like a scarecrow" who needed to wash his hair.

He then compared him to Benny Hawkins, a character the British soap opera Crossroads, but with the added "power of sectioning people.

"[31] A writer from the Wexford People their episode in which Abs attempts to end his sham marriage with Ellen in their "one to watch" feature.