Afterwards, Dan sought to get revenge on both Phil and Steve by kidnapping Mel and then blackmailing his two alpha-male rivals into giving him £100,000 each in exchange for her safety. The storyline of Mel's kidnapping, which occurred in August 2001 and simultaneously commenced the stage where the show would start presenting four episodes a week, led to a climatic showdown between Dan and Phil on 16 August 2001 when the former forced the latter to make the exchange of the ransom money for Mel. The confrontation between them saw Phil disarm Dan and preparing to kill him, but Dan ultimately overpowered Phil with Mel's help after she gradually realized that Dan was indeed framed for Phil's shooting. In the end, Dan got his revenge and — after taking Mel back to the square — left the country with his £200,000 ransom; the character had exited the show on 16 August 2001 at the end of Mel's kidnapping scenario.