Dean Upton was the obnoxious landlord of The Flying Horse who came into the Rovers on the August 2014 Bank Holiday at Steve McDonald's request and immediately got into a game of one-upmanship as to who had the more successful pub. Dean was contemptuous of the number of customers in the Rovers, claiming his was "heaving" and spoke of their food service, not being impressed by the famed hotpot of his competitor even though Steve was able to point to their two silver-fork rating from the Manchester Pub Grub Guide and the recommendation from Ross Pollock of Radio Weatherfield who spoke of the "warm smiles, behind and in front of the bar". Dean, in turn, cited their live bands, pool team and cricket team which Steve said was the reason he had asked him to call. He had seen the a flyer from Dean