Ron Dent was the husband of Janet and father of Marcus Dent. He had never come to terms with his son being gay and contact between the two was infrequent. It was only when Marcus fell in love with Maria Connor that Ron made a visit to Weatherfield, together with Janet, to visit Marcus, the two arriving on Christmas Day 2012. They were even more taken with Maria when she arrived, both with her looks and friendliness and the obvious affection that she and Marcus felt for each other and they passed approving looks at each other across the room.