Search results
1 day ago · Tom Selleck played Monica's boyfriend Dr. Richard Burke in several episodes between 1995 and ... "I hope [people ... and with whom Chandler has a colored history ...
1 day ago · During an episode of ... consisting of songs released between 2010 and 2016 that ... Live Nation confirmed a long-standing partnership with Drake to open History, ...
1 day ago · Their stories are accompanied by music that’s unlike any other in pop history.” ... a seminal episode in his ... Europe, his last full tour for ...
1 day ago · Origin and history of the genre The first program generally considered to be a "soap opera" or daytime serial by scholars of the genre is Painted Dreams, which premiered on WGN radio Chicago, on October 20, 1930. It was regularly broadcast in a daytime time slot, where most listeners would be housewives; thus, the shows were aimed at – and consumed by – a predominantly female audience ...
- Creation
- Development
- Storylines
- Reception
- In Popular Culture
Background
Sharon Watts was one of the original twenty-three characters conceived by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. She was originally to be named Tracey, and she and her parents were to be the occupants of the soap's local pub, now known as The Queen Vic. Holland, who had worked as a barman in his youth, called upon his own personal experiences to invent the Watts family and the pub they lived in. Holland and Smith had always been critical of the way pubs had been portrayed o...
Casting
Although Sharon was meant to be fourteen, licensing regulations required the cast actress to be a sixteen-year-old who could "play down." Holland and Smith were looking for a "bouncy, attractive, oddly vulnerable young woman" who would come across as slightly more sophisticated than the character of Michelle Fowler, due to be Sharon's closest peer. Out of the various applicants they had seen, they felt only actress Letitia Dean had all of the qualities they were looking for. As the casting di...
Characterisation
Described by the BBC as "slightly spoilt, over-dramatic, blousy, but ultimately kind-hearted", Sharon has been classified by Rupert Smith, author of EastEnders: 20 Years in Albert Square, as a "drama queen", a "strong passionate [woman] who [goes] to pieces where men are concerned and always [comes] back for more". Early on in her narrative, Sharon was depicted as a mixed-up individual, torn between her warring parents, but spoilt by both; the British press dubbed her "Den's princess", an ind...
Early storylines
An early controversial storyline involving Sharon revolved around her desire to take contraceptive pills to persuade Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford) to date her. According to Holland and Smith, this storyline caused tremendous interest in the UK. Holland and Smith have suggested that it was a daring issue to tackle in the 1980s, as it involved a girl under sixteen, and was to be aired at a time when the issue was prominent in British society. Holland and Smith suggested that people took si...
Relationship with Phil and Grant Mitchell
The arrival of the Mitchell brothers in 1990 heralded a new era for EastEnders, but also for Sharon. Brothers Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) were introduced by executive producer Michael Ferguson, as he wanted to bring in a couple of young men who would bring an air of danger to the show.Both the Mitchell brothers would prove to be extremely important for Sharon in the following years, most notably when she married one brother, then had an affair with the other. Sharon a...
Departure
Letitia Dean decided to quit the role of Sharon in 1995, having played the character for over a decade. Dean was not the only original cast member to announce their departure that year; Susan Tully (Michelle Fowler) and Bill Treacher (Arthur Fowler) also quit, leaving just Wendy Richard (Pauline Fowler), Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale), and Gillian Taylforth (Kathy Beale) as the only original cast remaining at that time. Dean, who was aged 26 at the time, has since reflected on her decision to leav...
1985–1995
Adopted at the age of three by Den (Leslie Grantham) and Angie Watts (Anita Dobson), Sharon is raised at The Queen Victoria public house in Albert Square, Walford, where her adoptive parents are landlords. Sharon and her best friend, Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully), compete for the affections of Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford). This leads to Sharon wanting to go on the pill, which shocks Angie. However, after Angie gets advice from Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) and Dr. Harold Legg (Leonard...
2001–2006
Phil and Grant's mother Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) sells The Queen Vic in May 2001, and is furious to discover that Sharon is the new owner. Sharon's boyfriend, Ross Fletcher (Ché Walker), joins her claiming that he has left his wife but Sharon discovers he is lying and ends the relationship and rekindles her romance with Phil. Sharon's bombshell that she is infertile following an abortion upsets Phil, and knowing that Phil wouldn't be happy without children of his own, they consider ad...
2012–present
In the summer of 2012, after more than six years away, Sharon returns to Walford asking Phil to help her retrieve Dennis Jnr (Harry Hickles) from her fiancé, John Hewland (Jesse Birdsall), whom she has just jilted at their wedding ceremony. John suggests that he saved Sharon from destitution and kidnaps Dennis but Phil rescues him. Sharon manages Phil's nightclub "R&R" and starts dating Jack Branning (Scott Maslen). Sharon and Jack's romance is complicated by Phil, who wants to reignite a rel...
Sharon has been dubbed one of the "most popular" characters in EastEnders. Television critic Matt Bayliss, who once wrote storylines for EastEnders, suggested in 2010 that what made Sharon an interesting, classic, female character was that her psychology was laid bare; viewers could see how her troubled upbringing contributed to the mistakes she ma...
The character of Sharon has been spoofed in the ITV cartoon sketch show 2DTV where in one sketch, she was likened to the Jim Henson Muppet Miss Piggy. The character has also been spoofed by the Scottish impressionist Ronni Ancona in the BBC's Big Impression. Ancona's impression mocked Sharon's pronunciation, implying that she pouts a lot and that s...
