Sharon Watts

Sharon Watts
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Letitia Dean
Duration	1985–1995, 2001–2006, 2012–present
First appearance	Episode 1 "Poor Old Reg" 19 February 1985 (1985-02-19)
Classification	Present; regular
Created by	Tony Holland
Introduced by	Julia Smith (1985) John Yorke (2001) Bryan Kirkwood (2012)
Book appearances	Blind Spots (1986) Solid Ground (1988) Blood Ties: The Life and Loves of Grant Mitchell (1998)
Spin-off appearances	Dimensions in Time (1993) The Big Albert Square Dance (2013) Once Upon a Time in Albert Square (2018) TV Soundtracks EastEnders: The Six (2023)
In-universe information Other names Sharon Ann Watts Sharon Mitchell Sharon Rickman Sharon Beale Occupation Student Travel agent Cashier Barmaid Pub landlady Businesswoman Family Watts/Mitchell/Beale Father Gavin Sullivan Mother Carol Hanley Adoptive father Den Watts Adoptive mother Angie Watts Stepmother Kathy Beale Chrissie Watts (adoptive) Half-brothers Zack Hudson Kristopher Hanley Jonathan Hanley Dennis Rickman (adoptive) Half-sisters Diane Hanley Vicki Fowler (adoptive) Husband Grant Mitchell (1991–1995) Dennis Rickman (2005) Phil Mitchell (2014–2020) Ian Beale (2020–2021) Sons Dennis Rickman Jnr Albie Watts Stepsons Ben Mitchell Raymond Dawkins Peter Beale Bobby Beale Stepdaughters Louise Mitchell Granddaughters Alyssa Lennox Grandmothers Ivy Sullivan Aunts Margaret Midhurst Sally Sullivan Nephews Barney Mitchell Nieces Dolly Dean-Hudson

Sharon Watts (also Mitchell, Rickman, and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera, EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean. Sharon was one of EastEnders' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia Smith. She first appeared in the very first episode of EastEnders, broadcast on 19 February 1985, as the adopted teenage daughter of Walford's The Queen Victoria public house landlords Den (Leslie Grantham) and Angie Watts (Anita Dobson). Dean originally quit the role in 1995, following the breakdown of Sharon's marriage to Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp).

In May 2001, Sharon was reintroduced by producer John Yorke, before departing again in January 2006. Dean's second return was announced in February 2012, and she later made her on-screen return on 13 August 2012, in a special week of episodes involving her wedding day to John Hewland (Jesse Birdsall) and Grant's nephew Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe) being arrested for killing Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison). Sharon has been a regular character since, but Dean took a temporary break from the soap in early 2024, with Sharon departing on 9 January and returning on 1 April.

Sharon became a prominent character in the 1990s due to her becoming the landlady of the Queen Vic pub and her romantic pairings with brothers Grant and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). In a storyline dubbed Sharongate, Sharon married Grant, but began an affair with Phil, climaxing in 1994 with Grant's discovery of the affair, which remains one of EastEnders' highest viewed episodes. The storyline was reinvented in 2018 when Sharon, now married to Phil, began an affair with the much-younger Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).

In Dean's second EastEnders stint, beginning in 2001, Sharon's storylines included a feud with Phil and Grant's mother Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor); the return of her father Den, who had been long-thought dead, bonding with Den's wife Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) who would later murder him in retribution for sleeping with Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan); and a forbidden relationship with Den's son Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman), which culminated in his death after the spouses incited the wrath of local gangster Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) leading to Sharon's 2006 departure.

Since 2012, Sharon's storylines have featured an ill-fated engagement to Jack Branning (Scott Maslen); a painkiller addiction; a reunion and tempestuous marriage to Phil; being attacked in her own bar; meeting her biological father Gavin Sullivan (Paul Nicholas); and an affair with Keanu Taylor, popularly dubbed 'Sheanu', which sparked a late in life pregnancy, Sharon's split and divorce from Phil, and the birth of son Albie (believed to be Keanu's son) on the same night her other son, Dennis Jr., dies in a boat accident involving to Phil, his son Ben (Max Bowden), Keanu, and Sharon's friend, and Phil's former stepson, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).

In 2020, struggling to cope with Dennis' death, Sharon attempts suicide before becoming the landlady of The Queen Vic once again. As part of her revenge plan upon finding out Ian's role in her son's demise, Sharon marries Ian and attempts to murder him through poisoning. However, she realises she cannot murder her friend of over three decades, and she lets him go. After this, Sharon discovers that she has a half-brother, Zack Hudson (James Farrar). She has a fling with Kheerat Panesar (Jaz Deol), and finds out she has a granddaughter, Alyssa.

In December 2022, Keanu returns to Walford and he and Sharon reunite and get engaged. Sharon deals with Albie's kidnap, unaware that Keanu has orchestrated it, and she also learns that Albie is not Keanu's son after all, but Phil's. The storyline culminates with Keanu's death on Christmas Day 2023 after Sharon jilts him at the altar after learning of his role in Albie's kidnap, and reveals that Keanu is not Albie's father. Keanu almost kills Sharon before her best friend Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) stabs him to defend her during "The Six" storyline. In 2024, Sharon deals with the grief of losing Keanu which leads to her being in prison, bumping into her former stepmother Chrissie, after framing Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) with the help of The Six, and developing a relationship with Phil and Grant's relative, Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian).

Sharon was named the best EastEnders character of all time by the Daily Mirror in 2020.^[1] For her portrayal of Sharon, Dean won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement at the 2022 British Soap Awards.^[2]