Sharon Rickman

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EastEnders character
Sharon Rickman
Portrayed by	Letitia Dean
Created by	Tony Holland
Introduced by	Julia Smith (1985) John Yorke (2001) Kate Harwood (2005)
Duration	1985–1994, 1995, 2001–2004, 2005–2006
First appearance	19 February 1985
Last appearance	13 January 2006
Profile
Date of birth	22 October 1969
Status	Widowed
Home	Florida
Occupation	Businesswoman
Family Husbands Grant Mitchell (1991-1995) Dennis Rickman (2005-2006) Father Gary Mother Carol Hanley Adoptive father Den Watts Adoptive mother Angie Watts Brothers Chris Hanley Sons Dennis Rickman Jr.

Sharon Anne Rickman (née Stretton; previously Watts and Mitchell) was a fictional character in the popular BBC1 soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Letitia Dean, and was a regular cast member for the first 10 years after the programme began on 19 February 1985. She returned in May 2001, and appeared on and off, having most recently appeared in January 2006. Sharon is the adoptive daughter of the popular 'supercouple'; the late Den and Angie Watts. She was known to Den as his "princess" and he made sure suitors watched their step around the teenage Sharon. Even though she disapproved of her father's dodgy deals and his constant fighting with binge-drinker Angie, she loved them both nonetheless.

Contents 1 Character creation 1.1 Background 1.2 Casting 1.3 Personality 2 Character development 3 Storylines 3.1 Early life in Walford 3.2 Relationship with Wicksy 3.3 Marriage to Grant Mitchell 3.4 Sharongate and the aftermath 3.5 Sharon's return to Walford 3.6 Shannis; Den's return and demise 3.7 Marriage to Dennis; unveiling of Den's murderer 3.8 Dennis's death 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Character creation

[edit] Background

Sharon Watts was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. The character of Sharon was originally to be named Tracey^[1] and she and her parents were to be the occupants of the soap's local pub, now famously 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.^[1] Holland and Smith had always been critical of the way pubs had been portrayed on television feeling they lacked vitality and life, so they were determined that their pub and occupants were going to be more 'real'. The Watts were seen by Holland as integral to the show's success, partly because he had already guessed that the pub was going to be a monstrous battleground where emotions would run high on a regular basis, and also because the occupants would be providing the majority of the drama.^[1]

Sharon's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story. In this passage, Sharon will be referred to as Tracey and her parents as Jack and Pearl (known now as Den and Angie).

“

Tracey is at the centre of her parents' dramas. The children of publicans nearly always suffer in one way or another: the fact that your 'home' is always 'open house' to a variety of strangers often produces genuine feelings of anxiety and insecurity. Tracey, being adopted, will be even more sensitive to this lack of permanence. Jack and Pearl do use her as something of a tennis-ball in their games of playing things off against each other. Jack tries to buy her affection with gifts. Pearl sees her as something of a rival... Tracey's set on a course which is almost inevitable. Either, a collision, or, full-circle, to the same route as her parents took." (page 74).[1]

”

[edit] Casting

Although the character of Sharon was meant to be 14 years of age, because of licensing regulations, the cast actress was required to be a 16 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, only actress Letitia Dean had all of those qualities.^[1] Dean lied about her roots to get the part in the soap. As the casting directors were only looking for real East End actors, she falsely claimed that she was born and raised in Hackney, East London.^[2] The lie paid off and she got the part, clinching the deal because of her laugh, which Holland and Smith have described as "the dirtiest in the world!"^[1][3]

[edit] Personality

The character 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".^[4] Early on in her narrative, Sharon was shown to be a mixed-up individual, torn between her warring parents, but spoilt by both; the character's well-known nickname "princess" was used by her father Den, and she is often described by the British media as "Den's princess", an indication of her spoilt upbringing.^[5][6]

In 1991, author Hilary Kingsley compared the character to her mother Angie: "There's a lot of her mother in Sharon Watts. There is the warm sympathy and the barbed tongue for a kick-off. But Sharon is more sensible than Angie, less likely to fly off the beer handle in The Vic. All the same, she's a sensitive, vulnerable girl who is easily hurt. Even so, that doesn't stop her going after something that she really wants...Sharon came through to become a nice girl behind the streetwise image...with her blonde hair and bright make-up she adds a cheerful touch to drab Albert Square."^[7]

Sharon has also been described as a "buxom femme fatale",^[8] and one of "life's survivors", who has had "many moments of emotional turmoil".^[6]

[edit] Character development

An early controversial storyline involving Sharon revolved around her desire to take contraceptive pills in order to persuade Kelvin Carpenter to go out with her. This storyline caused tremendous interest in the UK. It was a fairly daring issue to tackle at that time in the 1980s, involving as it did a girl who was under sixteen, and it was aired at a time when the issue was extremely prominent in British society. People started to take sides with the issue: should Sharon go on the pill, or not? Sharon's story became a focus of debate used as a teaching method, both in school classrooms and the home. A large number of families admitted that as a result, taboo subjects like sex were being openly discussed in the home for the first time in years.^[1]

Sharon would later go on to feature in an important and complicated storyline about the ups and downs of a pop group entitled The Banned. A song entitled "Something Outa Nothing", which was performed on-screen in the plot, was released in the real world by actors Letitia Dean and Paul Medford. It was seen as an interesting and major undertaking in the serial, but one that Holland and Smith felt never entirely worked.^[1]

In the early years, Sharon's main storylines depicted the plight of a young woman, growing up in a broken home and struggling to find her true identity. It wasn't until both her on-screen parents had departed the show by early 1989 that the writers and producers decided to develop the character and move away from the 'spoilt princess' image that she was initially given.^[9] Being the only remaining member of the Watts family, Sharon was required to become more independent and determined, which was perhaps cemented on-screen by the discovery that her father, who she adored, had got her best-friend Michelle pregnant at the age of 16. Sharon was to find this out in a special two-hander episode written by Tony McHale, which aired in April 1989. The episode returned to a model established by the first Den and Angie solo episode, with revelations and major character changes to an important relationship. This episode gave Letitia Dean and Susan Tully (Michelle) the chance to demonstrate just how much they had grown as actresses during the four years they had been in the programme, and was held in high regard by the producers, directors and writers on the show.^[9]

The arrival of the Mitchell brothers in 1990 heralded a new era for EastEnders, but also for Sharon Watts. Phil and Grant Mitchell 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.^[9] Both the Mitchell brothers would prove to be extremely important for the character of Sharon in the following years, most notably marrying one brother and then having an affair with the other. Despite the fact that Sharon married Grant initially, former EastEnders writer Tony Jordan has revealed in The Mitchells - The Full Story that the love-triangle storyline between Grant, Sharon and Phil had been planned from their introduction after the writers came to the realisation that "Sharon was perfect for them both".^[10] This storyline was slow burning and was spread out for several years. Things finally came to a head in 1994 with some of EastEnders' most popular and renowned episodes, which have been dubbed "Sharongate". The episodes centred around Grant's discovery that his wife had been having an affair with his brother. It was watched by 18.4 million viewers^[11] and was voted the sixth top soap opera moment of the decade in a poll of 17,000 people for What's On TV magazine. The aftermath of the storyline eventually saw Sharon depart Walford after ten years in the show. Off-screen, Letitia Dean had decided to leave the show to take other acting roles.

The character was reintroduced to the show in 2001 by then producer John Yorke,^[12] almost six years after her initial departure.^[13] Her return was voted one of the top 100 TV moments of 2001 in a Channel 4 poll, and was chosen as the favourite soap comeback by almost one third of viewers.^[14] Since her return, the character has undergone several character changes and has been central to many key storylines, most notably the return of her infamous father Den Watts,^[15] and her relationship with her adoptive brother Dennis Rickman, a storyline that was nicknamed "Shannis".^[16] Sharon has had several departures and returns since this time and has become one of the longest-running characters in the show's history. She was last seen on-screen in January 2006.

[edit] Storylines

[edit] Early life in Walford

Sharon is known to scarper when the going gets tough. She grew up living in the Walford pub known as The Queen Victoria and has had a very rocky life in Albert Square. Born to Carol Ann Stretton and adopted as a three-year-old (in 1972), she was constantly in the middle of her adoptive parents' stormy marriage as a young girl. Sharon was initially a very mixed up teenager. She was set apart from the other kids in the area because Den and Angie sent her to private school rather than the local comprehensive. Spoilt rotten by both her parents, Den's little 'princess' was a bit of a troublesome madam. She toyed with the idea of going on the pill to tempt Kelvin Carpenter to date her, to which Angie dissapproved and after a close mother-daughter chat, Angie told Sharon that she should choose a boyfriend because he likes her, not just because he thinks she's 'safe'. However Sharon and her best friend Michelle Fowler continued to battle constantly for Kelvin's affections, but Sharon was soon distracted when she discovered that her mother had recently started having an affair with Kelvin's father Tony. When Sharon confronted her mother, Angie also callously informed Sharon that her beloved father had been having an affair of his own for the past five years. Sharon was disgusted to discover that both her parents were guilty of adultery. Sick of their constant rows and Angie's growing drink problem, Sharon stole a bottle of gin from the Vic's stock and drunk it all in her room. Her parents soon found her at the bottom of the stairs, completely drunk. After seeing what their behaviour was doing to Sharon, Den and Angie promised her they'd be good to each other for her sake. But these truces never lasted long. Sharon later flirted outrageously with the much older barman, Lofty Holloway, firstly caught out by Angie and then later in the year by Den who lost his temper and slapped her. In December 1985, an outbreak of petty thieving at the Vic almost cost Lofty his job before the real culprit was revealed to be Sharon.

In April 1986, Sharon began dating her lifelong friend Ian Beale, but she soon showed she preferred the more experienced man, so their relationship didn't last long. Sharon was also once again caught in the middle of her parents' troubles and was devastated to overhear Den saying that Angie had almost killed herself by taking an overdose. In May 1986, Sharon ran away from home for a few days to stay with Mary Smith across the Square, to get away from her parents. She was later discovered by Angie while at the hospital to visit Michelle who'd just given birth , unbeknownst to her at the time, to her half-sister Vicki. After winning the Miss Walford 1986 title, Sharon began to concentrate on a career in showbusiness and promptly left school that summer following her 'O' Level exams. However she used her parent's dissapproval of her leaving school as a tool to blackmail them on several occasions. She and several of her teenage friends formed a band with Sharon as the lead singer. They called themselves The Banned, but after several terrible gigs they realised they were awful and split up. Sharon then did a YTS stint in a supermarket before being employed as a travel agent. In December 1986 Sharon sided with Angie when Den issued her divorce papers as a present on Christmas Day and for a while she moved out of the Vic and lived with Angie. Despite Den's anger at Angie for turning Sharon against him, he never told her the reason for their split being that Angie lied to him about having cancer, not wanting to destroy Angie in Sharon's eyes. She resented her father for his womanising and links to the underworld, but he would always win her over and she would never stop loving him.

Sharon began a relationship with barman Simon Wicks in 1987. Den dissapproved of their relationship and attempted to threaten Simon several times but Simon stood up against Den and reminded him that he was 20 years younger and could beat him easily in a fight. Den reluctantly let the two of them be together, but freaked out on discovering that Simon had taken Sharon to a hotel for a private weekend. Sharon was about to sleep with Simon but couldn't go through with it and Simon ended up sleeping on the sofa. The two of them continued to date for a while but Simon soon grew tired of Sharon when she kept refusing to sleep with him and he ended up dumping her for the caterer Magda Czajkowski. Sharon wasn't too bothered by this as she was more preoccupied with trying to help her mother stay on the wagon and get back on her feet. She then also tried to get her parents back together, an attempt that was successful at first, but soon Den and Angie went back to arguing with each other and Sharon gave up on them.

In the middle of all the arguments, Sharon sought comfort from the curate at her local church, Duncan Boyd, in October 1987. Both Den and Angie were shocked to see that their daughter was dating a curate but they decided to let Sharon get on with her life. The two were even engaged, but Sharon soon grew tired of Duncan's inability to have fun and when he decided to move away from Walford the following year, she called off the engagement.

In 1988, Angie emigrated to the United States and Sharon remained in Albert Square with her father, who bought her a flat, which she shared with her best-friend Michelle Fowler. Later that year Den became involved with a gangster organisation called The Firm. When Kathy Beale was later raped by James Willmott-Brown, it was Den who found her and, seeking revenge, arranged for Willmott-Brown's bar The Dagmar to be fire-bombed my members of the Firm. In order to assure Den's silence over the arson attack they were involved with, they framed Den for the arson and he was sent to prison. At first Den refused to let Sharon visit him but she came on a couple of visits, even though she found it difficult to see her father in such a state. In early 1989, Sharon decided to visit Angie and Sonny in Spain, but after going there she'd found out that her mother had run off and left Sonny alone. Unable to let out her anger on her mother, Sharon did the next best thing and took out her resentment on Den on a prison visit and told him that she was 'washing her hands of him'. It was to be the last time she would see her father for fifteen years. When Den was taken to court, the Firm suspected him of 'grassing'; they set up 'a hit' and Den was later shot and presumed dead in February 1989. Sharon was devastated, and when things looked as though they couldn't get any worse, she found out that Vicki Fowler, the daughter of her best friend Michelle, was actually Den's child. For three years this secret had been kept from everyone by Den and Michelle.

Michelle and Sharon remained at loggerheads for a long while afterward, but when Vicki contracted meningitis later in the year, their shared worry brought them closer and they managed to patch up their friendship.

[edit] Relationship with Wicksy

Meanwhile, Sharon — once again feeling isolated and alone — turned to her old flame Simon Wicks, and they began a second relationship. Her behaviour became increasingly erratic during this time, and she became obsessed with spending all her father's money on lavish gifts, which infuriated Simon as he began to feel like a kept man. He was soon seeing his old girlfriend Cindy Williams behind Sharon's back. Simon ended the affair after one tryst, professing that he loved Sharon and wanted to settle down with her. However Cindy became pregnant with his child and when Simon refused to believe the baby was his she attempted to ruin his relationship with Sharon. Her attempts all failed, and Sharon remained blissfully unaware of Simon's philandering. By September 1989 Sharon and Simon had moved into the Vic together, which they managed for Simon's mother Pat. Cindy, meanwhile, married Ian Beale, allowing him to believe he was the father of her son Steven, who was born on 26 December 1989.

Soon after the baby's birth, Simon began to accept that he was the father after all. He developed an instant paternal instinct toward the child, and old feelings for Cindy also began to resurface. With Simon's strange and distant behaviour, Sharon thought that Simon was seeing another woman, and then concluded that he must have been brooding for a baby of his own — unaware that he had one already.

In the middle of all of this Sharon was startled to discover one of Den's signet rings on a market stall. With Den's body still missing, Sharon persuaded the police to drag the canal one more time in April 1990, after which a body was found and a deeply upset Sharon identified it as Den's. She then disappeared and left Michelle to organise the funeral, although she returned for the ceremony the following month. Feeling rejected by Simon and with both her parents gone, Sharon decided it was time to track down her real mother, Carol Hanley, in May that year. She did so, and they had several meetings. They got on well, but after Carol's confession that she only thought of her as a good friend, Sharon realised there would never be a parental bond between them and stopped seeing her.

Meanwhile, Sharon's relationship with Simon continued to sour after they applied for full-time tenancy at the Vic. Simon grew ever more restless and began lusting after Cindy again, while Sharon grew dissatisfied with Simon's distinct lack of commitment. Simon's gift of an expensive dress for Cindy's birthday finally made Sharon realise what was behind his coolness toward her — his feelings for Cindy. By the time the couple's application for tenancy had been rejected in June, their relationship had dissolved.

[edit] Marriage to Grant Mitchell

Later in 1990, Sharon began dating new Walford arrival Grant Mitchell. Their relationship was rocky almost from day one. Grant was extremely possessive of Sharon, once even beating her boss Eddie Royle for making a pass at her and hospitalising him in the process. Sharon became apprehensive about continuing the relationship, but following a heart to heart she discovered that Grant's psychopathic tendencies were a result of his traumatic experiences in the Falklands War. There he had killed an unarmed 16-year-old boy and had never been able to get over the guilt. After this the two became much closer and they decided to get married.

Meanwhile, Eddie would not condone Sharon's relationship with Grant and fired her when he discovered that they were considering marriage. Furious, Sharon decided to fight for the Vic herself and ended up taking Eddie to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal. She won her case, but Eddie still refused to reinstate her. Sharon then told Grant she would only marry him if he got her tenancy at the Vic, and after Eddie's murder in September 1991, he did just that. The following month, Sharon was instated as the Vic's new licensee. On Boxing day that same year Grant sprung a surprise wedding on Sharon. Sharon was initially unimpressed with his romantic gesture, but Michelle eventually persuaded her to go through with the wedding and the two became man and wife.

Sharon and Grant's marriage was a bumpy roller-coaster ride, and awful rows would often end in violence. Grant wanted to start a family, while Sharon preferred to concentrate on making the Vic a success. When Grant discovered that Sharon was continuing to take the pill behind his back he smashed up the pub and disappeared for a few weeks, leaving Sharon to be comforted by his brother Phil. Sharon began to wonder whether she'd married the wrong brother and in September 1992 the inevitable release of pent-up desire led to her sleeping with Phil, who was prepared to risk everything and be with her. But when Grant came out of prison, Sharon chose to stick by him.

However, things reached an all time low between the couple when Grant decided to torch the Vic in an insurance scam, and nearly killed Sharon and her dog Roly, who were trapped inside. Sharon could not forgive him and decided their marriage was over. Phil persuaded Grant to go away in December to let Sharon cool off and once again they rekindled their affair. In 1993 Sharon and Grant began a power struggle for management of the Vic, which resulted in Grant hitting Sharon in March that year. Michelle, protective of her friend, called the police, but when they arrived Grant lost his temper and began attacking them. Grant was sent to prison on remand and while he was away Sharon and Phil lived as man and wife at the Vic, experiencing what might have been if she'd chosen him in the first place. Neither wanted to tell Grant the truth however, and upon his release he promised to make amends for his past behaviour. Sharon, realising she and Phil would never be an item, decided to take Grant back and Phil was left feeling dejected as they began to patch up their marriage. Sharon and Grant ended the year happily reunited.

The drama in the Vic continued during 1994, when Grant's army pal, Dougie Briggs, showed up and tried to persuade him to take part in an armed robbery. Sharon disliked Dougie immensely, particularly as he spent much of his time leering at her. After a while, Grant became suspicious of Dougie. He did some investigating and discovered that Dougie was a psychotic, convicted rapist and murderer and he had left him alone with his wife! Panicking, Grant fled to the Vic at the same time that Dougie tried to sexually assault Sharon. Grant managed to stop him in time, but the resulting fight left him unconscious and Dougie then held him, Sharon and Michelle hostage in the Vic at gunpoint. Michelle got in the way of a stray bullet when she tried to escape and collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood. Dougie fled while Michelle was hospitalised and in order to keep Grant out of trouble Michelle was forced to keep the circumstances of her shooting from the police. Michelle had never been fond of Grant and berated Sharon for standing by him. Things immediately worsened when she discovered that Sharon had been keeping Vicki at the Vic while she was in hospital, knowing full well that Dougie could return at any minute. Dougie was eventually apprehended, but Sharon put her foot in it again when she accidentally informed Vicki that they were sisters. When Michelle found out it caused a rift between the two women that was to last for some time.

[edit] Sharongate and the aftermath

In September 1994, Phil decided to move on and got engaged to Kathy Beale. Sharon began to realise that her feelings for him hadn't gone away. She moped around in an emotional state for days, much to the bemusement of Grant. Unable to convey her feelings to anyone else Sharon turned to Michelle, and they finally made peace. Michelle told Sharon that she had blown her chance with Phil and chosen to stick by Grant, so she had to forget him and move on.

Sharon tried, but couldn't quite manage to keep up the pretence. When Phil innocently told her that he was going to be alone one night, she wrongly took it as a cue that he wanted to talk. She showed up on his doorstep and proceeded to convey how happy she was for him and Kathy. Phil was sceptical about her motives, thinking that her eagerness to see him happy was merely to ease her own conscience about dumping him, which she denied and instead told him she wanted his happiness because she loved him. Phil was shocked and angry upon hearing this. Embarrassed, Sharon went to leave, but in a moment of passion, Phil grabbed her arm and kissed her before remembering himself and asking her to leave. Many awkward moments followed over the next few weeks as Sharon and Phil tried to avoid being around each other. Sharon then put her dalliance with Phil behind her, convinced herself she was happy with Grant once again, and even talked about having children with him.

Meanwhile, Michelle's boyfriend, Geoff Barnes, wanted to interview Sharon for a book he was writing on East End women, and after the recorded interview (conducted by Michelle), the girls inadvertently left the tape recording and began to discuss Sharon's affair with Phil. Grant came across the tape and finally listened to it on the night of Phil and Kathy's engagement party in October 1994 (see Sharongate for more details). A devastated Grant played the tape to a packed Queen Vic and beat Phil so badly he was hospitalised with a blood clot to the brain. He then proceeded to humiliate and bully Sharon which led to her giving Grant the divorce he wanted, on Christmas day that year. After signing the papers she fled Walford to stay with her mother in America.

Sharon returned in March 1995 to hostility from Grant, Phil and their mother Peggy. Sharon was not perturbed and her gutsy behaviour eventually earned her the respect of Grant, who began to realise that he was still in love with her. Sharon wanted revenge for her mistreatment, so she led Grant on while confessing to Michelle that it was really her plan to publicly humiliate him. They slept together and Sharon led Grant to believe that a public proposal of remarriage would seal their reunion. Grant decided to pop the question on the Vic's quiz night, and Sharon was ready to turn him down in front of a packed pub, but in the end, she couldn't go through with it and stopped him from proposing before he humiliated himself. She then confessed that she still loved him, before departing Walford in the back of a black cab, headed for America, leaving Grant sobbing on the pavement.

[edit] Sharon's return to Walford

In the spring of 2001, Peggy called in an Estate Agent to sell the Queen Vic to an anonymous buyer, who turned out to be Sharon — having bought the pub with local businessman Steve Owen. Peggy loathed Sharon for her treatment of Grant, and she soon regretted selling the pub. Sharon's married boyfriend Ross Fletcher joined her for a while, with the promise that he had left his wife for good. However, she soon discovered that this was a pack of lies, and she eventually kicked Ross out. Soon after, Phil and Sharon rekindled their passion and became legitimate lovers (now that Grant had fled to Brazil). Their relationship was once again fraught with drama. Peggy, disgusted that her son was with Sharon, did everything she could to split them up and Phil was often in the middle of their constant arguing. The relationship went swiftly downhill when Sharon revealed she couldn't have children; this was because she had aborted Grant's baby just after leaving for America in 1995. This alone was hard enough for Phil to take, but when he found out that the baby Sharon was carrying at the time was Grant's, he went into a fury. Although they managed to get past this hurdle, Sharon couldn't accept that Phil would ever be truly happy unless she provided him with a child. When she discovered that Lisa's baby was Phil's daughter and not that of Mark Fowler, she informed him and decided that she couldn't stand playing second best to his newfound child, so she left him.

Sharon took some time out in America, and, upon her homecoming in 2002, she buried her mother, who had died of liver poisoning, the result of years of alcoholism. Sharon took her mother's death hard, and turned to alcohol for comfort. Phil made it clear that he still wanted to be with her, but despite sharing a few heated kisses, Sharon resisted further advances, and Phil instead supported Sharon during her period of grief, pointing out that alcohol was not the answer - as he himself had endured a battle with alcoholism some years earlier. Fireman Tom Banks, an old school friend of Sharon's, turned up in Walford for Angie's funeral, and he eventually began a relationship with Sharon, which managed to survive their stormy rows, the arrival of Tom's psychotic wife, Sadie, and her attempts to split them up. Sadie started spreading rumours that Tom was neglecting to pay maintenance for her daughter and had left them penniless, which turned the whole Square against him. When this failed to split them up, Sadie broke into Sharon's flat, dressed up in her clothes, beat Sharon and then held her hostage before threatening to throw herself from the flat window unless Tom came back to her. Tom and Sharon managed to talk her out of committing suicide and Sadie was hospitalised.

Sharon sold her share of the Vic to the Mitchells in September 2002 — vowing to lay the ghosts of her past to rest — and she and Tom purchased the e20 club from Beppe di Marco, renaming it Angie's Den, after Sharon's parents. However, soon after, Tom was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour and when Sharon proposed marriage, he turned her down. Unable to tell Sharon the truth about his condition, he made her think that he was only interested in a casual relationship, which devastated her. However, Tom's doctor, Anthony Trueman, eventually divulged a clue about Tom's condition, and Sharon immediately went to Tom and pledged to stand by him. They planned to marry and go travelling, making the most of the time they had left together. This was not to be, as on the night of their engagement party, Tom ran into a house-fire to save Little Mo Morgan. After bringing her to safety, he ran back in to get Little Mo's husband, Trevor, but the fire spread to a petrol can and caused a huge explosion in which Tom and Trevor both died. Sharon went through another tough period of grief. After Tom's funeral, she decided to go to Ireland with Tom's mother Bridget, to learn more about him.

After her return to Walford in early 2003, Sharon and her half sister, Vicki (who had also recently returned from the United States) discovered that Den had another son, Dennis Rickman, whom he had never known. They found out that he was due to be released from prison after serving three years for GBH. They met him at his mother's funeral, and he eventually moved to Walford to live with them. He wasted no time in making enemies on the Square and bedding as many women as he could, but his tough, hard nut character softened over time. Sharon could see that Dennis shared many traits with her father, and was drawn to him because of this. It transpired that Dennis had endured a troubled childhood, and he had got involved with crime as a result — taken in by the local gangster, Jack Dalton. Dennis found out that Jack had ordered the death of his father in 1989, and Jack's confession that Den didn't actually die did not stop a raging Dennis from shooting him dead. Dennis did some detective work and discovered that Den was indeed alive and well and living in Spain. He tried to convey this to Sharon, but she refused to entertain the notion. Vicki, however, was not so sceptical and unbeknownst to Sharon she went off in search of her father.

[edit] Shannis; Den's return and demise

Meanwhile Dennis was beginning to develop feelings for Sharon (they were siblings by adoption, not blood). Despite keeping up the pretence that she only saw Dennis as a brother, Sharon also began to harbour feelings for Dennis in return. This pent-up attraction hit its peak in September 2003 and they ended up sleeping together. Immediately after Sharon began to feel regretful over the fact she had slept with her father's son and seemed hesitant to continue the affair. Dennis admitted that he loved her and told her that he planned to come clean to the rest of Walford about their relationship. Sharon was mortified at this prospect, but the affair was halted the same night due to Den's shocking return from the 'dead' with the words "'Ello Princess!"

Den had actually survived the shooting 14 years earlier, and fled to Spain immediately for his and Sharon's safety, only to be tracked down by Vicki. Sharon was plagued with mixed emotions upon her father's return. She had spent most of her adult life feeling guilty about disowning him days before his supposed demise, and had severely suffered as a result. She was thrilled to see him again, but also furious when she reflected upon the unnecessary hurt that she'd gone through while trying to acclimatise herself to his death. For a short while it seemed as if Sharon was unwilling to allow Den back into her life, but she soon changed her mind when Dennis told her he'd seen members of the Firm following Den. Luckily, Den was let off and by chance managed to bump into Sharon where she pleaded for him to stay and Den returned to Walford to take control of his family once again.

Although Sharon was initially unwilling to continue her love affair with Dennis while Den was around, she found that she could not hide her feelings indefinitely. She secretly became involved with Dennis again, and when they outed themselves as a couple, it was Den who brought their relationship to a stop again. He taunted Dennis over his childhood abuse, causing Dennis to fly into a rage and accidentally punch Sharon. Sharon quickly forgave him and Den apologized to Dennis after finding out from Vicki that Dennis really was abused, but made it clear to Dennis that if he carried on with the relationship with Sharon, he would lose the one thing he had craved since birth — a family. In an emotional state, Dennis chose to finish with Sharon in favour of his family. He and Sharon acted as brother and sister again, and the whole affair was 'swept under the carpet'.

A lady called Chrissie turned up in April 2004, and revealed that she was Den's wife. They had met and married in Spain and Den had secretly sold their bar and ran off with their money. Den persuaded her to give their marriage another try and to stay in Walford. She was totally unaware of the fact that Den had children, but she built a firm relationship with them all, including Sharon, who was just over a year younger than her stepmother.

Dennis started a relationship with the besotted Zoe Slater, but towards the end of 2004, Dennis and Sharon were having an affair again and they admitted on Christmas Day that they were in love and nothing would stop them being together. They planned to leave Walford for a new life together in America, but Zoe then announced that she was pregnant. Sharon couldn't allow Dennis to abandon Zoe now that she was supposedly carrying his child. She ended the relationship and decided to leave Walford alone.

Den, determined to make her stay, confessed to Sharon that he didn't love Vicki nearly as much as he loved her. Vicki overheard this, and Den lost both his daughters in one night as they both fled to America. This occurred just days after Den bought back his old home and pub, The Queen Vic. He had orchestrated a plan to coerce the Mitchells' lawyer, Marcus Christie, to fool Sam Hunter into believing that her brother, Phil, who was on the run, wanted her to sell the Mitchells' businesses to raise cash for him. One of the Mitchells' assets, The Queen Vic, was sold to Den, and when Marcus had the money, he fled.

In February 2005, Sharon received a phone call from Chrissie, who told her that Den was very ill. She flew back to Walford without hesitation, and on the evening of 18 February arrived in the Queen Vic to overhear a confrontation between Den, Chrissie, Zoe and Sam. She heard that Den had forced Zoe to fake a pregnancy as part of his plan to keep Sharon and Dennis apart, and that Den pressured her to sleep with him in order to become pregnant (and pass off the baby as Dennis's). Dennis had caught them in bed together and informed Chrissie (who then kept the information to herself) after Zoe admitted that she was never pregnant. Dennis had already left Walford in search of Sharon. Zoe had then discovered that she was pregnant with Den's baby and had aborted the child on Chrissie's advice. Chrissie told Zoe that she knew everything and advised her to have a termination out of spite. She also heard that Den had conned Sam out of the Queen Vic and left her with nothing, in revenge for burning down Angie's Den which almost killed Vicki.

Sharon overheard her father openly and proudly admitting all his sins, and how he split up Dennis and Sharon. Sharon then appeared from the darkness in the other side of the pub, having heard everything.

Sharon berated Chrissie for lying to her that Den was ill, and then fled the Vic for a taxi to the airport. Den followed her and begged her to stay, but she wasn't interested. He had split her from Dennis and used her infertility against her. She then told Den that she was an orphan and her father had died a long time ago, and began her taxi journey to the airport back to America.

[edit] Marriage to Dennis; unveiling of Den's murderer

By June that year, Dennis and Sharon were in Walford as a couple, searching for Den. Chrissie's explanation for Den's absence was that he had run away with a younger woman. Sharon and Dennis had only returned briefly to confront Den, but once back they decided to get married and stay around for a while, helping Chrissie run the Vic and managing the bookies, which had been left to Dennis after Andy Hunter's death earlier that year.

They were married on 29 August 2005, but when they arrived back in the Square for their wedding reception, they saw Sam Mitchell being led away by police officers and detectives carrying a coffin out of the Queen Vic. Sharon guessed straight away that the dead body in the box was that of her father, and she fainted. The body was quickly identified as Den's and Sam was charged with murder. The doorstop and Den's blood stains had been discovered in Sam's flat, and everyone was convinced that she was guilty.

Phil and Grant Mitchell returned to Walford shortly after Peggy in a bid to expose Chrissie and release Sam and, after persuading Sharon to see Sam in prison, they also convinced her of Chrissie's guilt. It was the first time that Sharon had met Grant in a decade, and after initial hostility, they put their differences behind them and became friends (much to Dennis's jealousy).

Sam was eventually released from custody, but was still facing the threat of up to four years in prison for perverting the course of justice, and fled to Brazil. The police net was now closing in on Chrissie, and Sharon was convinced of Chrissie's guilt when her tongue slipped during a conversation.

Chrissie and her lover, Jake Moon, planned to quickly sell the pub and flee, but as the couple argued in Johnny Allen's club (giving explicit details of Den's death and Chrissie confessing the truth herself), it was all caught on CCTV. The Mitchells eventually managed to get hold of the tape and handed it over to the police. Knowing that she would soon end up in prison, Chrissie sold the pub to Ian Beale for a vastly reduced price and quickly fled Walford with Jake. However, the police (along with the Rickmans) caught up with Jake and Chrissie at the airport as they were about to flee, and Sharon punched Chrissie before she was arrested. Sam had been set free, and it was admitted by the now imprisoned killer that she forged Den's signature on the title of deeds for the Queen Vic, thus Sharon was the true owner of the pub as Den's next of kin (null and voiding Ian's purchase). Sharon offered the Mitchells first refusal on The Vic and they duly bought it back.

The whole story eventually came out - Den had walked back into the Vic after Sharon deserted him, and was particularly livid with Chrissie for destroying him in the eyes of his daughter. He had finally snapped when Chrissie taunted him about the fact that he now knew what it was like to lose the one thing in the world he loved most, and attacked her by smashing her head repeatedly against a fruit machine. Zoe had struck Den over the head with Pauline Fowler's doorstop in a bid to stop him from killing Chrissie, who then told the other two women to turn off the lights and lock up. While Chrissie was alone downstairs, Den seemed to have cheated death yet again when he grabbed her ankle and snarled to his wife that she would never get him out of the Vic. She then grabbed the doorstop and struck the fatal blow to Den's head before burying his body.

Meanwhile, Sharon and Dennis decided to try and put the past year behind them. They moved into a flat on the Square and began to enjoy married life together. On Christmas Day 2005, Sharon was admitted to hospital with suspected food poisoning. But much to her amazement, she found she was actually pregnant with Dennis's child - 10 years after an abortion had supposedly left her infertile. She and Dennis were full of joy that they were going to have a baby.

[edit] Dennis's death

Dennis and Sharon's happiness was tragically cut short on New Year's Eve 2005 when Dennis became dangerously involved in Phil Mitchell's vendetta against Johnny Allen.

It all started on Boxing Day when Dennis and Sharon decided to have a housewarming party, and invited everyone from the Square including Juley Smith, and Johnny and Ruby Allen.

At the party, Johnny had an argument with Juley about his relationship with his daughter Ruby and made a racist comment about him. Dennis intervened after laughing at Johnny when the supposed hardman was pushed to the ground by 17-year-old Stacey Slater. He then threw Johnny out after humiliating him. He became angry that Dennis was interfering in his affairs and the matter became worse when Sharon came to see him and defended Dennis.

Johnny then threatened Sharon by grabbing her by the neck and telling her Dennis will end up dead if he doesn't stay away from him. He told her she and Dennis must leave Walford before midnight on New Year's Eve or he would take action. She confided in Phil Mitchell that Johnny was forcing them to leave the Square, but she did not intend to tell her husband about the incident. Phil tried to convince his ex-lover that Johnny must be sorted out once and for all. However, Sharon said she didn't want things to get worse. She made Phil promise her that he wouldn't tell Dennis, knowing that he would go mad if he knew. She managed to convince Dennis that she wanted to leave the Square for a fresh start, and he agreed.

Ignoring the promise he made to Sharon, Phil told Dennis what Johnny had done, just as they were preparing to leave on New Year's Eve. Predictably, and just as Phil wanted, Dennis went to Johnny's club office and brutally beat him up, leaving him bloody and battered. Over at the Queen Vic, Sharon was having a send-off by everyone and was waiting for Dennis to get a taxi.

Dennis was seen throwing Johnny's mobile towards him, saying if he can reach it he'd live, but didn't think he'd recover. Johnny managed to reach it and called a henchman to kill Dennis. As Dennis walked across the Square to meet Sharon, he was stabbed by a hooded man (later revealed to be Danny Moon), and died in Sharon's arms just seconds into the new year.

Devastated, Sharon spent the early part of 2006 in mute silence, refusing to speak to anyone, eat or sleep. Phil ended up being the person that she broke her silence for and she made him promise to get revenge on Johnny for Dennis's death. On the day of Dennis's funeral Sharon broke down by the side of his grave, refusing to leave and clawed her face in distress. Despite her disfigured face, she insisted on attending Dennis's wake only to come face to face with Johnny. When Johnny offered her his condolences, Sharon flew at him in a rage, but was restrained by Phil, who was worried for the well-being of her unborn child. Phil decided that Sharon had to leave Walford so she and her baby would be safe from Johnny. He booked them tickets to America and they left on 13 January 2006. Phil shook hands with Johnny before they left, but reassured Sharon that Johnny was a dead man.

When Phil returned in March 2006 along with Grant, they set off to Essex to find Johnny and confront him about Dennis's death. It was then revealed that Johnny had hired Danny Moon to kill Dennis and he was the hooded passer-by who delivered the fatal stabbing to Dennis on New Year's Eve. Danny proved this by showing his brother Jake a mobile phone recording of Sharon crying by Dennis's side as he lay dead. After Phil and Grant found themselves tied up in the woods, Danny was ordered by Johnny to kill them, but his brother Jake saved the Mitchells by shooting Danny, meaning only to wound him. Danny was killed instantly and Jake secretly buried him in the woods. Johnny then handed himself over to the police and confessed to being involved in the murder of Dennis as well as his friend Andy Hunter.

On 4 July 2006, Pauline Fowler received the news that Sharon had given birth to her and Dennis' son, and named him after his father, Dennis Rickman Jr. This is the most recent news to reach the Square from Sharon, and she did not attend Pauline's funeral six months later. Dennis Rickman Jr has not made an appearance so far in the series.

Preceded by Eddie Royle	Landlady of The Queen Vic 1991-1995	Succeeded by Peggy Mitchell
Preceded by Peggy Mitchell	Landlady of The Queen Vic 2000 - 2002
Preceded by Chrissie Watts	Landlady of The Queen Vic 2005

[edit] In popular culture

The character of Sharon Rickman has been spoofed in the ITV cartoon sketch show 2DTV. In one sketch she was likened to the Jim Henson Muppet Miss Piggy, but she is more regularly depicted as someone who is always crying, and says "Oink!" (in a further Miss Piggy reference).

The character has also been spoofed by the Scottish impressionist Ronni Ancona in BBC's Big Impression. Ancona's impression mocked Letita Dean's pronunciation skills, inferring that she pouts a lot and that she looks badly dubbed, as her lips quiver after delivering a line. The episodes featuring Sharon aired on the Christmas day special of the programme, in 2001.

The British celebrity-based magazine heat regularly mocked the character of Sharon in their television reviews of upcoming EastEnders episodes, often referring to her as "Sharon and her incredible acting eyebrows".

In The League of Gentlemen TV series, Judee Levinson bears a resemblance to Sharon, which is commented on in The League of Gentlemen DVD commentaries.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Sharongate
• Shannis

[edit] External links

• Sharon Rickman at bbc.co.uk
• Letitia Dean, BBC actor profile

v • d • e The Watts family in EastEnders Den Watts | Sharon Rickman | Vicki Fowler | Dennis Rickman Spouses: Angie Watts | Chrissie Watts | Grant Mitchell Pets: Roly

v • d • e The Mitchell family in EastEnders Phil Mitchell | Ben Mitchell | Louise Mitchell | Grant Mitchell | Courtney Mitchell | Sam Mitchell | Clive Mitchell | Archie Mitchell | Ronnie Mitchell | Roxy Mitchell | Billy Mitchell | Janet Mitchell | William Mitchell | Jamie Mitchell Spouses: Peggy Mitchell | Nadia Mitchell | Kathy Mitchell | Kate Mitchell | Sharon Rickman | Tiffany Mitchell | Carla Mitchell | Ricky Butcher | Andy Hunter | Little Mo Mitchell | Honey Mitchell

v • d • e EastEnders original characters Ian Beale | Kathy Beale | Lou Beale | Pete Beale | Kelvin Carpenter | Tony Carpenter | Nick Cotton | Arthur Fowler | Mark Fowler | Michelle Fowler | Pauline Fowler | Lofty Holloway | Naima Jeffery | Saeed Jeffery | Harold Legg | Andy O'Brien | Ali Osman | Hassan Osman | Sue Osman | Ethel Skinner | Annie Smith | Mary Smith | Angie Watts | Den Watts | Sharon Watts | Debbie Wilkins