| Letitia Dean | |
|---|---|
Dean in 2009 at Wendy Richard's funeral service |
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| Born | Letitia Jane Dean[1] 14 November 1967 Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | Jason Pethers (m. 2002–2007) |
| Website | |
| http://www.letitiadean.co.uk | |
Letitia Dean (born 14 November 1967 in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Sharon Watts (later Rickman) in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, who was one of the serial's original characters. Dean was part of the original cast in 1985 and remained in the series until 1995. She reprised the role in 2001 and appeared on and off, having most recently appeared in January 2006. Dean has said in various interviews since she left that she would never say never to another comeback, and more recently said she would like to return as Sharon, but that she had not been asked by the producers yet.
Away from EastEnders Dean has appeared in various television programmes and on stage. In 2007 she participated in the fifth series of the popular BBC dance competition, Strictly Come Dancing. Dean married media executive Jason Pethers in 2002, but in 2007 it was announced that they had split.
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Dean was born in Hertfordshire to parents Leslie (a tailor) and Ellie Dean, in a cottage rented on the grand estate of British romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, known as Camfield Place.[2] The youngest of three children, Dean has two older brothers, Stephen and Martin.[3]
Dean's family moved to a Buckinghamshire village when she was three years old.[3] She acquired a penchant for performing at an early age; both she and her older brother Stephen attended a local dance school, and they also performed a dance act together on stage.[4] This later prompted Dean's successful application to attend the Italia Conti Academy Theatre Arts at ten years old, and later the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London, which has famously produced some of Britain's most familiar television and musical stars. Dean stayed at the school as a full-time student for several years learning her trades of acting, singing and dancing.[5]
Dean has been performing professionally since the age of 12, when she was cast as "Pepper" in the hit stage musical, Annie, at London's Victoria Palace Theatre.[3] A trained singer, she played the lead female, Sandy, in the stage musical Grease, and she also sang with a rock group called "The Young Uns", which toured the country supporting stage acts such as Bobby Davro and Tom O'Connor.[4][6]
Between the ages of 13 and 17, Dean appeared in numerous television programmes, including: Love Story;[7] Tales Out Of School;.[7] the Matthew Kelly sitcom Relative Strangers;[8] Grange Hill, playing a student named Lucinda Oliver;[9] and the role of Dawn in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.[10] In 1984, Dean auditioned to play one of the original characters in BBC1's brand new soap opera, EastEnders—she was selected for an interview on the strength of a photograph alone.[11] The creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith, were looking for a "bouncy, attractive, oddly vulnerable young woman" to play the part of Sharon Watts, and out of the various applicants they had seen, only Dean had all of those qualities.[11] 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.[12] 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!"[11][13]
Dean played Sharon Watts, the troubled and spoilt adoptive daughter of landlords 'Dirty' Den (Leslie Grantham) and Angie Watts (Anita Dobson), from the show's inception in 1985 until 1995. Initial storylines centred around the difficulties Sharon faced growing up with an adulterous, over-protective father and an alcoholic, irrational mother. Struggling to grow up in this environment, Sharon was constantly torn between the two. Bombshells such as best friend Michelle's (Susan Tully) confession that she was pregnant with Den's child, as well as her father's alleged murder, helped to make Sharon one of the most popular and long-running characters in the show's history.[14]
During her time on the show Dean even managed minor musical chart success with fellow EastEnders star Paul Medford (who played Kelvin Carpenter). A song penned for the pair as part of a plotline in the show known as The Banned, prompted them to release a single entitled "Something Outa Nothing", which made number 12 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1986.[15]
In the latter years of her initial stint on EastEnders, Dean featured in some of the soap's most renowned storylines, including the infamous love triangle with her then on-screen husband Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and his brother Phil (Steve McFadden). The plot, nicknamed 'Sharongate', gave the soap one of its highest episode ratings and was watched by over 25.3 million viewers.[16] Despite her popularity on the show, a desire to pursue other acting roles and escape press attention prompted Dean to leave the soap in 1995.
Six years after her initial exit, Dean was lured back to EastEnders by producer John Yorke,[17] where she reprised the role of Sharon Watts (landlady of the Queen Vic), from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2005 to 2006. Dean's character was once again the focus of many controversial and popular storylines, including: the 'resurrection' of her infamous father Den Watts, believed to be dead, only to reappear very much alive 14 years later; the unveiling of her father's killer, Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) — who caused his second demise in 2005; the reappearance of ex-husband Grant Mitchell; and her 'forbidden love' with her adoptive brother Dennis Rickman, played by Nigel Harman—A popular storyline that was nicknamed "Shannis" (a portmanteau of Sha-ron and De-nnis) by EastEnders fans and other media. Sharon has been described as one of the soap's most unlucky characters, suffering an unfortunately high number of romance-related and family-related tragedies.
Dean has had several exits or 'extended breaks' from the show in recent years, and each time there has been much press speculation over whether she has quit permanently or whether she is just taking a scheduled break. In December 2004 the Sunday Mirror reported that at one time executive producer Kathleen Hutchison offered to double Dean's salary from £150,000 a year to £300,000 a year, in order to persuade her to remain in the show. If true, this would have made Dean one of the highest paid actresses in British soap.[18]
Dean left the series once again in January 2006. Her exit was announced in August 2005 and an official EastEnders press report stated that she was merely taking a scheduled break and was due back on set later in 2006;[19] however, this did not happen, and in June 2006 the BBC denied press speculation that there were any immediate plans for her to return to the series.[20] Whether Dean will reprise the role in the near future is unknown; however, in an interview with Graham Norton in October 2007, Dean remarked that she would "never say never" to making another comeback and there are regular media reports which suggest that she is due to return at some stage.[21]
In February 2009, in an interview with Alan Titchmarsh, Dean said she missed EastEnders and that she would "definitely not rule out returning" but the BBC had not yet asked her to return. Again, in December 2009, in an interview with Loose Women, Dean was asked would she like to be involved in the 25th Anniversary of EastEnders and said she would like to, but the BBC had not yet asked her.
Letitia has given interviews for EastEnders Revealed: The Greatest Cliffhangers which counts down through the top 100 characters who have ended the show with the legendary drum roll that all fans instantly recognise as the closing soundtrack to EastEnders. The programme was split into three parts, starting on 26 January 2010, as part of the 25th Anniversary.
Away from EastEnders Dean has had various theatre and television roles. She starred in two series of the BBC drama The Hello Girls, set in a Derby telephone exchange in the 1960s; medical dramas Casualty and Doctors; the ITV police drama The Bill; romantic comedy Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married, and the Channel 4 sitcom Drop The Dead Donkey as a weathergirl. She also starred in the 1995 film England, My England, which told the story of the musician and court composer Henry Purcell.
On stage she starred as Nurse Fay in the Joe Orton comedy play, Loot, working alongside actor Michael Elphick. She also played a prostitute in the revival of Chris Dyer's 1960s play Rattle of a Simple Man at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.
In 2007, Letitia Dean participated in the fifth series of the BBC celebrity dance contest, Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with the professional dancer, Darren Bennett.[22] Dean and Bennett were voted out in the quarter-finals (week 10), one week before the semi-final. Commenting on her experience, Dean said "It's been incredible. I've got to thank [Darren Bennett] for all his patience, hard work, all the injuries. It's been wonderful."[23] Dean was one of several celebrities who took part in the 2008 Strictly Come Dancing UK arena tour. She competed against former EastEnders stars, Louisa Lytton (Ruby Allen, 2005–2006), and Matt Di Angelo (Deano Wicks, 2006–2008). The tour began in January 2008 and visited various venues throughout the UK, with all the proceeds going to the Children in Need appeal.[24]
In April 2008, it was announced that Letitia Dean will be starring in the stage show High School Musical as Ms Darbus. Dean commented, "It's a lovely opportunity for me [...] It's something completely different to anything I've ever done - doing an American accent and playing this kind of character." The production played at London's Hammersmith Apollo from June 2008 until 31 August 2008.[25]
In January 2009, Dean released a fitness DVD entitled Letitia Dean's Lean Routine after she dropped from size 14 to size 10 on an intensive dieting and dancing regime.[26] Dean joined the cast of the stage production of Calendar girls in 2009, playing Cora (Miss July); the production requires its cast to appear on stage naked.[27]
As well as television and theatre work, Dean regularly appears in seasonal pantomimes—she and other EastEnders stars such as Steve McFadden are rumoured to have a special clause in their contracts that permits them time off from filming to star in a pantomime each year.[18] In 2001 she starred as Snow White at The Orchard in Dartford; and in 2004 she starred in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Birmingham Hippodrome, alongside British comedians Joe Pasquale and Don Maclean. In 2006, Dean appeared as the wicked witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at The Deco, Northampton, taking over the role from her former EastEnders co-star, Gillian Taylforth, who pulled out due to ill health.[28] December 2007 saw Letitia Dean appear as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, at The Regent Theatre Ipswich. December 2008 saw Letitia Dean appear as the Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, At the Grove Theatre, in Dunstable and she played the role again at the Ashford Theatre in Croydon in 2009.[29]
In 2004 Dean was nominated for the Best Actress Award at the British Soap Awards, but lost out to Suranne Jones from Coronation Street. Fellow EastEnders actresses Jessie Wallace and Kacey Ainsworth were also nominated. She was also nominated in the category of Best Dramatic Performance for "Den's Return" but lost out to Mark Charnock of Emmerdale.[30] At the 2005 Inside Soap awards, Dean was presented with the coveted award for outstanding achievement as homage to her work in EastEnders, which she has been in (on and off) for over 20 years, since the age of 17. She was also nominated in the category of Best Couple (shared with Nigel Harman).[31]
Growing up in the public eye was hard for Dean, and the constant media attention on her appearance (particularly her fluctuating weight) was especially tough, given her young and susceptible age.[32] Dean has since stated that her self-confidence was damaged during this time, and this, as well as back pain, contributed to her decision to get a breast reduction in her teens.[32] Dean has since stated that she is a lot more comfortable in her own skin, and far more relaxed about public interest than she used to be as a teenager, commenting: "I have stopped pleasing people - and I'm calmer and more self assured than I've ever been."[32]
Dean is known to have dated the Irish comedian Ed Byrne;[33] Niel McLintock, the son of Arsenal hero Frank McLintock; Martin Ball, the one time star of the Nescafé adverts to whom she was also engaged; former Crossroads actor Colin Wells and former Bad Girls and Coronation Street actor Jack Ellis (both before they were married) and the musician Chris Taggart, whom she met in panto at Liverpool.[34] In 2001 Dean got engaged to media executive Jason Pethers after knowing him for only a few months.[32] They married in September 2002 at The All Saints Church in Marylebone. Her close friend and EastEnders co-star, Susan Tully, was a bridesmaid at the wedding. Many of Dean's fellow cast-mates from EastEnders (past and present) attended the wedding including: Wendy Richard, Barbara Windsor, Pam St Clement, Ross Kemp, Steve McFadden, Gillian Taylforth, Gretchen Franklin, June Brown, Lucy Benjamin, Adam Woodyatt, Anna Wing, Paul J Medford, Todd Carty, Ricky Groves, Hannah Waterman, Laila Morse and on-screen mum Anita Dobson, also, former Queer as Folk actor Antony Cotton.[35] However, after five years of marriage, it was announced in 2007 that Dean and Pethers had separated.[36] Dean subsequently began a relationship with model and dancer Bowen Perrin, after meeting on the set of the Ipswich panto production Cinderella during Christmas 2007. Dean is 18 years Perrin's senior.[26]
Her older brother, Stephen J. Dean, is also a performer; they have appeared together on stage in several pantomimes.[37] As well as acting, Dean is a keen singer (with a mezzo-soprano voice) and tap dancer.[38]
In 1997 Dean along with her close friend, actress Susan Tully, were involved with the third world charity, Plan International, and were sent to a remote village in Senegal to help highlight one of the organisation's aid projects — designed to bring running water to drought hit areas.[39]
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