Sharon Watts in EastEnders has been played by actress Letitia Dean since the very first show, back in 1985.
Actress Letitia has had a few breaks away from the show, meaning Sharon was queen of Walford from 1985 until 1995, then again from 2001 until 2006, and finally returned to her rightful place in Albert Square in 2012.
Sharon has been involved in some of the most dramatic and talked about episodes of EastEnders, and at the heart of some of its biggest storylines.
She’s mourned her dad twice, found long-lost family members, and had her heart broken many times and in the most awful ways.
Sharon may have escaped to Australia for now, but she was right in the middle of the drama this Christmas.
Sharon’s wedding day turned into a DISASTER! First, she discovered her fiance Keanu was the one who kidnapped little Albie.
Then she accidentally let slip -to Phil – that Keanu wasn’t Albie’s dad, but Phil was.
Which frankly was more than enough drama for one Christmas episode, but which was only the beginning!
Then Shaz was there when Nish attacked Suki and Denise whacked him on the head with a bottle.
And it was Sharon who Keanu was trying to strangle when Linda stabbed him in the back.
Sharon Watts in EastEnders
When EastEnders first began, Sharon was the spoiled daughter of Queen Vic landlords Den and Angie Watts. She was Den’s “Princess” and she was devastated when he was shot and killed.
And when she discovered that Den had an affair with her best friend Michelle, and was the father of Michelle’s daughter Vicky, Sharon was even more shocked.
Sharon Watts in EastEnders and the Mitchell brothers
Sharon got together with Grant Mitchell and the pair tied the knot. But their relationship was always fiery and Sharon found herself growing closer to Grant’s brother Phil.
When Grant set fire to the Vic as part of an insurance scam, and later hit Sharon in a violent argument, he was sent to jail and Sharon and Phil started a relationship. But when Grant was released, Sharon took him back and Phil got together with Kathy Beale.
Sharongate!
But Sharon couldn’t resist Phil and she spent the night with him. When she told bestie Michelle about their passionate encounter, Sharon didn’t realise that their conversation had accidentally been recorded.
Grant found the tape and played it to the packed Queen Vic at Phil and Kathy’s engagement party. The episode – known as Sharongate – attracted more than 25 million viewers and is still one of the most-watched episodes of EastEnders ever.
When Sharon returned to Walford in 2001, she and Phil rekindled their romance. But they broke up when Sharon revealed she was infertile.
Eventually, Sharon and Phil married in 2013, and it seemed this time they were for keeps. But when Phil stopped paying attention to his wife, her eye was caught by personal trainer Keanu Taylor – Phil’s protegee and boyfriend of Sharon’s stepdaughter Louise. They began a hot and steamy romance, with devastating results.
How many times has Sharon Watts in EastEnders been married?
After Sharon’s marriage to Grant broke up, she rekindled a romance with an old schoolfriend Tom Banks and the pair got engaged. But firefighter Tom died trying to rescue evil Trevor Morgan from a house fire on Albert Square.
Heartbroken Sharon later fell in love with Dennis Rickman – her adoptive dad Den’s long-lost son (played by Strictly star Nigel Harman). But there was more misery in store when he was stabbed and died in the Square, just a few months after he and Sharon tied the knot. Sharon was pregnant with son Dennis Jr when her new husband died.
More marriages for Sharon
Many years after the dramatic events of Sharongate, Ms Watts finally walked down the aisle with Phil. But when he found out about her and Keanu it was the end of their marriage.
Sharon’s most recent husband was Ian Beale, who she married early in 2021. But their marriage was part of a plot by Sharon to get revenge on Ian for her son Dennis Jr’s death.
With Sharon and Keanu back on, it looked like love’s young dream for a while. Except for the two huge secrets – about Albie’s kidnap and his real dad – hanging over the pair.
Sharon wanted revenge for Denny’s death (Credit: BBC)
Den back from the dead
When Sharon and sister Vicki discovered Den had a son, Dennis Rickman, they tracked him down. And they were shocked when Dennis – who had links to the same crime gang as his dad – found out that Den Watts had faked his death and had been hiding out in Spain.
Sharon had mixed emotions when Den returned and things were certainly much trickier when he was back in her life. Den disapproved of Sharon’s romance with Dennis, even though they weren’t related by blood.
Eventually, in February 2005, there was a dramatic confrontation in The Vic. Den was murdered by his wife Chrissie Watts. Chrissie, Sam Mitchell and Zoe Slater buried him in the cellar of the pub and manipulative Chrissie let Sam Mitchell believe she was the killer.
When Sharon and Dennis got married in the summer of the same year, Sam was busy digging up the floor in the cellar and revealing that Den was dead. Sharon and Dennis worked together to clear Sam’s name and bring Chrissie to justice.
Sharon and the death of Dennis Jr
Sharon’s affair with Keanu Taylor was passionate but she knew she was playing with fire because if Phil found out, he’d be furious.
When Sharon discovered she was pregnant, she let Phil believe her unborn baby was his. But when he found out the truth about her affair with Keanu, things got sinister.
And at the boat party on the Thames during EastEnders’ 35th anniversary episodes, Phil and Keanu brawled, causing the boat to crash and Dennis Jr to drown.
As Denny died, Sharon was giving birth to baby Albie.
Since Denny’s death, Sharon’s been landlady of the Queen Vic for a short while, tried to kill Ian Beale, got to know half-brother, Zack Hudson. Now she’s running the gym and struggling to cope with the knowledge that Albie is Phil’s son AND the guilt over Keanu’s grim death.
She may have escaped to Australia for now, but she can’t stay there forever. It seems the drama’s just beginning for Shaz!
Read more: Who’s leaving EastEnders in 2024?
EastEnders usually airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One. Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know who you think the dead man could be!