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Dennis Alan "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den".
Sharon Watts 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 first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985 as the teenage adopted daughter of pub landlords Den and Angie Watts. Sharon became prominent in the 1990s due to her becoming the landlady of The Queen Victoria public house and her romantic pairings with brothers Grant and Phil Mitchell. In a storyline dubbed Sharongate, Sharon married Grant and then has 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 began an affair with a much younger Keanu Taylor. She was named the best EastEnders character of all time by the Daily Mirror in 2020. For her portrayal of Sharon, Dean won the award for "Outstanding Achievement" at the 2022 British Soap Awards.
Letitia Jane Dean is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again from 2012 onwards. For the role, she was awarded the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2022.
Mark Fowler is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Mark, an original regular character when the series started in February 1985, became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made brief returns to the role in 1986 and 1987. Scarboro died by suicide in April 1988 and subsequently Mark was recast two years later on his return, with former Grange Hill regular Todd Carty taking on the role. From this point the character was a permanent fixture in the series and Carty remained in the role until the character was written out of the series in early 2003.
Angie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the series until 1988, when Dobson decided to leave, and the character was written out.
"Sharongate" is the term used for a storyline in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which reached its climax on 24 October 1994, attracting 25.3 million viewers. The plot was written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan. In the storyline, Sharon Mitchell confessed on tape that she had had sex with her husband's brother, Phil. The truth comes out in the middle of The Queen Victoria pub. Sharon's husband Grant attacked his brother and Phil was lucky to survive.
Zoe Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michelle Ryan. She made her first appearance on 18 September 2000. Zoe arrives in Walford along with her father, Charlie, sisters Kat, Lynne, Little Mo, and grandmother Big Mo.
Grant Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. He was introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show, and originally served as one of the show's leading protagonists throughout the 1990s; with the character first appearing in 22 February 1990 and then departing on 25 October 1999 after Kemp had opted to leave the show. He then returned to the show on 24 October 2005 for a few weeks and returned again between March and June 2006. Kemp was persuaded to return to the role for brief stints during a period of heavy media criticism aimed at EastEnders. The return proved to be a ratings success. Kemp reprised the role of Grant for various guest stints in 2016, appearing in twelve episodes between 13 May and 9 September. An archived recording of his voice was heard on 25 January 2022. On 26 July 2022, it was announced that Grant would feature in a flashback episode focusing on the Mitchell family in 1979. Teddy Jay played the role of Grant for this special episode, which aired on 5 September 2022.
Vicki Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Emma Herry from the character's birth in 1986 to 1988, Samantha Leigh Martin from 1988 to 1995, and Scarlett Alice Johnson from 2003 to 2004. She is the daughter of Michelle Fowler and Den Watts. The character is born in the serial, conceived in a controversial storyline about teenage pregnancy. Exploiting a whodunnit angle, at the time of the first showing, viewers were not initially told who was the father, and press interest in the fledgling show escalated as journalists attempted to guess. The audience finally discovered his identity in October 1985 in episode 66. Written by series co-creator/script-editor Tony Holland and directed by co-creator/producer Julia Smith, it was considered a landmark episode in the show's history. Early suspects were Ian Beale and Kelvin Carpenter, but then four possible suspects are seen leaving the Square early in the episode: Tony Carpenter, Ali Osman, Andy O'Brien, and Den Watts. As Michelle waits by their rendezvous point, a car pulls up and the fluffy white legs of the soap landlord's poodle Roly leap out of a car to give it all away: Den Watts is the father of Michelle's baby. After this storyline the programme started to appear in newspaper cartoons as it moved more and more into the public mainstream. Vicki's character was written out in October 1995, after Susan Tully, who played Vicki's mother Michelle, decided to leave the soap.
The Beales and the Fowlers are a fictional family in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. They were the main family for storylines in early episodes of EastEnders, and remained as such ever since. With at least one member of the family having been a member of the cast from the first episode in February 1985, they are the show's longest serving family. The original Beale/Fowler family consisted of matriarch Lou Beale and her children Pete and Pauline, alongside their families including their children Ian, Mark, Michelle and their spouses Kathy Hills and Arthur Fowler. Additionally, several members of the family have been introduced at a later point, including Pauline and Arthur's son Martin who was the first baby to be born into the show in 1985. The family has been headed with a matriarch first seen with Lou, and over the years, Lou's daughter Pauline, Ian's wife Jane Collins and more recently Pete's wife Kathy, have filled this role.
Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Susan Tully from the show's first episode on 19 February 1985 up until the character's departure on 26 October 1995. She returned on 24 December 2016, with Jenna Russell taking over the role, before leaving the serial once again on 17 April 2018.
George "Lofty" Holloway is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tom Watt. Lofty is one of the serial's near-original characters, making his first appearance in the third episode, which was first broadcast on 26 February 1985. Lofty is generally depicted as a meek, luckless, hapless victim. A long-running storyline concerns his relationship with the character Michelle Fowler. Lofty departed in episode 334, first broadcast on 19 April 1988. Watt reprised his role in 2018 for the funeral of Harold Legg. Lofty appears in episode 5871, originally broadcast on 19 February 2019. He reprised the role again in 2022 for the funeral of Dot Cotton ; Lofty appears in episode 6608, first broadcast on 12 December 2022.
Kelvin Carpenter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul J. Medford from 12 March 1985 to 3 September 1987.
Donna Ludlow is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Matilda Ziegler. She appears between episodes 265 and 437 of EastEnders, originally appearing on screen from 27 August 1987 to 13 April 1989. Donna was scripted as a troubled individual, desperate for attention, but shunned by almost all who encountered her. In her storyline, after finding out she was conceived from rape and then rejected by her mother, Donna sets herself on a path of self-destruction. She turns to manipulation, blackmail and prostitution to fund her drug-habit, before choking to death on her own vomit in 1989.
Roly is a fictional dog from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Roly is an apricot coloured Standard Poodle, who appears in the first episode of the programme on 19 February 1985 and remained in the show until 19 October 1993.
The Watts family are a fictional family in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The family consists of Den, Angie, Sharon, Dennis, Chrissie, Vicki, Dennis Jnr, Albie and Alyssa. Sharon's half-brother Zack Hudson is also considered to be part of the family.
References
- 1 2 "After 10 years as TV's most famous single mother, Susan Tully now craves an escape from soap megastardom – and a bit of adventure", The Independent. 29 October 1995. Accessed 14 March 2007.
- ↑ Kingsley, Hilary (1990). The EastEnders Handbook. BBC Books. ISBN 978-0-685-52957-7.
- ↑ Koncienzcy, Rebecca (17 August 2019). "BBC EastEnders actress Susan Tully now works as a director for Sky". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ↑ "Jenna Russell reveals she was 'very scared' at taking Michelle Fowler role in EastEnders". What's on TV. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ↑ Palmer, Katie (14 April 2021). "Who is Too Close director Sue Tully? Meet the Line of Duty and EastEnders star". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ↑ Mangan, Lucy (22 May 2023). "Maryland review – no one is more moving than Suranne Jones". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ↑ "The Comedy Guide:Comic Relief 1997". British Comedy Guide .
- ↑ "LIFE AFTER SHARON", Sunday Mirror. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006.
- ↑ "EastEnd Letitia's diamond geezer", Sunday Mirror. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006.
