With a shock of blonde hair, a fluffy pink jumper and an archly raised eyebrow, Sharon Watts arrived on television screens in a burst of 1980s teenage angst.
As viewers tuned into the first episode of the BBC’s newest soap opera on February 19, 1985, few could have predicted that they’d still be watching that fresh-faced 17-year-old some 40 years later.
Executive producers have come and gone, veteran stars have died, and some bright young things have even transitioned to Hollywood, but Letitia Dean has become a symbol of EastEnders’ enduring popularity.
While longtime viewers might feel like they’ve grown up alongside Sharon for the past four decades – every heartbreak, affair and slap projected into their living rooms – the woman behind the blonde hair is notoriously private and has taken the decision to shun the limelight after years of cruel comments about her appearance, insiders tell the Daily Mail.
Growing up on one of the biggest soaps in the country meant that Letitia was plagued by criticism by – predominantly male – TV reviewers, which cast a shadow over her success.
When Sharon and Phil Mitchell rekindled their romance on screen in 2006, one reviewer in the Evening Standard, wrote: ‘Miss Piggy gets together with Mr Potato Head? Very 1994.’
A year later, when Letitia appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, another wrote in the Mirror: ‘Letitia Dean whose hurling limbs recall that wonderful ballerina Miss Piggy – only without the humour.’
‘The abuse of a young woman who clearly struggled with her weight went on for years,’ a source told the Daily Mail.
Original EastEnders characters Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham), Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) and daughter Sharon (played by Letitia Dean) with Roly the dog outside the Queen Vic
Letitia has intermittently taken breaks from her EastEnders career, most recently returning to the soap in September this year
‘It was all just so vile, and always written by men. Sadly the Miss Piggy label stuck for many years.’
Throughout her time on the BBC soap, Letitia has intermittently taken breaks, with viewers becoming increasingly used to seeing her written out for prolonged periods of time.
But when her return was announced this summer, following some months away from the programme, fans assumed it would be for more than just a few weeks.
Letitia returned to the soap on September 22 to viewers’ relief, with a juicy storyline involving the return of Michelle Ryan as Zoe Slater – daughter of Kat Slater – and a question over the paternity of her twins.
As quickly as she was back, however, Letitia was gone again, disappearing from screens last week, with viewers left scratching their heads.
I’m told it’s Letitia’s dedication to her family and her reluctance to be picked apart by commentators that has led to her decision to step back.
Her current and former castmates might be snapped getting rowdy at awards events or taking part in the reality TV circuit, but Letitia has been very careful to protect her privacy and quiet home life.
And EastEnders bosses are so keen to keep Letitia – one of just three original stars remaining – happy, that they are willing to ‘accommodate her.’
‘Everyone adores Tish. She is camp as chips and just so fabulous. She has a wicked sense of humour and is one of the most-loved people on set,’ said a source.
‘Bosses cherish her and will do everything to keep her iconic character in Albert Square.
‘Whether that is time off, or extended breaks from filming when she needs it, they are more than happy to accommodate her.
Sharon, pictured at her wedding to Grant Mitchell in 1991, quickly became one of the soap’s biggest characters – which propelled Letitia into the spotlight off screen, too
A 1994 storyline involved her having an affair with her brother-in-law Phil Mitchell. Here they are marrying in 2014
‘They’d rather have Sharon in Albert Square for half the year than not at all.’
Letitia was just a schoolgirl when she signed up to appear in the brand new BBC soap in 1985, playing the teenage daughter of Den and Angie Watts.
She quickly became one of soap’s biggest characters and Letitia was propelled into the spotlight off screen too.
A year later, in 1986, a storyline featured her singing and she went on to release single Something Outa Nothing, with co-star Paul Medford who played Kelvin Carpenter. It reached number 12 in the charts.
But it wasn’t until 1994 that Letitia was given a storyline that put her front and centre on the soap.
Dubbed ‘Sharongate’, and still considered to be one of the biggest soap storylines of all time, it involved a Sharon having an affair with Phil, the brother of her husband, Grant Mitchell.
Running for months, it all came to a head in October that year, with more than 25million people tuning in to watch as Grant uncovered the betrayal at the Queen Vic when Sharon unknowingly admitted to it on tape.
At the height of her success in the soap, Letitia decided to quit to pursue other projects and appeared in two series of the BBC’s The Hello Girls between 1996 and 1998.
But, she made her big return to Walford in 2001 after six years away, with then-executive producer John Yorke convincing her to reprise the role that had made her famous.
Viewers were just as enamoured with Sharon as they had always been and Letitia was reportedly offered £300,000 a year – double her previous salary – to remain in the role in 2004.
It was during this period, however, that the criticism intensified, with the harsh comments reaching their peak.
Letitia has since completely overhauled her diet and lifestyle and viewers were quick to notice her significant weight loss when she re-appeared on screens in September.
The actress has lost a staggering four stone in recent years and admitted to finally finding a sustainable way to do so after years of yo-yo dieting. She is thought to have gone from 10st 4lbs to 8st 3lbs.
She said she eats ‘grilled skinless chicken’ and ‘lots of greens’, keeps to around 1,300 calories a day and does running and boxing to keep fit.
‘It started with Strictly Come Dancing because I felt great by the end of the show and the live tour,’ she told Closer magazine.
Letitia was plagued by criticism from predominantly male TV reviewers. She has since completely overhauled her diet and lifestyle and has lost a staggering four stone
‘But the main reason I wanted to do something about my figure was that I was so sick of extreme dieting and my weight yo-yoing.
‘I just woke up one morning, and I’d had enough.
‘For years and years – as long as I can remember – my weight had yo-yoed up and down. I’d go on fad diets like Atkins or I’d only eat eggs.’
During her first comeback to the soap, Letitia was also experiencing turbulence in her personal life, having married actor Jason Pethers in 2002 after a whirlwind romance.
The couple divorced after just five years of marriage, with Letitia admitting it was Jason’s reluctance to start a family that saw them separate.
‘As a couple you can, hopefully, go down the same path together as long as you share the same desires and dreams. Unfortunately, many of us fork off in different directions,’ she said at the time.
‘This is the first time I’ve ever talked about what happened, but I’m quite practical about this now.
‘I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Jason. But sometimes you just grow out of each other, maybe.
‘I did think that by waiting until a bit later in life for marriage I would know more and it would last. But none of us can predict.
‘Of course I didn’t want this to happen, and neither did he, but it did and though it’s upsetting, you just have to get on with it. You have to be strong.’
Jason’s mother, Joan Pethers, told the Mirror that they had both wanted children but that Jason had ‘wanted to wait until he could afford it’.
She added: ‘I guess they just fell out of love for the time being.’
Letitia didn’t go on to have children and, unusually for a soap actress, she has managed to keep her love life since then under wraps.
Letitia left the soap again in 2006 and didn’t return until 2012, which marked Sharon’s second big comeback as part of a story which saw her flee from her wedding to another man, John Hewland, with son Dennis and ex-lover Phil Mitchell in tow.
She has remained on the show since then, taking breaks as and when she’s needed them and remaining defiantly out of the public eye.
After 40 years as one of Britain’s best-loved television stars, it seems viewers are desperate for Sharon to remain on screen – and BBC bosses know how to hang on to one of their most prominent soap stars.
