EastEnders' Letitia Dean on being "used to crying" and the thrill of getting a big story
The Sharon Watts star on the 40th anniversary of EastEnders, character frustrations and dramatic storylines.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
When you appeared in that very first episode, did you think the show would still be going 40 years later?
Absolutely not. None of us did at the time. It was going to last a few months – if we were lucky. Then suddenly, bang!
Did you base Sharon on anyone?
No, it was all in the writing. We were briefed on what our characters were about and their history, and we had so much more prep time back in the day – I think we rehearsed for three months before it went out.
Having played her now for 40 years, what do you admire most about her?
She opens her trap and speaks her mind – which I’m not so good at!
Any frustrations?
She overthinks too much. She was adopted at a young age and is so desperate to create that family unit she felt she never had in her childhood.
Sharon lived on a knife edge with her parents’ marriage – she longed for the safety and security of the Beales or the Fowlers. Those insecurities she had as a young girl have stayed with her.
Her adoptive parents were Den and Angie — what was it like playing the daughter of such an iconic couple?
Anita wasn’t the original Angie but when she came in, watching her and Leslie Grantham [who played Den] in rehearsals, you felt this surge of energy between them. The chemistry just worked. It was, and still is, TV gold.
Do you still relish getting those dramatic storylines?
I was 17 when I started, but it’s still as exciting when I get a great story as it was back in 1985, it’s still a thrill and an honour to be trusted. And I’m kind of used to the crying.
How do you keep it fresh after all this time?
Every big story unpeels a new layer, another facet, shows a different relationship. Sometimes I think I’d just like to go in the café and order a cup of tea and a bacon roll, but deep down it’s a privilege to be written for after so many decades.
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