Sharon Rickman

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Sharon Anne Rickman (née Watts; born Hanley and previously Mitchell) is a character on the popular BBC1 soap opera EastEnders. She is played by Letitia Dean.

Sharon is the adoptive daughter of the late 'Dirty' Den Watts and Angie Watts. She was known to Den as his 'princess' and he made sure suitors watched their step around the teenage Sharon. Even though she disapproved of her father's dodgy deals and his constant fighting with alcoholic Angie, she loved them both nonetheless.

1 Life in Walford
2 Sharon's return
3 Dennis and Sharon; Den's demise
4 Dennis's Death
5 Family
6 See also
7 External links

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Life in Walford

Sharon is known to scarper when the going gets tough. She grew up living in the Walford pub known as The Queen Vic and she has had a very rocky life in Albert Square: she was constantly in the middle of her adoptive parents stormy marriage as a young girl, and she sided with Angie when Den issued her divorce papers as a present on Christmas Day 1986. She really resented her father for his womanising and links to the underworld, but he would always win her over and she would never stop loving him, despite Den pushing this to the maximum limit at times.

In 1988, Angie emigrated to the States and Sharon remained in Albert Square with her father. However in 1989 Den became involved with gangster organisation called The Firm. In order to assure Den's silence over an arson attack they were involved with, they set up 'a hit' and Den was later shot and presumed dead.

Sharon was devastated, and was also distraught to find out that her best friend, Michelle Fowler's, daughter, Vicki, was actually Den's child (a fact that had been kept secret from her and the rest of the Square by Den and Michelle). She also decided it was time to track down her real mother, Carol Hanley. She did so, and after several meetings the pair got on really well, but after Carol's confession that she only thought of her as a good friend, Sharon realised that there would never be a parental bond between the two and stopped seeing her. Sharon thought she had found love in 1990 with the local heart-throb Simon Wicks, but he jilted her that same year when he ran off with Cindy Beale, leaving Sharon heartbroken. In 1991, she married hardman Grant Mitchell.

Their marriage was a bumpy rollercoster ride, and awful rows would often end in violence. A year after their wedding, Sharon began an affair with Grant's brother, Phil, while Grant was serving a short time inside. This abruptly ended upon Grant's release and vows to change his ways. Nothing changed, and the slanging matches continued despite their love for one another. Two years later, at Phil's engagement party to his new love, Kathy Beale, Grant came across a tape of Sharon talking to her friend, Michelle, about her fling with Phil (see Sharongate for more details). Grant played it to a whole Queen Vic and then drove a humiliated Sharon out of Walford. Sharon did return however and she eventually got her own back on Grant, by leading him to believe their doomed marriage could be saved and then fleeing to America to be with her mother after signing over her share in the pub to Grant's mum Peggy Mitchell.

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Sharon's return

In 2001, Peggy Mitchell sold The Queen Vic to an anonymous buyer -- who turned out to be Sharon!, who had bought the pub with local businessman Steve Owen. Peggy loathed Sharon for her treatment of her son Grant, and she soon regretted selling the pub. Phil and Sharon rekindled their passion and became legitimate lovers (now that Grant had since been long gone from London). This didn't last when Sharon revealed she couldn't have children and that Louise Fowler was Phil's daughter, not Mark Fowler's. Sharon took some time out in America, and, upon her homecoming, she buried Angie, her mother, who had died of liver poisoning (due to her decades of alcoholism). Fireman Tom Banks, an old friend she knew in the 1980s, turned up in Walford for Angie's funeral, and he eventually began a relationship with Sharon, which managed to survive their stormy rows and the arrival of Tom's psychotic wife, Sadie, and her attempts to split them up. Tom was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumour, and he and Sharon planned to marry before his death, but at their engagement party, Tom ran into the Slater house fire to save Little Mo Morgan. After bringing her to safety, he ran back in to get Trevor, but the fire spread to a petrol can and caused a huge explosion. Both Tom and Trevor perished.

Image:Letitia.2222.jpgIn 2003, Sharon and her half-sister, Vicki (who had returned a few months before Sharon), discovered that Den had another son, Dennis Rickman, who he didn't know about. They found out that he was due to be released from prison after serving three years for GBH. They met him at his mother's funeral, and he moved to Walford to live with them.. He made an enemy of Phil Mitchell, whom he punched upon his arrival, but his tough, hardnut character softened over time. He was a serial womaniser, like his father, and seduced Sam Mitchell, Joanne the nanny, Tracy the barmaid amongst others. He was also shocked to find Kate Morton living in the area, now engaged to Phil. They had been romantically involved years ago (Kate being a copper and Dennis a gangster), but he disappeared one day (he was actually arrested and sent down) and she never heard from him again.

It transpired that Dennis's childhood was pretty nasty: his mother let her boyfriends beat Dennis, and she once tied him to a radiator before going on holiday. He knew his father's name and always pictured him in his head. When he found out that Jack Dalton, his gangster boss who had taken Dennis in as a late teenager, had ordered the death of his father all those years ago, he went ballistic. Even Jack's confession that Den didn't actually die didn't stop a raging Dennis from shooting him to death.

Dennis and Sharon grew closer (they were siblings by adoption, not blood), and this hit its peak in September 2003 but was halted due to Den's shocking return 'from the dead'. He had actually survived the shooting 14 years earlier and fled to Spain immediately for his own safety. The man who shot him was subsequently murdered for not finishing the job, and his body was posed as Den's.

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Dennis and Sharon; Den's demise

Image:Sharonkissesdennis.jpg Sharon secretly got involved with Dennis again, and when they outed as a couple, it was Den who would bring it to a stop (again!). He twisted Dennis's feelings by taunting him over his childhood abuse, and said that if he carried on with the relationship, he would lose the one thing he had just got and craved since birth -- a family. In an emotional state, Dennis chose to finish with Sharon in favour of his family. He and Sharon acted as brother and sister again, and the whole scene was swept under the carpet.

A lady called Chrissie turned up, and she was revealed as Den's secret wife. They had met and married in Spain and Den secretly sold their bar and ran off with their money. Den persuaded her to give their marriage another try and to stay in Walford. She had no idea that Den had kids and she built a firm relationship with each one of them.

Dennis started a relationship with besotted Zoe Slater, but towards the end of 2004, Dennis and Sharon were having an affair and they admitted on Christmas Day that they were in love and nothing would stop them being together. A furious Den told Zoe to fake a pregnancy in order to keep Dennis. This worked, and Den confessed to Sharon that he didn't love Vicki (who overheard it), and Den lost his two daughters as they both fled to USA. This was just days after Den bought old home and pub, The Queen Vic. He was actually in on lawyer Marcus Christie's plan to fool Sam Hunter into believing that her brother, Phil, who was on the run, wanted her to sell all of the Mitchells' businesses to raise cash for him. One of the Mitchells' empire, The Queen Vic, was sold to Den, and when Marcus had the money, he fled.

As the weeks went by and no baby was there, Den pressured Zoe to sleep with him to get pregnant (and pass off the baby as Dennis's). Dennis caught them in bed and informed Chrissie (who kept the information to herself) after Zoe admitted the whole truth (that she was never pregnant in the first place). He went off in search for Sharon. Zoe realised she was pregnant and aborted the child under Chrissie's advice. Chrissie told Zoe that she knew everything and advised her to have a termination out of spite. Chrissie, Zoe, and Sam Hunter all teamed up together to get revenge on Den (Chrissie for the lies, conniving, and philandering; Zoe for being forced to lie to Dennis and sleep with Den and falling pregnant by him as a result; and finally Sam for Den corresponding to con Sam out of The Vic). On February 18th 2005, one night in the pub, Chrissie, Zoe, and Sam (nicknamed by the public 'The three witches of Walford') confronted Den. After he openly and proudly admitted all his sins, and how he split up Dennis and Sharon, he took the insults in his stride, only for Sharon to appear from hiding in the darkness in the other side of the pub, having heard everything! Den was embarrassed, ashamed, and watched his world crumble as the one person he truly loved -- Sharon -- said she was an orphan and that her father died a long time ago, before jumping into a taxi and out of Walford. A distraught Den boiled over as Chrissie taunted him with glee about her plan working, and he ran towards her intent on attacking her, and repeatedly smashed her face against the fruit machine. In desperation and on the spur of the moment, Zoe picked up the nearest object (ironically an iron doorstop in the shape of a dog belonging to his long-time enemy, Pauline Fowler) and whacked Den over the head with it. Believing him to be dead, Zoe and Sam went out of the room and upstairs, at which point Den grabbed Chrissie's leg, hissing "You'll never get me out of The Vic". Chrissie grabbed the doorstop as Sam appeared at the doorway, and delivered the fatal blow to Den's head. The three girls buried Den's body in a hole in the cellar, which was covered up the next day with cement.

Chrissie allowed Zoe to believe that she was the killer, but Sam confronted her and demanded £1000 a week for her silence, or the pub back. This blackmail continued for some months, and when Sam realised that she'd never get The Vic back, she told Zoe what she saw, who thumped Chrissie before telling her mother, Kat the truth and leaving for good.

Sam's life spiralled out of control, and the only evidence she had of Chrissie's guilt (the doorstop) was discovered by the murderess herself and wiped clean. By now, Dennis and Sharon were in Walford as a couple, searching for Den (who Chrissie led everyone to believed had disappeared with a younger woman). On Dennis and Sharon's wedding day, Sam, in the hope that Chrissie's secret would be finally uncovered, smashed up Den's grave in a drunken rage. The body was discovered, and Sam was arrested for murder. The doorstop and Den's blood stains (which were from the doorstop) were discovered in Sam's flat, and her future looked bleak. Chrissie told Kat (Zoe's mother) and Stacey (Zoe's second cousin) to give her an alibi or she'd drag Zoe into this. Image:Sharon&Grant kiss.jpg Phil and Grant Mitchell returned to Walford shortly after Peggy in a bid to expose Chrissie and release Sam, and after persuading Sharon to go and see Sam, they also convinced her of Chrissie's guilt. It was the first time that Grant and Sharon had seen each other in a decade, and after initial hostility, they put their differences behind them and became friends (much to Dennis's jealousy).

Chrissie and her lover, Jake Moon, planned to quickly sell the pub to gangster Johnny Allen (who later dropped out of the deal as he wasn't prepared to rush to pay the cash) and local businessman Ian Beale and flee, but as the couple rowed in Johnny's club (giving explicit details of Den's death and Chrissie confessing the truth herself), it was all caught on CCTV. The Mitchells discovered this was on tape and Johnny manipulated them in order for the exchange of the tape, including trying to make Phil get on his knees with his hands clapsed, saying "Please give me the video, Mr Allen", and as the supposed-tough guy was about to give in to his demands, Grant burst in and thumped Johnny. As he and Phil threw a few fists at the former gangland boss, they got the tape and calmly walked towards the door out of the building, when Johnny pulled out a gun on the pair. Just at that point, Ruby appeared, begging her father to let the Mitchells go and be a dad to her. Torn between his pride and reputation and his daughter, he chose the latter option as the brothers went free.

At this point, the pub had been signed over to Ian, who noticed the couple's hasty thirst to hurry up and leave, so he said he'd only pay £25,000, and Jake and Chrissie reluctantly agreed to get the money they needed.

The police (along with the Rickmans) caught up with Jake and Chrissie at the airport as they were about to flee, and Sharon punched Chrissie before she was arrested. Sam was set free, and it was admitted by the new imprisoned killer that she forged Den's signature on the title of deeds for The Queen Vic, thus Sharon was the true owner of the pub as Den's next of kin.

Sam was later released and Sharon offered the Mitchells first refusal on The Vic due to the suffering they had been through. They duly bought it back. Sam, still facing four years in prison because of her involvement in the death, fled to Rio to Grant, whereas Chrissie decided plead guilty to murder and let Jake get on with his life.

On Christmas Day 2005, Sharon was admitted to hospital with suspected food poisoning, but the previously-believed-infertile ex-pub owner discovered that she was pregnant. Her and Dennis were full of joy that they were going to have a baby.

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Dennis's Death

Image:Dennis Sharon7777.jpg Dennis and Sharon's happiness was tragically cut short on New Year's Eve 2005 when Dennis became dangerously involved in Phil Mitchell's vendetta against Johnny Allen.

It all started on Boxing Day when Dennis and Sharon decided to have a housewarming party and invited everyone from the square including Juley Smith, and Johnny and Ruby Allen.

At the party, Johnny had an argument with Juley about his relationship with his daughter Ruby and made a racist comment towards him. Dennis intervened after laughing at Johnny when the supposed hardman as pushed to the ground by 17-year old Stacey Slater. He then threw Johnny out after humilating him. He became angry that Dennis was interfering in his affairs and the matter became worse when Sharon came to see him and defended Dennis. Then Johnny threatened Sharon by grabbing her by the neck and telling her Dennis will end up the same way as Andy Hunter if he doesn't stay away from him. He told her she and Dennis must leave Walford before midnight on New Year's Eve. She confided in Phil Mitchell that Johnny is forcing them to leave the Square, but she did not intend to tell her husband about the incident. Phil tried to convince his ex-lover that Johnny must be sorted out once and for all, however Sharon said she doesn't want things to get worse. She made Phil promise her that he won't tell Dennis knowing that he would go mad. She managed to convince Dennis that she wanted to leave the Square for a fresh start and he agreed. Image:DennisDead.jpg Ignoring the promise he made to Sharon, Phil told Dennis just as they were preparing to leave on New Year's Eve what Johnny did. Predictably just as Phil wanted, Dennis went to Johnny's club office and beat him up brutally leaving him bloody and battered. Over at the Queen Vic Sharon was having a send-off by everyone in the Vic and was waiting for Dennis to get a taxi. Johnny had managed to call a henchman while he was on the floor to kill Dennis just after Dennis had left.

As Dennis walked across the Square to meet Sharon he was stabbed by a hooded Danny Moon and died in Sharon's arms just before the New Year.

Before his death, Dennis was seen throwing Johnny's mobile towards him, saying if he can reach it he'll live, but didn't think he'd recover. After this he returned to the Fowlers household saying his final farewells, and saying goodbye to Sonia's daughter Rebecca. Sharon left for new beginnings with Phil on 13th January 2006. Phil shook hands with Johnny before they left, but reassured Sharon that Johnny is a dead man.

When Phil returned in March 2006 along with Grant they set off to Essex to find Johnny and confront him about Dennis' death. It was then revealed that Johnny had hired Danny Moon to kill Dennis and he was the hooder passer-by who delivered the fatal stabbing to Dennis on New Year's Eve. Danny proved this by showed his brother Jake a mobile phone recording of Sharon cying by Dennis' side as he lay dead. After Phil and Grant found themselves tied up in the woods, Danny was ordered by Johnny to kill them but his brother Jake saved the Mitchells by shooting Danny only meaning to wound him. Danny was killed instantly and Jake secretly buried him in the woods. Johnny then handed himself to the police and confessed to being involved in Dennis' and countless other murders. Dennis was finally avenged.

Sharon will return later in the year.

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