Jump to content

Letitia Dean

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Gungadin (talk | contribs) at 22:27, 19 September 2006 (remove one image that's making the article look messy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Publicity photo

Letitia Dean (born November 14, 1967 in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire) is an English actress, probably best known for her role as Sharon Watts in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders.

Early life and acting career

Letitia Dean was born in Hertfordshire to parents Leslie and Ellie Dean, in a cottage rented on the grand estate of the late British romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, known as Camfield Place. The third of three children, Letitia picked up a penchant for performing at an early age. Both Letitia and her older brother Stephen attended dance school in the village where they lived, and this later prompted Letitia's successful application to attend the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London, which has famously produced some of Britain's most familiar television and musical stars, including: Denise van Outen, Billie Piper, Emma Bunton and fellow EastEnders stars Daniella Westbrook, Nick Berry and Tamsin Outhwaite. Letitia stayed at the school as a full-time student for several years learning her trades of acting, singing and dancing.

Letitia's first notable television appearance came when she was just 11, playing a student named Lucinda in the BBC children's series Grange Hill, in 1978. It was here that she met and became firm friends with fellow actress Susan Tully, who would later go on to play Michelle Fowler in EastEnders. Her next television role was a part in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside in 1984. Soon after, Letitia was cast as one of the original members of the new BBC1 soap opera EastEnders. Interestingly, Letitia lied about her roots to get the part in the soap. As the casting directors were only looking for real 'East End' actors, Letitia falsely claimed that she was born and raised in Hackney, East London. The lie paid off and she got the part.

Life in EastEnders

Letitia played Sharon Watts, the troubled and spoilt adoptive daughter of landlord 'Dirty' Den and Angie Watts, from the show's inception in 1985 until 1995. Initial storylines centred around the difficulties Sharon faced growing up with an adulterous, over-protective father and an alcoholic, irrational mother. Struggling to grow up in this environment, Sharon was constantly torn between the two. Bombshells such as best friend Michelle's confession that she was pregnant with Den's child, finding out she was adopted, as well as her own father's murder, helped to make Sharon one of the most popular and long-running characters in the show's history.

Letitia Dean & Paul Medford

Growing up in the public eye was hard for Letitia, and the constant media attention on her appearance (particularly her fluctuating weight) was especially tough, given her young and susceptible age. Letitia has since stated that her self-confidence was damaged during this time, and this, as well as back pain, contributed to her decision to get a breast reduction in her teens.

Growing up on screen in the 1980s has also meant that Letitia has had to endure haunting images of herself dressed in over-the-top, less than flattering, 1980s clothes. The image of Letitia wearing a fluffy, pink off-the-shoulder jumper, is one of the most recognisable, trademark images in EastEnders' history. Despite embracing her younger years now, at the time Letitia hated the jumper so much that she burnt it.

During her time on the show Letitia even managed minor musical chart success with fellow EastEnders star Paul Medford (who played Kelvin Carpenter). A song penned for the pair as part of a plotline in the show, prompted them to release a single entitled "Something Outta Nothing", which made number 12 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1986.

In the latter years of her initial stint on EastEnders, Letitia featured in some of the soap's most renown storylines, including the infamous love triangle with her then on-screen husband Grant Mitchell and his brother Phil (nicknamed 'Sharongate'), which gave the soap one of its highest episode ratings, watched by over 18.4 million viewers.

File:Lucy sullivan tish.jpg
Letitia in ITV drama Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married in 1999

Despite her popularity on the show, a desire to pursue other acting roles and escape the press attention surrounding her role prompted Letitia to leave the soap in 1995.

Other acting roles

After leaving EastEnders, Letitia had various theatre and television roles including a starring role as Nurse Fay in the Joe Orton comedy play, Loot, playing alongside fellow EastEnders actor Michael Elphick (who played Harry Slater). Letitia also starred in BBC drama The Hello Girls, set in a Derby telephone exchange in the 1960s; medical dramas Casualty and Doctors; the ITV police drama The Bill and romantic comedy Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married as well as the Channel 4 sitcom Drop The Dead Donkey. She also starred in the 1995 film England, My England, which told the story of the musician and court composer Henry Purcell, and also starred fellow EastEnders actress Lucy Speed (who played Natalie Evans).

As well as television work, Letitia regularly appears in seasonal pantomimes. In 2001 she starred as Snow White at The Orchard in Dartford; and in 2004 she starred in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Birmingham Hippodrome, alongside British comedians Joe Pasquale and Don Maclean. Letitia and other EastEnders stars such as Steve McFadden (who plays Phil Mitchell) are rumoured to have a special clause in their contracts that permits them time off from filming to star in a pantomime each year.

EastEnders round 2

Six years after her initial exit, Letitia was lured back to EastEnders, where she reprised the role of Sharon Watts (landlady of the Queen Vic), from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2005 to 2006.

Since her return, Letitia's character has again been the focus of many controversial and popular storylines, including: the 'resurrection' of her infamous father Den Watts played by Leslie Grantham, believed to be dead, only to reappear very much alive 14 years later; the unveiling of her father's killer, Chrissie Watts (who finished Den off, once and for all, in 2005); the reappearance of ex-husband Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp); and her 'forbidden love' and eventual marriage to adoptive brother Dennis Rickman (now deceased) played by Nigel Harman (a popular storyline that has been nicknamed "Shannis" (a portmanteau of Sha-ron and De-nnis) by EastEnders fans and other media). Letitia took another break from EastEnders in January 2006, but is expected to return towards the end of 2006 (BBC3 Letitia screenshot).

File:TishDean8.jpg
Letitia on EastEnders: It's Your Party! in 2001

Letitia has had several exits or 'extended breaks' from the show in recent years, and each time there has been much press speculation over whether Letitia has quit permanently or whether she is just taking a scheduled break. In early 2005 the Sunday Mirror reported that at one time, executive producer Kathleen Hutchison offered to double Letitia's salary from £150,000 a year to £300,000 a year, in order to persuade Letitia to remain in the show. If true, this would make Letitia one of the highest paid actresses in British soap.

At the 2005 Inside Soap awards, Letitia was presented with the coveted award for outstanding achievement as homage to her work in EastEnders, which she has been in (on and off) for over 20 years, since the age of 16. In 2004 she was nominated for the Best Actress Award at the British Soap Awards, but lost out to Suranne Jones from Coronation Street.

Personal life

In September 2002, Letitia married media executive Jason Pethers at The All Saints Church in Marylebone. Susan Tully was a bridesmaid at the wedding. In true East End style, Letitia's guests were treated to transportation in old fashioned London buses. Many of Letitia's fellow cast-mates from EastEnders (past and present) attended the wedding including: Wendy Richard, Barbara Windsor, Pam St Clement, Steve McFadden, Gillian Taylforth, June Brown, Lucy Benjamin, Adam Woodyatt, Anna Wing, Todd Carty, Ricky Groves, Hannah Waterman, Laila Morse and on-screen mum Anita Dobson.

Letitia states that nowadays she is a lot more comfortable in her own skin, and far more relaxed about public interest than she used to be as a teenager. She has said: 'Being in my thirties is a much more comfortable place to be. I have stopped pleasing people - and I`m calmer and more self assured than I`ve ever been.'

Trivia

  • As well as acting, Letitia is a keen singer (with a mezzo-soprano voice) and tap dancer.
  • Letitia once dated Irish comedian Ed Byrne.
  • Letitia was born on the grounds of the estate of Dame Barbara Cartland. When her mother was about to give birth, she was sent an unusual gift by Dame Cartland — an old wooden door — which she was meant to place under her bed to help posture and comfort while she was in labour.
  • Letitia is close friends with Susan Tully, who she initially met on the set of Grange Hill in 1984, and went on to play best friend Michelle Fowler in EastEnders. She and Susan are still close to this day.
  • Letitia is one of only three original cast-members left in EastEnders. The others are Wendy Richard (who plays Pauline Fowler), and Adam Woodyatt (who plays Ian Beale).
  • She has become renowned for her yo-yo like returns and exits from EastEnders.

Television and film

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Letitia_Dean&oldid=76674493"