page_title: Sharon Watts
section_title: Relationship with Phil and Grant Mitchell ("Sharongate")
hierarchical_section_title: Sharon Watts / Development / Relationship with Phil and Grant Mitchell ("Sharongate")
caption_attribution_description: Ross Kemp
context_page_description: Sharon Watts is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is 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 adoptive daughter of pub landlords Den and Angie Watts. The character 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 to Grant, 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 Phil's young employee, Keanu Taylor. She was named the Best EastEnders character of all time by The Mirror in 2020.
  Dean originally quit the role in 1995 after ten years, with Sharon departing following the breakdown of her marriage. In May 2001, Sharon was reintroduced by producer John Yorke.
context_section_description: The arrival of the Mitchell brothers in 1990 heralded a new era for EastEnders, but also for Sharon. Brothers Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) were introduced by executive producer Michael Ferguson, as he wanted to bring in a couple of young men who would bring an air of danger to the show. Both the Mitchell brothers would prove to be extremely important for Sharon in the following years, most notably when she married one brother, then had an affair with the other.
  Sharon and Grant's relationship began in 1990 and by 1991, the couple were installed as the owners of the soap opera's focal establishment, The Queen Victoria public house, Sharon's childhood home. Storyline editor, Andrew Holden, has stated that the decision to promote Sharon from barmaid to landlady of The Vic in 1991 stemmed from discussion about the character's long-term future in EastEnders. It was felt that because Sharon was the daughter of Den and Angie, "it seemed right that she should succeed them, at least for a time, in running The Vic". Holden suggested that the choice to give Sharon The Vic was part of the reason that her predecessor, licensee Eddie Royle (Michael Melia), was killed off in the serial.
  19 million viewers tuned in on Boxing Day 1991 to witness Sharon and Grant's surprise Christmas wedding. Their marriage was scripted to be volatile, with Grant resorting to violent displays when things did not go his way and endangering Sharon on numerous occasions due to his criminal dealings. Letitia Dean discussed Sharon's attraction to Grant in 1993: "Grant was quite flirtatious with [Sharon] when they first met and he made her feel quite good about herself. He promised to protect her and he promised her the world [...] She wouldn't have gone for Grant if he was just a complete pain in the arse. There are obviously other qualities in him which is why she strives to keep [their relationship] going. There's a lot of reminders — [Grant's] not [Sharon's father] Den, but he's got a lot of characteristics that are pretty similar."
  Despite the fact that Sharon married Grant in 1991, former EastEnders writer Tony Jordan has revealed in a documentary entitled The Mitchells — The Full Story that the love-triangle storyline between Grant, Sharon and Phil had been planned from the Mitchell brothers' introduction, after the writers came to the realisation that Sharon "was perfect for both of them". The plot has been described by former Executive Producer of EastEnders and BBC's Head of Drama Serials, John Yorke, as a "Tristan and Isolde story". The storyline was spread out for several years and began with Sharon turning to Phil for comfort during a particularly turbulent part of her marriage to Grant. The episode in which Phil betrayed his brother with Sharon occurred in September 1992 in one of the soap's notorious three-handers, an episode featuring only Sharon, Phil and Grant for the duration. Sue Dunderdale directed the episode and the performances of McFadden, Kemp and Dean have been described as memorable and filled with high-tension drama. Discussing Sharon's feelings for Phil, Letitia Dean said: "Phil was always around for Sharon. He seemed to understand her, and Sharon appreciated that. There's always been something between them."
  The storyline climaxed in October 1994 with some of EastEnders' most popular and renowned episodes, which have been dubbed "Sharongate". The episodes centred around Grant's discovery that his wife had been having an affair with his brother and they were watched by 25.3 million viewers. On-screen Grant heard Sharon unwittingly confessing to the affair on tape. He reacted by playing it to a pub full of people at Phil's engagement party and then beat his brother unconscious.
  The writer of Sharongate, Tony Jordan, has stated that of all the storylines he has penned for the soap, Sharongate is the one he is most proud of. He comments "Three of the strongest characters that have ever been in EastEnders are the Mitchell brothers and Sharon [...] when we actually blew that story it was incredible [...] being ab
caption: 25.3 million viewers watched Grant (Ross Kemp, pictured) discover Sharon's affair with his brother Phil.
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