Letitia Dean is set to return to Eastenders after a 6 year hiatus. The 44-year-old actress will reprise her role as Sharon Watts in the popular BBC 1 soap, marking the third time the actress has returned to the show.
The last time Letitia Dean was on our screens as Sharon Watts was back in 2006 when she departed the show as a widow after her husband, Dennis Rickman, was stabbed on New Year’s Eve and died in Sharon’s arms in a dramatic storyline climax typical of Eastenders.
As yet, the reason for Sharon’s return to Walford is being kept tightly under wraps, although it’s understood Dean has signed up for 12 months on the show, however Eastenders bosses are said to be keen to keep the actress for longer as Sharon is very popular with viewers.
Sharon’s affair with Phil Mitchell while married to his brother Grant on the show attracted one of the soap’s biggest ever ratings pulling in 18 million viewers with the dramatic storyline.
In an official statement, actress Letitia Dean said she was looking forward to working with the Eastenders crew and former colleagues again, adding that the show will always be “close to my heart”, and she is excited about what the future holds for her character, Sharon Watts.
Since leaving Eastenders in 2006, Letitia Dean appeared as a contestant on the 2007 series of Strictly Come Dancing, and also performed in a touring production of Calendar Girls.
Sharon Watts will return to Eastenders later in the year.
The next famous face to slip into Alesha Dixon’s judging seat on the panel for Strictly Come Dancing is still under negotiation as yet more names are speculated in the press in the wake of the singer’s high profile departure from the BBC to ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.
Ex-Neighbours actress Holly Valance has revealed that she thinks the female contestants are at an instant disadvantage compared to their male counterparts as the pain of dancing in heels makes training and performing all the more gruelling.
