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266-526: Sharon Watts (also Mitchell , Rickman and Beale ) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders , played by Letitia Dean . Sharon was 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 adopted daughter of pub landlords Den ( Leslie Grantham ) and Angie Watts ( Anita Dobson ). Dean originally quit

532-450: A Page 3 model . In April 2014, Matt Di Angelo was reintroduced as Shirley's estranged son Dean Wicks . Linda formed a connection with Dean as she counselled him through his long standing issues with his mother, having a fair perspective on the situation due to her own battles with Shirley in the past. Through this, Dean developed feelings for her. Linda remained unaware of the crush for several weeks until Dean fondled her buttocks during

798-557: A "drama queen", a "strong passionate [woman] who [goes] to pieces where men are concerned and always [comes] back for more". Early on in her narrative, Sharon was depicted as a mixed-up individual, torn between her warring parents, but spoilt by both; the British press dubbed her "Den's princess", an indication of her spoilt upbringing. Scriptwriter Colin Brake suggested that because of the dysfunctional marriage of her adoptive parents, "Sharon

1064-428: A "furious bust up". Sharon enlisted the help former lover Phil to retrieve her son. Sharon returned to EastEnders on 13 August 2012. Sharon's return storyline was marked with seven episodes being broadcast over a period of a week (the typical weekly output at this time was four) and it coincided with EastEnders' return to BBC1 following its brief departure to the network's sister channel BBC Two to allow for coverage of

1330-431: A "good marriage" and "an easy shorthand with each other—but can also still fight like teenagers." He said that the characters would laugh, cry, argue and make up, which would embarrass their children, but would delight their neighbours. It was said that the couple "still love each other, no matter what life throws at them", and that after moving to the fictional setting of Walford from Watford , "life's about to throw them

1596-605: A 1999 interview, "I can't see how the storyline would work. There's only so much love a girl can have for the Queen Vic." However, when she saw the scripts for Sharon's return, she was convinced. Dean suggested that Sharon, who had passed 30 years of age on her return to the serial, wanted to get back to her roots and rediscover herself in Walford. Discussing her comeback, Dean said, "It's a wonderful opportunity to breathe life into Sharon again. I found out at Christmas [2000], so it

1862-439: A 20-page scene between Sharon and Den, played out in their former home, The Queen Vic. The director required that this scene be filmed all at once, which Dean has described as daunting but exciting. She believed that the long scene helped build realistic tension greatly because both she and Grantham were so nervous about working together again. Further discussing Sharon's ambivalent reaction to her father's return Dean said, "Sharon

2128-408: A baby and she accepts that her and Mick's time together is over and finds it difficult to move on. After having some doubts, Linda encourages Mick to marry Janine for the sake of his and Janine's unborn baby. Mick later marries Janine after taking Linda's advice. Linda later rekindles her relationship with Mick and they agree to try again following the revelation that Janine manipulated Mick and that she

2394-415: A baby on the way. Den completely manipulates the whole thing and Zoe finds herself trapped in the lie because she can't seek advice from anyone. She didn't dream up this silly situation—it was Den who told her to fabricate the story to save their relationship. It was his idea all along. Zoe still wants Dennis, even if he is in love with Sharon. She's obsessed with him and can't let go. She just wants to salvage

2660-654: A baby, but that he himself was a child, stating "I behave more like an adult that you've ever done". During this period, Sharon was shown to question her parents' capability to offer her advice, and both Den and Angie had difficulty refuting her arguments. In one episode Sharon questioned, "How come you two always know what's best for me? You haven't exactly made a good job of your own lives!" "Poor old Sharon, sometimes she doesn't know which way to turn. She loves both her mum and her dad, but they always seem to be at odds with one another. And being adopted doesn't help much either. Sometimes she feels very insecure—no wonder she goes over

2926-424: A bit about Linda's past and what made her a control freak, she's finally a sympathetic character. We liked her already, but we love her now!" Bright won the awards for "Best Actress" and "Best Dramatic Performance" at The British Soap Awards 2015 . In August 2017, Bright and Dyer were longlisted for Best Partnership and the showdown between Mick and Linda was longlisted for Best Show-Stopper. Neither nomination made

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3192-494: A body found the following year had been identified as his, so the programme-makers needed to make certain that his return could be plausibly explained. A research team was employed to scour over past episodes of EastEnders' to make certain that his return storyline would not have been going against anything that had been shown prior, or that could not have been "faked". In an interview with Walford Web, Berridge discussed how her researchers discovered that there were inconsistencies in

3458-604: A bridesmaid in 1986 at the wedding of Michelle Fowler ( Susan Tully ) and Lofty Holloway ( Tom Watt ), and starred in scenes opposite her current co-star Letitia Dean , who continues to appear as Sharon Watts . Bright estimated herself to be aged 10 at the time. She also auditioned for the role of Tanya Branning in 2006, a role that was eventually given to Jo Joyner . Linda first appeared in an episode that aired on BBC One on 19 December 2013, visited partner Mick's sisters Shirley and Tina when they needed money. Linda rejected them. She made her full arrival on 26 December 2013,

3724-619: A burner phone and, growing tired of Martin's uncertainty, Linda shoots Keanu in the shoulder herself. He survives and they follow Linda's plan of staging Keanu's murder, with Martin disposing of the evidence and both of them keeping quiet. Linda later invites Sharon to live with the Carters but her guilt grows, especially when Keanu's mother Karen Taylor ( Lorraine Stanley ) becomes convinced that Phil has killed him, causing her to drink heavily again. On New Year's Eve, she goes to Karen's party and gets excessively drunk, leading to her almost exposing

3990-539: A buyer for Mick's share of the pub which was inherited by Janine. Linda is left shaken when she discovers Shirley has reunited with Dean after grieving the loss of Mick, and is comforted by Kathy Beale ( Gillian Taylforth ) who reassures her that there are people that care about her. Later on, Linda receives two bidders for The Queen Vic: Sharon and also Nish ( Navin Chowdhry ) and Suki Panesar ( Balvinder Sopal ) but Linda later starts arranging another buyer which later

4256-455: A child and she loved Sharon, but eventually found the competition pretty difficult to deal with in regard to Den's attentions. She was pretty rough on Sharon because of her drinking." Sally Vincent, writing for The Guardian , has pontificated about the dynamics of Sharon's relationship with both her parents in 2001. She suggested that viewers felt sorry for Sharon "because not only had her [birth] mother given her away, but her adoptive parents were

4522-433: A child. The next day, Mick heads over to Max's to tell Linda the truth but Max refuses to let him speak to her. Mick confronts Katy and finds out the truth about Frankie being his daughter. He then heads home to tell Linda everything but he can't find her and assumes she has left with Max. Linda tells Max she can't leave with him because she knows something is wrong with Mick. Linda then goes home and Mick tells her that Frankie

4788-450: A complex "dual-standard" 405- and 625-line receiver with both a VHF and a UHF aerial (405-line-only sets became obsolete in 1985 when VHF transmissions ended). BBC1 moved to purpose-built facilities at Television Centre on 20 September 1969. Television News continued to use Alexandra Palace as its base and by early 1968 had even converted one of its studios to colour. In the weeks leading up to 15 November 1969, BBC1 unofficially transmitted

5054-421: A distraction but does not reveal he knew about the murder. Linda makes a costume for Ollie for World Book Day and he wins 2nd place, delighting Linda. She also puts up a chart marking the days of being sober and gets rid of all her hidden bottles of alcohol throughout the house. While getting a coffee she runs into Sharon and offers to help her care for her newborn son. However, Linda is still tempted to drink and on

5320-494: 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

5586-413: A father she adored but who treated her mother appallingly. She had a very long subsequent career on the show, falling for the wrong bloke and not realising her own worth. You could see that the way she turned was directly related to her beginnings, to that difficult family situation." Sharon has topped numerous viewer polls suggesting she is one of EastEnders' most favored characters. Critics have praised

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5852-458: A few curve balls." Inside Soap said that Mick and Linda have a passionate relationship and adore each other. Bright explained that Mick and Linda have grown up together, and said: "It's a weird thing when you've known someone your whole life—you're more than just husband and wife. You're something else." She later said that Mick and Linda have known each other since they were five or six years old, and can finish each other's sentences and know how

6118-604: A forbidden relationship-turned-marriage with Den's son Dennis Rickman ( Nigel Harman ), which culminated with his death after the couple ended up feuding with gangster Johnny Allen ( Billy Murray ). Since 2012, Sharon's storylines have featured an aborted engagement to Jack Branning ( Scott Maslen ); battling a painkiller addiction ; a reunion and tempestuous marriage to Phil; being attacked in her own bar, meeting her biological father Gavin Sullivan ( Paul Nicholas ) and her affair with Keanu popularly dubbed 'Sheanu'; sparking

6384-496: A half-brother Zack Hudson ( James Farrar ), has a fling with Kheerat Panesar ( Jaz Deol ) and finds out she has a granddaughter, Alyssa . In December 2022, Keanu returns to Walford and he and Sharon reunite, before getting engaged. Sharon deals with Albie's kidnap unaware that Keanu has orchestrated it, and she also learns that Albie is not Keanu's son after all and that Phil is his real father. The storyline culminates with Keanu's death on Christmas Day 2023 after Sharon jilts him at

6650-528: A happy storyline, like Sharon and Dennis going off around the world. Although obviously, she'll have to come back on her own going, 'What a [bastard]'." Despite Sharon discovering that she was pregnant with Dennis's child on Christmas Day 2005, the Rickmans were not given a happy ending. Writers made the decision to kill Dennis in the New Year's Eve episode of 2005. In the episode Dennis was fatally stabbed on

6916-406: A heart to heart, and he asks her to marry him properly, but she declines, determined to keep up the pretence to their children that they are already married. This conversation is overheard by Dean, who agrees to keep quiet. Linda supports Mick when he participates in a swimming gala for Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick ), despite being fearful of water. Mick conquers his fears, but on the way home he

7182-427: A job there. However, Johnny likes the job and tells her that he does not want to feed information to her. Linda and Mick's eldest son, Lee Carter ( Danny Hatchard ), returns from Afghanistan, where he has been serving in the army. He is grieving for a comrade he has lost, and Linda is a comfort and support to him. Shirley's estranged son Dean Wicks ( Matt Di Angelo ) comes to Walford, and although he continues to share

7448-625: A lot of help from my friends", with the channel still under criticism, following the start of new programming which Alan introduced a year earlier, and the number of summer repeats. £175 million was spent on 80 hours of original drama produced, enchantment to the arts with an extended 26-week run for Omnibus , and documentaries with The Downing Street Years , new wildlife series and an eight-month look at Sheffield's Children's hospital, while Goodnight Sweetheart , Grace & Favour and The Danny Baker Show were new comedy series. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman included in

7714-519: A lot of her mother in Sharon Watts. There is the warm sympathy and the barbed tongue for a kick-off. But Sharon is more sensible than Angie, less likely to fly off the beer handle in The Vic." Letitia Dean suggested that Sharon was trying to establish her own personality as landlady of The Vic in 1993, but that she was also taking tips from Angie, whom she "admired for her strength of character." In

7980-531: A number of new home grown programmes, including 'Allo 'Allo! , In Sickness and in Health , and Open All Hours . Further improvement came about when the corporation strengthened its drama output costing £30 million, with eight new series, including Howards' Way , All Creatures Great and Small , Hold the Back Page , and Bluebill , along with the return of Bergerac and Big Deal . The increase in

8246-446: A pedestal, when she found out that he had been alive for all those years and never contacted her — once — it absolutely devastated her, it rocked her world [...] She couldn't believe that he would be so selfish because she was his princess." Leslie Grantham suggested that the one person Den loved more than himself was Sharon and that she was the reason he came back to Walford after 14 years. Part of Den's return episodes featured

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8512-513: A photoshoot for the salon. Linda warned him to back off. Speaking of Dean's feelings for Linda, Di Angelo claimed that it stemmed from the desire that "Dean (secretly) wants to be Mick", but warned that it wouldn't "be filled with too much happiness for too long". Dean also stumbled upon the family secret that Mick and Linda were not married, and later drunkenly kissed Linda when she was struggling with issues surrounding Mick falsely pleading guilty to soliciting prostitutes . On 31 August 2014, it

8778-601: A position vacated by BBC Three , which had been switched to internet-only six weeks earlier. Changes in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were also scheduled but delayed for 'technical reasons'. On 22 November 2022, the BBC announced that BBC One will finally be regionalised on their HD channels. This move started on Sky Glass, followed by Virgin Cable, and then in the 2023 new year, HD programmes are launched on satellite. With

9044-579: A post she took up on 1 November 2000. She had previously been sounded out about the job in 1997 after Michael Jackson 's departure, but had turned down the opportunity as she felt she was then not yet experienced enough. During Heggessey's five years in charge, BBC One's audience share fell by 19.9%, to 23%, although this was in the context of declining audience figures across all British television channels due to increased competition from multichannel digital television . However, in 2001 BBC One overtook its main rival ITV in terms of annual audience share for

9310-479: A regular basis, and also because the occupants would be providing the majority of the drama. Sharon's original character outline, as written by Smith and Holland, appeared in an abridged form in their 1987 book, EastEnders: The Inside Story . In this passage, Sharon is referred to as Tracey and her parents as Jack and Pearl (known now as Den and Angie). Tracey is at the centre of her parents' dramas. The children of publicans nearly always suffer in one way or another:

9576-497: A relationship. Linda returns to the Queen Vic where she argues and fights with Janine. After Janine scams Nancy and Zack out of £50,000 to give to Linda in an attempt for her to leave Walford, Linda invests the money in the 'Fox and Hair' salon, unaware that the money that Janine gave her was from scammed from Nancy and Zack who wanted to buy a restaurant. Linda is later involved in a car crash with Janine and Annie after she and Janine argue over Mick. Janine moves an unconscious Linda into

9842-416: A result of Sharon's storyline, they were discussing taboo topics openly in their homes for the first time in years, or ever. Sharon went on to feature in a storyline about the ups and downs of a pop group called The Banned in 1986. It featured the majority of teenage characters in the soap at the time. The storyline proved to be a successful merchandising tool for the serial, as it spawned two hit singles in

10108-603: A result. His future was deemed uncertain following critical comments from Sir Michael Lyons , Chairman of the BBC Trust , and he resigned on 5 October 2007. In 2009, a report published by the BBC Trust found scheduling changes had led to a decrease in viewers. This was especially noticeable for Blue Peter and Newsround , two of CBBC's flagship programmes; Blue Peter which recorded its lowest viewing numbers since it started in 1958, and Newsround with fewer than 100,000 viewers compared to 225,000 in 2007. As part of

10374-523: A ring and asks for his hand in marriage." However, in a plot twist, Tom was not killed off by the tumour; he instead died in a fire, airing in an episode that paid homage to Halloween , in October 2002. His death coincided with the exit of another character, Trevor Morgan ( Alex Ferns ). In the episode, Tom rushes into a house fire to save Trevor who is holding his baby and his ex-wife Little Mo Morgan ( Kacey Ainsworth ) hostage, but despite rescuing Mo and

10640-425: A rival... Tracey's set on a course which is almost inevitable. Either, a collision, or, full-circle, to the same route as her parents took. Although Sharon was meant to be fourteen, licensing regulations required the cast actress to be a sixteen-year-old who could "play down." Holland and Smith were looking for a "bouncy, attractive, oddly vulnerable young woman" who would come across as slightly more sophisticated than

10906-463: A room on the boat as he found out Denny orchestrated the attack on Ian's son Bobby ( Clay Milner Russell ). Sharon attempts suicide before becoming the landlady of The Queen Vic once again. As part of her revenge plan upon finding out Ian's role in Dennis's death, she marries Ian and attempts to poison him to death, but realised she can't do it and lets him flee. After this, Sharon discovers that she has

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11172-470: A solicitor to begin divorce proceedings from Mick. When Shirley breaks into the pub to confront Linda over being manipulated by Stuart, Linda calls the police and they arrest Shirley. She is released the next day and attacks Stuart. Linda takes Shirley aside and secretly shows her that she has hidden her wedding rings in her bra: her close friendship with Stuart is actually part of a bigger plan to help get Mick out of prison as she still loves Mick and believes he

11438-591: A sound in the barrel stall and while investigating comes face to face with Mick. Months later, Linda develops a stress-induced drinking disorder . She is arrested after crashing into a parent's car during the school run and, failing a breathalyser test, faces a court summons, also a driving ban which she keeps secret from Mick, unfortunately she reverts to drinking alcohol, anxious about telling him. On Christmas Eve, Linda gets drunk and insults Ruby Allen ( Louisa Lytton ) and Mick, mocking him about his panic attacks , which Ollie witnesses. Linda walks out and passes out in

11704-449: A stand and with Alfie's help, she leads a campaign in an attempt for people to boycott the pie and mash shop. Linda is later accused by Dean of having vandalised the front of the shop, which she denied. After being punched by George, Dean considers going to the police, but instead successfully blackmails Linda into telling him that he did not rape her which he records on tape. Linda later relapses and begins drinking again after Dean plays out

11970-514: A station clock, and perceived lack of a 'serious ident', also put the BBC in an embarrassing situation just one day into the new look with the death of the Queen Mother . One of Heggessey's most notable decisions and last major success at the channel was the recommissioning of the science-fiction drama series Doctor Who , which had been a popular hit in previous decades but ceased production in 1989 . Heggessey and Jane Tranter recommissioned

12236-635: A troubled adolescence, Sharon emerged as an unbalanced femme fatale with a taste for bullies. She tried both Mitchell brothers and found them wanting. When she returned to the Square after a long absence, however, it was straight back to Phil's bed that she raced." Sharon Rickman biography provided by the BBC (2012) Described by the BBC as "slightly spoilt, over-dramatic, blousy, but ultimately kind-hearted", Sharon has been classified by Rupert Smith, author of EastEnders: 20 Years in Albert Square , as

12502-601: A troubled relationship with his mother, he is welcomed by Mick and Linda into the family. Dean develops feelings for Linda, which she is at first unaware of, but discovers when he gropes her buttocks at a photoshoot for his new salon. She warns him that it is inappropriate but does not tell Mick out of fear of angering him. Tina encourages Johnny to embrace his sexuality, inviting him to gay pride in London. Linda continues to be uncomfortable with this, and attempts to sabotage his plans by making him work. However, he realises what she

12768-486: A troublemaker, but they disapprove so Mick forcibly removes her from the wedding service. In the following argument, Nancy reveals that Johnny is gay , and has been hiding his sexuality in fear of how his parents will react. Linda refuses to accept that he is gay and encourages him to date Whitney Dean ( Shona McGarty ), who shows an interest in him. Mick, along with Shirley and Tina, visit their estranged father Stan Carter ( Timothy West ) for money, and reunite with him in

13034-551: A violent robbery on The Queen Vic, during which Linda's favourite necklace is stolen. Linda is inspired to make Christmas great as a result, and is overjoyed when Ollie takes his first steps. Linda is devastated to learn that Elaine has had a stroke in Spain on Christmas Eve, and she flies out there with Johnny to support her mother. Later, Johnny returns to Walford while Linda relocates with Elaine to Watford to aid her mother's recovery. Mick visits Linda and informs her that Babe has caused

13300-434: A voiceover on 14 March 2017 and on 23 May 2017 and a physical appearance on 16 March 2017. Bright returned to filming full-time on 22 April 2017, and after making a guest appearance on 30 June 2017, her full-time return aired on 7 August. Bright announced her third pregnancy on 22 March 2021 and departed on 21 September 2021 for maternity leave. She made one-off appearances on 28 and 31 December 2021. In September 2019, it

13566-416: A year was spent on narrowing the gap on ITV's ratings lead, since a few months prior to this the channel had been criticised for its Autumn schedule, having tired formats, uninspiring scheduling of new programmes and poor scripts. Wogan was replaced with Eldorado , in early July 1992, but this was itself cancelled a year later. Alan Yentob launched the 1993 Autumn schedule calling it "My first try with

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13832-432: Is "a sensitive, vulnerable girl who is easily hurt. Even so, that doesn't stop her going after something that she really wants [...] Sharon came through to become a nice girl behind the streetwise image [...] with her blonde hair and bright make-up she adds a cheerful touch to drab Albert Square." Television critic Matt Bayliss, discussed the psychology of Sharon in 2010: "She had a terrible childhood. An alcoholic mother and

14098-579: Is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders , played by Kellie Bright . She first appeared on 19 December 2013 and her casting was announced alongside her on-screen partner, Mick Carter ( Danny Dyer ). Linda was introduced as the new landlady of the Queen Victoria pub by new executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins as part of the Carter family. The introduction of Dyer and Bright

14364-432: Is absolutely dumbstruck at seeing her father again. It's like seeing a ghost and she's completely shocked. To see him after all this time when she had accepted his death and got on with her life, is too much for her. Sharon has been through so much in the past 14 years without Den and has had to cope on her own. Although she's pleased to see him, he knows nothing of the life she's had in his absence—he hasn't been there for all

14630-400: Is an alcoholic and that she wants to get help, choosing her marriage and Mick over alcohol. The day after the boat crash Mick tells Linda about Whitney calling him for help after her accidental murder of Leo as he is worried now that Whitney has confessed. Linda questions why he didn't call the police considering it was in self-defence. Mick later tells police he invited Whitney to the party as

14896-426: Is arrested for soliciting a prostitute . He tells Linda that the police are making a mistake as it was in fact his friend Ian Beale ( Adam Woodyatt ), that was speaking with the prostitute; he pulled over merely to see what was going on. Stan's girlfriend, Cora Cross ( Ann Mitchell ) overhears the conversation and accompanies Linda to Mick's hearing, and Linda is devastated when he pleads guilty to protect Ian, who

15162-526: Is arrested for the attempted rape of Roxy. Afterwards, Linda and Mick marry. When they return from their honeymoon, Whitney kisses Mick, saying she has feelings for him, so he tells Linda what happened. Linda tells Whitney to keep away from Mick and not to give up on Lee. Nancy and Lee have an argument, which causes Ollie (now Charlie Harrington) to fall off his highchair. Mick and Linda do not witness this, and when Mick insists they should get Ollie to hospital, Linda states he seems fine, but she later finds Ollie

15428-408: Is asked to look after Phil's baby granddaughter Lexi Pearce , and is found unconscious by Lexi's mother Lola Pearce ( Danielle Harold ) after taking painkillers. Discussing the storyline, Dean said, "Filming the scene where she collapses and Lola finds her was really difficult because it's so sad. Sharon thinks she is coping but she evidently isn't. She is on such a downward spiral. She can stop using

15694-536: Is attacked by an unknown assailant and left for dead. As Mick struggles from his depression , he tells Linda to stay away from him. Linda is hurt by this and then she decides to stay with Max and they have sex. Linda tells Mick that she slept with Max but Mick can't bring himself to do anything about it which makes Linda think he doesn't care. Max tries to convince Linda to move to New Zealand with him and, after another rejection from Mick, she decides to go. Mick almost attempts suicide before realising that Katy abused him as

15960-409: Is delighted that Whitney and Woody are emigrating, but Woody leaves without Whitney, so Linda is annoyed. Mick asks Linda to renew their wedding vows and she accepts, though has doubts after seeing Mick comforting Whitney. The Carters attempt to raise money after Grafton Hill tell them they need to pay £60,000 in repair costs or face eviction, though Fi tells them she has reduced it to £50,000. They raise

16226-433: Is determined to find the money to keep the pub and signs up to participate in a robbery with Aidan Maguire ( Patrick Bergin ) and his gang on New Year's Day 2018. Linda is distraught when Mick is shot by Callum "Halfway" Highway ( Tony Clay ), an army friend of Lee's during the robbery. However, Mick recovers with the help of Linda, Shirley, Mariam Ahmed ( Indira Joshi ) and a remorseful Halfway, who offers to help out at

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16492-413: Is doing and in the ensuing argument he leaves home. Stan takes Linda to his old flat where Johnny is staying, and, after some tough love from Stan about her past, she apologises to Johnny and drops him off at gay pride, giving him her blessing. The following week, Linda has a party for her birthday, and Lee returns permanently from Afghanistan in time for the celebrations. After the party, Linda and Mick have

16758-497: Is fine and Linda tells Elaine that she could not talk to Mick. Two months later, Mick phones Linda, telling her to come back home or else there will be nothing to come back to. When Linda and Ollie (now played by Harry Farr) return, she is surprised when she discovers the amount of changes that have happened. When Linda discovers that Mick has been fighting in the pub, Shirley tells her that he has struggled with her prolonged absence and Linda admits that she has neglected him. When Linda

17024-431: Is going through a tough time following the death of his daughter, Lucy Beale ( Hetti Bywater ). Linda agrees to keep quiet, but Cora has a change of heart about supporting Linda and reveals Mick's offence to the whole pub, running his name through the mud. Unable to cope with the negative social stigma surrounding her family, Linda demands that Mick reveals the truth, but he refuses, wanting to keep his word to Ian. However,

17290-433: Is happy that his plan is working. As this is happening, Mick walks into The Queen Vic and tells Max to stay away from Linda. Max doesn't listen which leads to Mick punching him. Jack takes Max home and confronts him about the file that he stole and used to threaten Phil. Linda then walks in and also confronts Max for using Mick's trauma to his advantage. She tells him to leave Walford and Jack agrees. Later that day, Phil visits

17556-499: Is his daughter. Linda assumes Mick has cheated on her but he tells her that Frankie is nearly 31 years old which means Mick would have been 12 when she was conceived. Linda is horrified as she realises that Mick was sexually abused. She tells Mick she is sorry for sleeping with Max and almost taking Ollie away from him. Mick and Linda hug and it is implied that they are now back together. After being dumped by Linda, Max begins drinking and thinking of ways to win her back. Jack sees Mick at

17822-466: Is innocent. Linda then attempts to seduce Stuart to record a confession from him, but he finds the recording device. After he attempts to rape her, Linda gets him to confess that Mick did not shoot him, but he is unaware that she has a second recording device in her hair. Following this, Stuart is arrested for perverting the course of justice but is quickly released after he blames Dylan, this annoys and worries Linda that Mick might not be released, she hears

18088-433: Is not breathing. She successfully resuscitates him, only for him to suffer a seizure. Ollie is taken to hospital where a doctor tells the Carters that he could have brain damage after a head injury. Linda, in denial about the severity of Ollie's condition, argues with Mick, especially when he blames Nancy for the incident, however, she soon realises that Mick is right about Ollie having changed when he does not respond to her in

18354-500: Is pregnant when she vomits at the smell of lavender bath soap, and she, is horrified to discover he is correct, when she takes a test. She lies to Mick about the result and plans to have an abortion, but Mick finds out and she agrees to keep the baby. She is disturbed when Dean finds out, and tries to hang onto the belief that the baby is Mick's. Stacey Branning ( Lacey Turner ) bumps into Linda who asks her about her relationship with Dean, Linda nearly admits that Dean raped her however she

18620-429: Is presumed dead at sea after shortly reuniting with him; dealing with the return of her rapist Dean, murdering Keanu Taylor ( Danny Walters ) to save her best friend Sharon Watts ( Letitia Dean ) during " The Six " storyline, for which she later turned herself in to the police but effectively escaped punishment after Nish Panesar ( Navin Chowdhry ) took the blame, and coming to terms with the revelation that her father

18886-487: Is revealed to be Elaine (now portrayed by Harriet Thorpe ), Linda's mother. After lying to Sharon, they both fall out as Elaine walks in, revealing she is the new co-landlady of The Queen Vic. Weeks later, Linda meets George Knight ( Colin Salmon ), Elaine's partner, and his daughters, Gina ( Francesca Henry ) and Anna ( Molly Rainford ), who turn up at The Queen unannounced, with Elaine not telling Linda that George and

19152-802: Is seemingly about to tell Mick about her secret, Mick admits to her that he is in love with someone else. Linda realises it is Whitney and throws her out, while Mick begs her not to give up on their marriage. Linda agrees to reconcile but is furious when Mick admits he paid Whitney off, so she slaps him. Following a conversation with Fi, Linda offers Whitney her job back but she also defies Fi by rehiring Tracey ( Jane Slaughter ). After confiding in Denise about Mick's infatuation, Denise tells Linda that she saw Mick and Whitney kiss several months previously. Linda then learns that Fi nearly kissed Mick. Linda considers leaving Walford with Ollie, however, she talks to Jack Branning ( Scott Maslen ) and reveals that Elaine's stroke

19418-594: Is still alive; she continues to taunt Martin over this, with him growing more worried that she will reveal everything. Linda's alcoholism continues to spiral out of control, resulting in her slapping Sharon and social services intervening as Ollie's schoolteachers notice him becoming extremely unhappy. After almost setting fire to the kitchen and potentially endangering Ollie with her behaviour, Shirley tries to drown Linda, who breaks down. Shirley then urges her to attend therapy for her alcoholism or face never seeing Ollie again. However, Linda continues her drinking and thinks that

19684-532: Is stopped from doing so when they are interrupted by Dean. However, Stacey grows suspicious, and when Linda unexpectedly gets scared when Dean is around, Stacey surmises that Dean raped her and confronts Linda. When Stacey depicts how she felt after her rape, Linda accepts that he did. Johnny announces he is leaving Walford to travel with Gianluca, although initially upset, Linda decides to support him. Linda, feeling increasingly threatened by Dean, turns down Mick's Christmas Day proposal before stunning Mick by revealing

19950-495: Is trying to get Max to return to the Square, becomes suspicious of Linda and threatens to tell Max that he has a baby on the way. Linda later gives birth to a daughter, whom she calls Annie. Mick, Linda and Ollie later leave to live in Elaine's pub as they fear Max will return, however a few weeks later, Mick and Ollie return to Walford alone without Linda. At Christmas time, Linda is visited by Janine Butcher ( Charlie Brooks ), under

20216-595: The BBC Six O'Clock News , a straight news programme in a bid to shore up its failing early evening slot. It was believed the BBC were planning to cut short the evening news and move more light entertainment programming in from the 18:20 slot, but this was dismissed. The Miss Great Britain contest was dropped, being described as verging on the too offensive after the January 1985 contest, with World's Strongest Man and International Superstar also being cancelled. BBC1

20482-506: The Nine O'Clock News had been moved to the later time of 22:00 and Panorama moved from Monday night prime time slot to a later slot on Sunday nights. The moving of Panorama attracted criticism that BBC One was sidelining serious programming in favour of more populist output. Heggessey publicly defended the decision, despite it not being hers, claiming that Panorama 's ratings would have "dwindled" in its previous slot. Heggessey and

20748-560: The 2012 Olympic Games in London. To promote the character's return, the BBC began airing a trailer across its network's channels during July and August 2012. The trailer showed Albert Square and its residents being blown away by "Hurricane Sharon", who floated down from the sky wearing a wedding dress to the soundtrack of " Gimme Shelter " by The Rolling Stones . Dean described Sharon as a lost soul upon her return: "she's totally lost. She doesn't know who she is, where she's going. There's something that comes out later, that's happened to her in

21014-415: The 2022 British Soap Awards . Sharon Watts was one of the original twenty-three characters conceived by the creators of EastEnders , Tony Holland and Julia Smith . She was originally to be named Tracey, and she and her parents were to be the occupants of the soap's local pub, now known as The Queen Vic . Holland, who had worked as a barman in his youth, called upon his own personal experiences to invent

21280-757: The Boxing Day episode for EastEnders , moving into her new home on Albert Square , The Queen Victoria. Mick and Linda became the landlord and landlady of their pub. In a poll held by Digital Spy a month after the introduction of the Carters, Linda was the least popular, with 5.65% of the vote. Mick proved to be the most popular, with nearly 50% of the vote. Upon the character's announcement, Treadwell-Collins explained that in their fictional backstory, Mick and Linda have been married for over twenty years, and have been together since they were teenagers. Hello called them "childhood sweethearts". They were called "a tight family unit", and Treadwell-Collins said they have

21546-442: The "Balloon" idents (and the traditional "Globe" idents the channel had used in a variety of forms since 1963). They were replaced by a new style of on-air identity for the channel, the "Rhythm & Movement" idents . The new idents attracted criticism for going against the traditions of the channel and pandering to " political correctness ", as they featured activities performed by people of various ethnicities. The abandonment of

21812-471: The 1962 Pilkington Report on the future of broadcasting. Simultaneously, the Pilkington Report decided to award an additional television station to the BBC on the basis that ITV was in comparison lacking in serious programming. BBC Television became BBC1 when BBC2 launched on 20 April 1964, transmitting an incompatible 625-line image on UHF . The only way to receive all channels was to use

22078-412: The 1990s due to her becoming the landlady of The Queen Victoria public house and her romantic pairings with brothers Grant ( Ross Kemp ) and Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ). In a storyline dubbed Sharongate , Sharon married Grant and then 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

22344-424: The 1990s, the producers of EastEnders wanted to take the similarities between Sharon and Angie one step further; they proposed that Sharon would begin drinking gin, the favourite beverage of her alcoholic mother. Dean was opposed to this development and persuaded the producers not to go down this route with Sharon. In 1993, she explained her reasons: "There was one time they wanted [Sharon] to drink gin because that

22610-542: The Albert Square pavement following a violent altercation with gangster Johnny Allen , having been informed by Phil Mitchell that Johnny had throttled Sharon. The aftermath saw Sharon struggling with her grief and the realisation that she would be bringing her baby up fatherless. Discussing Sharon's grief at Dennis's funeral, Letitia Dean told Inside Soap in 2006 "It's an incredibly traumatic day for Sharon, she's lost her soulmate. It's especially devastating because she's pregnant, which, as far as she and Dennis were concerned,

22876-514: The BBC announced plans to launch a one-hour time shift of the channel, named BBC One +1. The channel would have replaced BBC Three in 2016. However, on 30 June 2015, the BBC Trust rejected the plans for a BBC One +1 channel as they stated that it would be at the expense of commercial rivals. BBC One HD , a simulcast of BBC One in 1080i high definition (HD), launched on 3 November 2010 at 19:00 with The One Show . The channel simulcasts

23142-535: The BBC's Controller of Drama Commissioning, Jane Tranter , took advantage of the weekday 21:00 slot opening up by moving the news to commission new popular drama output, such as the successful Waking the Dead (2000–2011) and Spooks (2002–2011). Celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing (2004–present) was also a popular success on Saturday nights, although another Saturday night entertainment series, Fame Academy , faced accusations of being too derivative of

23408-429: The BBC's television output be out-sourced to independent production companies. By 2004, many popular BBC One shows were made for the channel by independents, but the in-house production departments continued to contribute heavily to the schedule. In March 1991, as part of the £63 million programme package for spring and summer line up on BBC1, it was announced an extra £20 million was to be spent on rejuvenating

23674-621: The BBC-developed NICAM system. Widescreen programming was introduced on digital platforms in 1998. For the first 50 years of its existence, with the exception of films and programmes purchased from the United States and elsewhere, almost all the channel's output were produced by the BBC's in-house production departments. This changed following the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990 , which required that 25% of

23940-400: The Carters and offers them The Queen Vic back. They decide to take the offer just as Max leaves Albert Square. Months later, Linda begins feeling sick and discovers she is pregnant. Linda tells Mick and he is over the moon about the idea of them having another baby, although she later reveals that it's Max's. Although uneasy, Mick tells Linda he will raise the baby as his own. Rainie Cross, who

24206-503: The Carters and one night, Stuart is shot in The Queen Vic. Linda initially thinks Mick shot Stuart so she dumps the gun in the canal after she finds it in the bar but she is seen by Keanu Taylor ( Danny Walters ). Mick tells Linda he is innocent and she worries whether she did the right thing, though Mick reassures her. The next day, Linda is arrested for Stuart's attempted murder. However, when Stuart regains consciousness, he tells

24472-623: The Delivering Quality First proposals submitted by the BBC in October 2011 and approved by the BBC Trust in May 2012, all children's programming on BBC One and Two would be moved permanently to the CBBC and CBeebies channels following the digital switchover. It was found that the majority of child viewers watched the programmes on these channels already and that only 7% of these children watched CBBC programmes on BBC One and Two only, it

24738-532: The Mickey Mouse cartoon that they had broadcast in 1939. The BBC held a statutory monopoly on television broadcasting in the United Kingdom until Associated-Rediffusion , the first Independent Television (ITV) station, began to broadcast on 22 September 1955. The competition quickly forced the channel to change its identity and priorities, following a large reduction in its audience, as noted in

25004-528: The Mitchells can throw at her". Their reunion lasted until December 2001, when various secrets, including Sharon's confession that she believed she was infertile after aborting Grant's baby, ended their romance. In 2002, executive producer John Yorke introduced the character of Tom Banks ( Colm Ó Maonlaí ) as a love interest for Sharon. A love triangle storyline featured initially as Tom battled for Sharon's affections with her former lover Phil Mitchell . In

25270-521: The Queen which was shown to journalists during a press conference. It apparently showed the Queen storming out of a session with American photographer Annie Leibovitz over a disagreement about what she should wear, but the BBC subsequently admitted that the scenes used in the trailer had been edited out of their correct order, meaning that a false impression was given. Fincham admitted the error, but rejected calls that he should resign from his position as

25536-473: The Saturday night line up to increase variety. Following the public disapproval of filling its schedule with 25% of repeats during the summer months of 1993, BBC1 agreed to broadcast an extra 110 hours worth of original programming over the same period during the summer in 1994, which included giving EastEnders an additional episode per week. Efficiency savings of £25 million were found and redeployed to

25802-474: The States and stuff like that. But she's a lost soul, and this is home again. There's no place like home, so she finds herself back there again." Sharon's return in 2012 saw her battling with an addiction to painkillers . Sharon secretly visits an addiction support group but continues to use the painkillers whenever things became difficult in her personal circumstances. The problem culminates in 2013 when Sharon

26068-456: The Thames with Mick holding on to an unconscious Linda. They are rescued by Stuart and Rainie who are on a life boat, and Linda regains consciousness. Once they reach the dock with all the other passengers, Linda is devastated as she sees Dennis being declared dead by paramedics who failed to resuscitate him. Mick, Linda and Tina later arrive home to The Queen Vic where Linda finally admits that she

26334-550: The UK charts. One of the songs " Something Outa Nothing ", which was performed on-screen in the plot, was released by actors Letitia Dean and Paul J. Medford. The song was a modest success, reaching number 12 in the UK singles chart in November 1986. The storyline was seen as an interesting and major undertaking in the serial, but one that Holland and Smith felt never entirely worked. In her teenage years, Sharon's main storylines depicted

26600-423: The UK. Holland and Smith have suggested that it was a daring issue to tackle in the 1980s, as it involved a girl under sixteen, and was to be aired at a time when the issue was prominent in British society. Holland and Smith suggested that people took sides with the issue and Sharon's dilemma became a debate used as a teaching method, both in schools and at home. The creators stated that many families admitted that, as

26866-535: The Vic looking over a dead body revealing a Christmas Day murder would occur. In September 2023, executive producer Chris Clenshaw revealed to Bright that Linda would be the killer. On Christmas Day 2023 , it was revealed that Linda murdered Keanu, in defense of Sharon, whom Keanu was attempting to strangle. It was revealed earlier in the year that a big storyline would centre around Linda, would commence in February 2023,

27132-415: The Vic's cellar. In August 2005, the BBC announced that both Letitia Dean and Nigel Harman were quitting their roles as Sharon and Dennis, with both due to film their final scenes for a New Year's departure. While Harman's exit was reported as permanent, Dean's was reported as an "extended break", with the suggestion being that she would be returning to the soap opera at some unspecified stage. Discussing

27398-539: The Watts dynasty. As a precursor to Den's return and as part of producer Louise Berridge 's plan to rebuild the Watts family, Den's estranged son Dennis Rickman ( Nigel Harman ) was introduced to EastEnders earlier in 2003. A "forbidden love" storyline was built into Sharon's narrative, when she embarked on a relationship with Dennis despite him being the son of her adoptive father. Scenes in which Sharon and Dennis succumb to their lust for each other had to be re-edited as

27664-449: The Watts family and the pub they lived in. Holland and Smith had always been critical of the way pubs had been portrayed on television, feeling they lacked vitality and life, so they were determined that their pub and occupants were going to be more "real". The Watts were seen by Holland as integral to the show's success, partly because he had already guessed that the pub was going to be a monstrous battleground where emotions would run high on

27930-571: The Watts family together for a festive altercation. 12.3 million people tuned in to watch Sharon leave Walford without Dennis in the aftermath; it was the highest viewed television programme of the day. Dennis and Sharon eventually returned to the serial as a couple in the summer of 2005 having reunited off-screen, neither aware that Den has been murdered by his scorned second wife Chrissie Watts ( Tracy-Ann Oberman ) in their absence. Den's murder storyline aired to celebrate EastEnders ' 20th anniversary plot in February 2005 and featured Sharon discovering

28196-409: The absence of both her parents, she now views Michelle and her daughter Vicki as her family, Michelle tells her the secret she has been keeping for four years, that Vicki is Den's daughter. However, Sharon is not comforted by this, feeling "hurt, angry and deceived" by Michelle and her father. Brake surmised that Sharon "leaves the flat wishing that Michelle had never told her. Things would never be quite

28462-443: The actor had been fired, commenting, "He was brought in to play out a specific storyline" and that he was due to "go out with a bang". According to The Mirror , EastEnders' bosses decided that there was nowhere else to go with the character, that they could not work out how to develop him and that he had fulfilled a specific role. Part of Tom's exit storyline saw the character discovering that he had an inoperable brain tumour. Despite

28728-504: 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

28994-603: The altar after learning of his role in Albie's kidnap, and reveals that Keanu is not Albie's father. Keanu almost kills Sharon before her best friend Linda Carter ( Kellie Bright ) stabs him to defend her during " The Six " storyline. She was named the best EastEnders character of all time by the Daily Mirror in 2020. For her portrayal of Sharon, Dean won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement at

29260-540: The attack on Sharon Rickman ( Letitia Dean ). As a result, Johnny left home, but Linda tracked him down with the help of her father-in-law Stan ( Timothy West ), and they reunited, with Linda showing her acceptance by dropping him off at gay pride in London. Other storylines included Linda's turmoilous friendship with Sharon, which turned into a rivalry when she opened a rival bar, The Albert, in Walford; her plans to breed her dog, Lady Di, being scuppered when her daughter Nancy ( Maddy Hill ) lost control of her and she

29526-630: The attack, Linda fell pregnant. When Dean returns to the pub after a short absence, Bright stated that Linda is horrified despite trying to move on. Bright also added that Linda does not want to know who the baby's father is as she thinks that Linda is "scared and terrified". In May 2016, Bright announced that she was pregnant with her second child, and on 28 September 2016 it was confirmed that Bright would take six months maternity leave. Linda's on screen departure aired on 25 December 2016. Bright interrupted her maternity leave for two episodes in March 2017,

29792-429: The baby, he and Trevor both die in an explosion. In 2003, producer Louise Berridge negotiated for Leslie Grantham to reprise the role of Sharon's father Den, 14 years after his last appearance. Part of her motive for doing so was to bring Sharon, whom she described as one of her favourite characters, "right back where she belonged, at the very heart of the show." The character Den had supposedly been killed in 1989 and

30058-556: The back in order to save Sharon. After The Six frame Dean for Keanu's murder, Linda's alcohol abuse further declines and she is found unconscious having choked on her own vomit. She recovers, however after Dean admits he raped her at his trial but isn't guilty of killing Keanu, Linda confesses to Keanu's murder. After the police don't believe her claim, Linda leaves and confronts Bernadette to tell her what happened, Bernadette strangles Linda and nearly kills her but stops herself. Bernadette then leaves Walford, leading Linda to be anxious about

30324-430: The barrel store at The Queen Vic to mend their friendship. In the following months, Linda is left shocked when Dean returns and enters unannounced, claiming that he is back in Walford in aid of his daughter Jade whose cystic fibrosis has worsened. Having been traumatised, Linda determines to stay away from Dean but after he is revealed to be Ian and Cindy's silent partner in their new pie and mash shop business, Linda takes

30590-493: The basement of Broadcasting House , London, on 22 August 1932. The channel officially began regular broadcasts on 2 November 1936 from a converted wing of the Alexandra Palace in London. On 1 September 1939, two days before Britain declared war on Germany, the station was taken off air with little warning, with the last programme to be shown being a Mickey Mouse cartoon (the 1933 short Mickey's Gala Premier );

30856-439: The birth of her baby would be announced on-screen later that year. On 2 February 2012, it was announced that Dean would reprise the role of Sharon after more than six years away. Dean said "I am really looking forward to being part of the EastEnders team again, as it has always been very close to my heart. I cannot wait to work with my old colleagues and see what is in store for Sharon." Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood said he

31122-556: The boat's kitchen and sees a bottle of wine on a shelf, but as she climbs to reach for it the boat crash happens and she falls. Her ankle gets stuck and she gets knocked out, and later when water begins to pour in Mick arrives and hears her cries for help. Mick cannot get Linda's foot out and Linda tells him to leave her and to think of their kids, but Mick says he is staying with her. As the boat fills with more water, Mick decides to break Linda's ankle to free her and he and Linda later appear in

31388-407: The bus, Linda sees Mick and Whitney talking and assumes they are having an affair. Unbeknownst to her, Whitney has asked Mick for help after her accidental murder of Leo King (Tom Wells). Linda drinks Mo Harris ' ( Laila Morse ) vodka on the bus en route to the boat and arrives drunk, which leads to her announcing in front of everyone that Mick and Whitney are having an affair. She later goes down to

31654-538: The call-off of her wedding with Keanu, Linda gathers in The Queen Vic with Sharon, Denise, Kathy, Stacey and Suki. The women encourage Suki to stand up to her abusive husband Nish, and a scuffle occurs which results in Denise bludgeoning Nish with a champagne bottle. With Nish presumed dead on the floor, Keanu enters the pub and discovers what has happened. He argues with Sharon following their wedding not going ahead before attempting to strangle Sharon in anger. While Nish regains consciousness, Keanu dies when Linda stabs him in

31920-540: The car. Linda is heartbroken and distraught as Mick becomes lost at sea and is presumed dead. This results in Linda leaving Walford to meet up with her children to tell them what happened to Mick. Linda returns to Walford weeks later, walking in to The Queen Vic where Alfie throws a tropical-themed party. Linda is furious and asks everyone to leave. After talking with Alfie, she decides to sell The Queen Vic but after talking with Patrick, she changes her mind and prepares to find

32186-500: The cast as Shirley's sister Tina Carter in early November, and Linda was the second new Carter to appear after her. Kellie Bright 's casting was announced alongside Danny Dyer 's on 1 October 2013, a week after Bradshaw-White's casting was revealed. Linda was described as having been with Mick since they were teenagers, and despite not being 'blessed with brains', is a 'tough woman who will always fight tooth and nail for her family – especially her children'. Bright previously appeared as

32452-456: The cast who I grew up with like Adam Woodyatt ( Ian Beale ), Todd Carty ( Mark Fowler ), Wendy Richard ( Pauline Fowler ) and Steve McFadden ( Phil Mitchell ) was just fantastic. It gave me some much-needed confidence and reassurance, knowing that I'd have that support." Sharon's return episodes, which aired in May 2001, saw her shocking the Mitchell family by revealing herself as the anonymous buyer of her childhood home (the Vic pub). During

32718-479: The channel after the BBC's contract to show the programme ended on 8 February 2008, and moved to Channel 5 on 11 February 2008. The Weakest Link was moved from BBC Two to fill the gap, with the afternoon CBBC slot moving 20 minutes earlier. There was further controversy in July 2007 when Fincham was accused of misleading BBC One viewers. The incident involved a clip from forthcoming documentary A Year with

32984-440: The channels drama and comedy output during peak times, to keep the channel in a healthy state once the new Channel 3 licences were awarded. In December 1991 Wogan was to be cancelled, due to falling ratings against a number of ITV shows, in which Wogan only managed six million viewers compared to double that for This Is Your Life , The Krypton Factor and The $ 64,000 Question . Additionally an extra £40 million

33250-538: The character of Michelle Fowler , due to be Sharon's closest peer. Out of the various applicants they had seen, they felt only actress Letitia Dean had all of the qualities they were looking for. As the casting directors were only looking for real East End actors, Dean falsely claimed that she was born and raised in Hackney , east London. The lie paid off and she got the part, clinching the deal because of her laugh, which Holland and Smith have described as "the dirtiest in

33516-901: The character's complex progression from teenager to adult, referencing the investment that viewers hold in Sharon, having watched her grow up on-screen. While Sharon's returns to EastEnders have been welcomed by some critics, others received her comebacks as an indication that the show's writers and producers had run out of original ideas. Letitia Dean has defended the decision to reintroduce Sharon, suggesting that long-running dramas such as EastEnders need "old blood". On 10 April 2019, Dean filmed her 2000th episode as Sharon. An early controversial storyline involving Sharon revolved around her desire to take contraceptive pills to persuade Kelvin Carpenter ( Paul J. Medford ) to date her. According to Holland and Smith, this storyline caused tremendous interest in

33782-401: The character, a BBC spokesperson said, "It's the producer's job to decide how the storylines are going to go, and he decided to bring Sharon back. And Letitia said she would love to come back." The producer's decision to bring Sharon back reportedly shocked Dean, as she believed the time for a return had passed, particularly as Grant's actor, Ross Kemp , had just left the series. She commented in

34048-568: The commissioning of several successful BBC One programmes including Robin Hood (2006–2009), Jane Eyre (2006) and How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? , which was followed by similar shows Any Dream Will Do and I'd Do Anything because of its success. His first full year in charge of the channel saw a year-on-year growth in the audience share, with a rise from 22.2% in August 2005 to 23.6% in August 2006. Fincham also directly initiated

34314-520: The continual fall-out from the Sharongate saga. 18 million viewers saw Grant bully Sharon into a divorce in the Christmas 1994 episodes; after a brief hiatus, she returned in 1995 for several months to gain revenge on Grant. The build-up for revenge saw Sharon coaxing Grant into making a public plea for marital reconciliation. However, as Thomas Sutcliffe writing for The Independent surmised, "In

34580-530: The course of justice when Stuart Highway ( Ricky Champ ) is shot, leading to her being falsely accused of attempted murder ; coping with son Ollie 's (Harry Farr) diagnosis of autism ; battling with alcoholism ; splitting up with Mick for a short time, and an extramarital affair with Max Branning ( Jake Wood ), which leads to another pregnancy; ultimately divorcing Mick after being lured back into alcoholism by Janine Butcher ( Charlie Brooks ), who wants him for herself; adjusting to life without Mick after he

34846-426: The creation of both The One Show (2006–present), an early evening, current-affairs and lifestyle magazine programme, which now runs all but two weeks of the year, and Davina (2006), a prime time chat show , the latter hosted by Davina McCall , who presented Big Brother . However, Davina was a critical and ratings disaster, which Fincham subsequently admitted was personally his fault, although he defended

35112-462: The dated and inept BBC1 scheduling which was hampering the channel and holding back good programmes. Grade said "When I took over BBC1, I discovered there were wonderful things, it was just a case of where to put them." Wogan had been scheduled for a 10 pm slot, but Grade moved it to a 7 pm slot as he believed the show had potential. From February to August 1985, a high number of American mini-series were broadcast while filming took place of

35378-536: The day of Denny's funeral, after an argument with Sharon, she does. Mick later decides that it is better for them to leave the pub and they sell it to Ian Beale and Sharon. Linda begins working in the laundrette. On a night out, she becomes tired of Mick constantly watching what she drinks and takes a drink which is seen by Max. After a heart to heart, Max kisses Linda. She initially pulls away but then kisses him back. Horrified at what she has done, Linda runs off. She kisses Max again and provides him with an alibi after Ian

35644-453: 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 ),

35910-473: The departure, Harman said, "Sharon and Dennis have had such a great run, but what would you do with them next? I could pretty much guarantee we've already done it. It was something that was talked about over a period of time between myself and the producers." Harman added, "I think it would be weird to have one there without the other and we've taken it as far as we can go. I think [the exit storyline will] be quite juicy but I'm waiting to find out. I'd like it to be

36176-513: The drama department was achieved by switching the money away from the administrative service over a three-year period, after BBC1 was criticised for failing to match ITV's output in drama. EastEnders was moved to a 19:30 slot, where it managed to soar to 20 million, helping the BBC1 audience share increase to nearly 50% for the first time since 1982. On 27 February 1985, Doctor Who was placed on an 18-month hiatus. The BBC originally planned to axe

36442-479: The driver seat to make it look like Linda was driving under the influence. Linda falls into a coma for the next few days and once she awakens, is disowned by her family who are unaware of Janine's actions. Linda loses custody of Annie as a result of Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith) setting her up after being forced by Janine but eventually, Linda gets Annie back. As Mick and Janine's relationship leads them both to being engaged, Linda learns that they are both having

36708-517: The early days of EastEnders , it was in Letitia Dean's contract that she was not allowed to lose any weight. "The poodle-haired daughter of the late Den and Angie Watts , Sharon was affectionately known as "Princess" by Den. Even though she was adopted she inherited the drama-queen gene from mum, Ange. She was constantly playing her parents off against each other like tennis balls. But she loved them despite living in their drunken war zone. After

36974-521: The end, Sharon recoiled from the full horror of public humiliation in the Queen Vic and conducted a minor-key revenge on the pavement outside. For a while, there seemed a good chance that she was going to leave the series in an ambulance, but Grant kept his temper, so she simply climbed into a black cab, departing not with a bang but a whimper." The character was reintroduced to the show in 2001 by then producer John Yorke , almost six years after her initial departure. Discussing Yorke's decision to reintroduce

37240-534: The episodes in the televised documentary EastEnders Revealed: Dirty Den Returns : "It all had to kick off in Angie's Den because this is the thing that Sharon has built [in] memory of her parents [...] the way she's worshipped them in their death in a way that she couldn't deal with them when they were alive [...] there's a lot of really confused and emotional stuff [for Sharon]". Letitia Dean has discussed Sharon's reaction to Den's comeback: "Sharon put her father on such

37506-411: The episodes that aired during 1989 and 1990, that could account for Den's death being staged. She commented, "A great deal was made in the show of Den's [signet] ring turning up [as proof that he died]—but if you watch the episode of the shooting you'll see he isn't even wearing it at the time of his supposed death. So how did it get in the canal?". Berridge's writers concocted a story whereby the body that

37772-532: The events of Christmas Day, kicking Sharon out, flirting with Max Branning ( Jake Wood ) and almost being raped by a stranger after going to his hotel room. After she phones him, Martin, turning up outside The Queen Vic, forcefully warns her in the nearby alleyway against revealing the events of Christmas Day or they are "both dead". Mick later finds out about the hotel and confronts Linda, who claims she cannot remember anything but gets herself tested for STIs . Linda later gets drunk and confesses to Sharon that Keanu

38038-405: The events of Sharon having a late in life pregnancy , her split and divorce with Phil after her affair with Keanu is revealed, giving birth to a son Albie (who Sharon believes is Keanu's son) on the same night her other son, Dennis Jnr, dies in a boat accident due to Phil, stepson Ben ( Max Bowden ), and Keanu fighting in the wheelhouse, and her friend Ian Beale ( Adam Woodyatt ) locking him in

38304-468: The fact Mick and Linda are happily married is a "rare thing in soapland". However, in July 2014, it was revealed in storylines that Mick and Linda are not married, yet all their families believes they are, a fact that left Carena Crawford from All About Soap wondering why they never got married and why they kept this a secret, but she hoped for a big wedding. Linda's early stories included her struggle with son Johnny 's ( Sam Strike ) sexuality , which

38570-400: The fact that your 'home' is always 'open house' to a variety of strangers often produces genuine feelings of anxiety and insecurity. Tracey, being adopted, will be even more sensitive to this lack of permanence. Jack and Pearl do use her as something of a tennis ball in their games of playing things off against each other. Jack tries to buy her affection with gifts. Pearl sees her as something of

38836-583: The family are all against her. Linda later kicks off and produces divorce papers telling Mick that their marriage is over, to his horror. After Linda gives a drunken speech in front of everyone at The Queen Vic one night, humiliating Mick, he tells her he will see her in court. The day of the boat party, which is being held to celebrate the Vic winning best pub, Linda and Shirley fight when Shirley notices Linda drinking as they prepare to leave. Shirley urges Linda to realize that she still loves Mick and that she should try to save her marriage. As they get ready to board

39102-454: The first Children's BBC presenter of the current format, was Phillip Schofield . On 23 May 1986, long-running lunchtime magazine show Pebble Mill at One was broadcast for the last time after being on air for 14 years. On 27 October 1986, BBC1 launched its daytime television schedules. In a statement, BBC Daytime head Roger Laughton said: It was the natural extension of the corporation's commitment to public service broadcasting, since half

39368-559: The first edition of Breakfast Time was shown on BBC1, becoming the first UK wide breakfast television service and continued to lead in the ratings until 1984. In 1984, Bill Cotton become managing director of Television at the BBC, and set about overhauling BBC1, which had been slated with poor home grown shows, its heavy reliance on US imports, with Dallas and The Thorn Birds being BBC1's highest rated programmes and ratings being over 20% behind ITV. Cotton recruited Michael Grade to become Controller of BBC1 from 1 September 1984

39634-475: The first time since the rival channel had launched in 1955, although much of this was down to the success of the channel's daytime television line-up, which had its own Controller: Jane Lush . When Heggessey arrived at the channel in November 2000, she inherited two controversial schedule changes which had been implemented the previous month, at the behest of Director-General of the BBC Greg Dyke ;

39900-402: The first time the corporation had recruited someone outside of the BBC, replacing Alan Hart, who had been criticised for his lack of knowledge in general entertainment, as he was head of BBC Sport prior to 1981. The first major overhaul was to axe the unpopular Sixty Minutes current affairs programme: this was a replacement for the news and magazine show Nationwide . Its replacement was

40166-483: The first variation. A Scottish variation launched on 14 January 2013, followed by a Welsh variation on 29 January 2013. On 16 July 2013, the BBC indicated that it also wants to launch regional variants of BBC One HD across England; however, this would require the approval of the BBC Trust, with a proposal due to be presented within six months. On 18 November 2013, the Northern Irish regional variant of BBC One HD

40432-432: The freehold of The Queen Vic, and they agree not to tell Mick. Linda signs the paperwork and Shirley forges Mick's signature. Linda returns to Walford for her birthday and meets Fi Browning ( Lisa Faulkner ), The Queen Vic's business consultant sent by the freeholder, Grafton Hill, and with the changes, she feels that The Queen Vic is not her home. She leaves again in the middle of the night, saying Elaine has fallen, but she

40698-544: The gardens, being awoken by Lee, who has returned for Christmas. She spends the next day in hospital but discharges herself, in the need of a drink. Linda passes out in the back of a van and when she wakes up hungover, she finds herself at an abandoned warehouse where Martin Fowler ( James Bye ) has been ordered by Ben Mitchell ( Max Bowden ) to kill Keanu, in revenge for Keanu having an affair with and impregnating his stepmother, Sharon. As Ben wants evidence of Keanu's murder on

40964-442: The girls would be moving in with them. George reveals to Linda that he would be running The Queen Vic alongside Elaine, much to Linda's anger as Elaine co-owns The Queen Vic. Linda and George feud over several weeks with Linda investigating the whereabouts of George's ex-wife, Rose Knight, who is later revealed to be Cindy Beale ( Michelle Collins ). Linda later rekindles her friendship with Sharon after Anna deliberately locks them in

41230-458: The government was concerned that the VHF transmissions would act as a beacon to enemy aircraft that could bomb London. BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at three o'clock in the afternoon. Jasmine Bligh , one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, "Good afternoon everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh?". Twenty minutes later, BBC Television again aired

41496-439: The ground before she can do so. After Elaine returns for Linda's five-month scan the day after, Linda confesses to her her fears that the baby may not be Mick's. Linda organises a romantic picnic as a fresh start for her and Mick. Linda is devastated to learn that Dean will not be charged due to lack of evidence. Linda pleads with Dean to admit he raped her but just as she seems to be making leeway, Mick interrupts. Linda falls down

41762-524: The highest reach share of any broadcaster in the United Kingdom as at 2019, ahead of its traditional rival for ratings leadership ITV . In 2013, a major global study of the BBC by the Populus polling organisation found BBC One to be rated the highest-quality TV channel in the world, with BBC Two coming in third place. BBC One is available via most major television providers in the United Kingdom. The BBC began its own regular television programming from

42028-454: The initial upset this caused to his relationship with Sharon, the couple resolved to stay together and marry after Sharon proposed. Discussing Sharon's impromptu proposal, a BBC spokesperson said, "The two of them are messing one day and they decide to swap roles. Tom is supposed to do the washing and cleaning and Sharon takes on the role of a man. It is all supposed to be a joke but Sharon takes it to heart and shocks Tom when she arrives home with

42294-470: The last minute and pressures him into leaving Walford or he'll reveal to the police that he killed Fi's brother Luke Browning ( Adam Astill ). Aidan calls off the drug deals, giving the Carters back control of The Queen Vic. Halfway's brother and Mick's longtime friend, Stuart Highway ( Ricky Champ ), arrives. Tina reveals that he abused her and another person Dylan Box ( Ricci Harnett ) when they were teenagers, and she attacks him. Stuart seeks revenge on

42560-638: The launch of the HD channels, this also means the closure of the SD channels. SD channels are shut on satellite 24 hours after the launch of the HD channel, and are moved up to the Channel 1/Channel 101 slot on the EPG. Viewers with older standard definition set-top boxes will no longer be able to receive BBC One. All BBC satellite channels in standard definition have closed on 8 January 2024. Linda Carter Linda Carter

42826-431: The launch of the second BBC channel, BBC2 , in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997. The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013 was £1.14 billion. It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. The television channel had

43092-490: The legendary Dirty Den and the feckless Angie, erstwhile landlord and lady of The Queen Vic, who were always too busy being dirty and feckless, in our opinion, to take proper care of their little girl. We knew enough about family psychology to know that all those presents they lavished upon her were no substitute for presence. We knew what neglect and emotional absence can do to a growing girl." David Buckingham, in his 1987 book Public Secrets: EastEnders and its audience , analysed

43358-552: The lowest common denominator to increase viewership. Reliance on docusoaps and the dropping of the vilified Noel's House Party were chastened by the hoax guests on The Vanessa Show . Alan Yentob said "The spring package is to remind people of what the BBC is here for, range and ambition you won't find anywhere else at peak time". The changes helped the channel distinguish itself from (as one BBC executive said) "its down-market rival and would not compete for viewers on ITV's terms." Lorraine Heggessey became Controller of BBC One,

43624-482: The money but Fi's father, James Willmott-Brown ( William Boyde ), reveals he now owns the business and Fi denies reducing the debt. Willmott-Brown gives an eviction notice to the Carters, giving them a month to leave. After Willmott-Brown collapses from a heart attack, Fi gives the Carters a chance to buy back the freehold for The Queen Vic for £150,000. Linda rejects this offer, calling it unrealistic and telling her that her family will get their comeuppance. However, Mick

43890-789: The money from a bingo jar but Shirley returns it, proving her honesty to Mick, and also recommends The Queen Victoria public house as a potential pub of their own on Albert Square in Walford , where Shirley lives. Mick purchases the pub from Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ), who is at first unaware of his identity, and Mick, Linda, their son Johnny Carter ( Sam Strike ) and their bulldog , Lady Di (Hot Lips), move in and start trading. Linda continues to clash with Shirley, who moves in with them, and she befriends Sharon Rickman ( Letitia Dean ) over their mutual dislike of Shirley. Linda and Mick receive an invite to their daughter Nancy Carter 's ( Maddy Hill ) wedding to Wayne Ladlow ( Malachi Kirby ),

44156-429: The name of Judith, who unknown to her, has moved into The Queen Vic and is trying to take advantage of Mick. Linda later drinks alcohol after being manipulated by Janine. Nancy later visits her to find her drunk. Nancy gives her an ultimatum; alcohol or a family. Linda chooses alcohol and later phones Mick telling him that she wants a divorce. Linda returns at Tina's funeral where she finds out that Mick and Janine are in

44422-525: The national version of BBC One in High Definition, with HD versions of programmes including Doctor Who , Holby City , The One Show , Strictly Come Dancing and The Apprentice . EastEnders was also made available in HD from Christmas Day 2010. All programmes still made in standard definition were upscaled on the channel, with the intention that by 2012 the vast majority of the channel's output would be in high definition. On 30 May 2012,

44688-424: The need to spread my wings and try my hand at other things. I didn't want to feel there were parts out there I hadn't had a chance to play. When I left I felt this mixture of excitement and fear. I went on the last walk with Susan Tully [who played Michelle Fowler] around the Square, talking quietly, and I felt quite sad. But at the same time it felt like the right thing to do." Sharon's exit on 6 July 1995 surrounded

44954-464: The new productions. The savings were seen as a vindication for Producer Choice, the controversial internal market introduced in April 1993. By March 1999, the channel admitted defeat in its ratings war with ITV, with its spring line up emphasising more on serious factual and educational programmes, and drama. This change in strategy came about after continuing complaints that the channel was appealing to

45220-496: The occasional programme in its new colour system in order to test it. At midnight on 15 November, simultaneously with ITV and two years after BBC2 had done so, BBC1 officially began 625-line PAL colour programming on UHF with a broadcast of a concert by Petula Clark . Colour transmissions could be received in monochrome via monochrome 625-line sets until the end of analogue broadcasting. Between 1973 and 1977, BBC1 achieved an average audience share of 45% under Bryan Cowgill . This

45486-490: The one hand it is inevitable. But it is dismissive of children. There is a certain amount of overlooking of the fact that children's programmes do get a wider audience than people are aware of ... I have frequently had letters from older people who have enjoyed my programmes as much as children do. A lot of the reason older people like to watch children's programming is because it is life-enhancing." Head of BBC Children's, Joe Godwin said: "Our young viewers are our priority and

45752-426: The only original cast remaining at that time. Dean, who was aged 26 at the time, has since reflected on her decision to leave, suggesting she went through an identity crisis when she found herself thinking "who am I? Am I Sharon Watts or am I an actress?". Sally Vincent, interviewing Dean for The Guardian , surmised: "it nagged away at [Dean] for ages until she thought, hell, she owed it to herself, and started telling

46018-448: The other and half-killed him for tampering with his lady-wife, we didn't much care. We were sorry to see [Sharon] go." Sharongate has proven to be a popular storyline with viewers. In 2001 it was voted the second "Best Ever Soap Moment" in an ITV televised poll, and it was voted the sixth top soap opera moment of all time in a poll of 17,000 people for What's on TV magazine in 2003. In 2010, Michael Hogan from The Telegraph ranked it

46284-428: The other is feeling by the look on their face. Dyer and Bright both said that Mick and Linda are passionate and lustful, with Bright saying they are "madly in love" and describing a "real fizz between them". She said, "they're kind of tearing each other's heads off or tearing each other's clothes off." Dyer said there is a "Den and Angie [Watts] feel" to the relationship. Jane Simon from the Daily Mirror said that

46550-454: The output of commercial rivals, and during Heggessey's era the channel frequently came under attack for being too populist and not providing enough serious programming. Immediately after her arrival, Heggessey ordered a review of the "Balloon" idents the channel had been using for its between-programme idents since 1997. In her opinion, the balloon was "slow and distant" and so, on 29 March 2002, after much speculation, she decided to abandon

46816-403: The pills for periods of time, but then something happens and it all gets too much for her. That is the trouble when people rely on things like prescription medication — they'll go to any lengths to get what they want." Dean indicated that she was "fascinated" by this plot development given Sharon's history with her mother Angie's addiction to alcohol during the 1980s. Dean suggested that Sharon

47082-504: The plight of a young woman struggling to find her identity while growing up in a broken home and coping with her mother's alcoholism and her father's infidelities. Anita Dobson, who played Sharon's mother Angie, discussed Sharon and Angie's relationship, suggesting that Angie was not a good mother: "I think someone handed Sharon over to her one day, and Angie thought of her like this glistening Christmas present. I think she never really thought it through beforehand. I do believe she really wanted

47348-439: The police after she returned from Germany. After Bernadette confronts Sharon and Stacey, they tell Bernadette that she has no evidence and they further silence her when they question Bernadette on what if Karen found out that she knew for months what happened and never told her. This leads Bernadette to not tell anyone else, cementing Linda's place in the clear. During her Elaine's hen night, Elaine reveals to Linda that her father

47614-472: The police station and overhears him talking about being sexually abused as a child. Jack tells this to Max, who now believes Linda only dumped him out of pity to Mick. Max steals a file from Jack that contains evidence of all Phil Mitchell's crimes. Max uses this to blackmail Phil into convincing Sharon to sign The Queen Vic back to Mick. He believes this will show Linda how much he cares for her and will be enough to win her back. Phil and Sharon agree to it and Max

47880-601: The police station, Linda reports Dean for rape. She then fills Nancy and Lee in on recent events, having already told Elaine and Sharon. Dean is arrested by the police but released after questioning and accuses Linda of lying. Linda proposes to Mick who accepts. The next day, Nancy confesses to her that Mick choked Dean unconscious in the cellar and is being secretive about what happened. Elaine returns for Mick and Linda's engagement party, while Linda confronts Mick, who assures her that he did not kill Dean, although, later, Nancy tries to tell Shirley something about Dean, but collapses on

48146-431: The police that Mick shot him, and Mick is arrested and remanded. Linda ends their relationship when he admits he started smothering Stuart and tells Stuart she believes that Mick shot him. Linda and Stuart begin meeting regularly and become close despite the family's protests. She tells the family she thinks Mick is guilty, throws away her wedding rings, and later throws the family out, then allows Stuart to move in, and calls

48412-446: The police. During a heated exchange with Linda where Shirley is present, Dean admits that he raped Linda. Stunned, Linda tells Mick, while Dean goes into hiding, where he sees one of Mick and Linda's wedding invites. On New Year's Day 2016, Dean goes to the wedding venue and attempts to drown Shirley, jumping into the lake with her. Mick fights with Dean in the lake and he is knocked unconscious. Mick rescues him and resuscitates him, and he

48678-619: The population had access to television during the day mainly the retired, unemployed and housewives. Stereo audio transmissions, using the NICAM digital stereo sound format began on BBC1 in late 1987, to coincide with the sale of the first consumer NICAM-enabled equipment, a year after BBC2, and were gradually phased in across BBC TV output, although it took until 31 August 1991 for the service to begin officially on both channels. During this time, both commercial analogue broadcasters, ITV and Channel 4 had officially begun stereo transmissions using

48944-401: The post-coital scene! It might shock a few people as she's [Dennis's] sister—not blood sister, though. Bosses had to tone it down and cut a couple of passionate embraces out." According to Harman, Dennis's feelings for Sharon transcended anything Dennis had felt for women before her. Den's opposition to his children's on/off romance was a reoccurring theme in the serial throughout 2004. The plot

49210-421: The process. He moves into the pub when he breaks his ankle and becomes immobile, and, despite initially clashing with him, Linda warms to having him around. Linda's friendship with Sharon comes under strain when Sharon reveals plans to open a new bar in Walford, named "The Albert". Realising it will be in direct competition to The Queen Vic, she plots to get inside knowledge about the bar, convincing Johnny to take

49476-530: The producers she'd been thinking about trying new things. In those days, they didn't let you off for the odd panto or anything. It was full-time work. She remembers being dithery and apologetic about it, but her feet were itchy and, though she never really wanted to close the door behind her, she talked about going until one day, much to her consternation, [the producers] said all right then, off you go, lots of luck. They didn't ask her to reconsider, so she thought, 'Ooooh, charmin', and off she went." Dean added, "I felt

49742-415: The prognosis saying, "The entire special episode will be shown from Linda's perspective as her drinking problem spirals out of control". EastEnders senior executive producer Kate Oates explained that Linda's downward spiral was a combination of a lot of traumatic experiences in her life. In February 2023, there was a flashforward scene which saw Linda, alongside Sharon, Kathy, Suki, Stacey and Denise in

50008-409: The programme's producers deemed them too raunchy to be shown before the 9 pm watershed on BBC1. Discussing the scenes, Harman said, "My character Dennis has been through most of the ladies on the square. But his latest encounter with Sharon is something else. There's lots of banging around as we are ripping each other's clothes off while staggering round the flat. There's also quite a lot of flesh in

50274-425: The pub to be fined £20,000 because of her selling alcohol illegally outside of licensing hours. When Mick struggles to cope with the pub's mounting debts, Jane Beale ( Laurie Brett ) calls Linda, worried about Mick. Linda returns the following day and Mick informs her of Lee's departure and the debts he left. Linda initially blames Whitney and an argument ensues, causing Whitney to leave. Mick explains to Linda that it

50540-685: The pub. Mick arranges for Linda to go to a wedding fair in Birmingham, and when she returns, she discovers that Mick and Shirley have been seeing each other in secret, which upsets Linda. After making herself sick one day, she tells Mick she cannot get married. Eventually, she tells him she hates herself and, because of Dean, she feels the same way she did when she suffered from bulimia nervosa after her father died, and has been making herself sick again. However, she agrees to marry Mick with his support. When Dean attempts to rape his fiancée Roxy Mitchell ( Rita Simons ), Linda encourages her to report this to

50806-694: The pub. Several days later, Mick finds an expensive ring in Halfway's possession and interrogates Halfway, who admits he stole it from the robbery. Halfway gives the ring to the Carters, who then give the ring to Fi in exchange for the freehold for the pub. However, Aidan becomes suspicious of this and attempts to blackmail Mick into letting him use the pub for drug dealing. Aidan steps up his demands, repeatedly forcing him to accept money for these drug deals despite Linda returning it. The Carters decide to flee Walford to escape Aidan, who shows up and beats Mick up for not giving into his demands. However, Phil stops Aidan at

51072-407: The pub. When she attempts to find solace in Sharon's home, Mick joins her, and she says they should not let what happened get in the way of their relationship. They are about to return to the pub when Mick has second thoughts and he decides to take Linda away for a break. When they return a few weeks later, they find Shirley helping to run the pub so Mick asks her to leave. When Mick accompanies her to

51338-482: The rape. Later that day he confronts Dean who lies, saying that he and Linda were having an affair. Mick attacks Dean forcing Shirley's revelation—Dean is his brother. Linda eavesdrops while Mick, Tina, Shirley, Babe and Stan argue, only to hear Mick deny that Dean is part of the family. Mick tells them that Dean raped Linda, but she overhears. Without saying anything, Linda leaves the pub. Mick leaves messages on her voicemail to ask her to come home and Elaine returns her to

51604-422: The ratings record, nor was it the ingenious ruse of using the [DJ's tape deck] to broadcast Sharon's poignant little confession to the entire clientele of Walford's Queen Vic [pub]. It was the fact that we'd all watched Sharon grow up. We knew that she was a nice little person, vulnerable, brave, sweet-natured and kind to the dog. We were sorry for her [...] Neither of those Mitchells deserved her, so when one punched

51870-484: The recording in front of everyone in the Vic as the community declare their support for Linda as it will be her first Christmas without Mick. As a result of the recording, people continue to side with Linda however Gina starts to doubt Linda's honesty and begins growing closer to Dean. Linda continues to be tormented by Dean, which ends up in her assaulting him after he resorts to pretending to be Mick texting her in order for her to meet him. After comforting Sharon following

52136-525: The relationship and hasn't even thought about putting the past behind them. Dennis is still not totally convinced, but he always swore he would never leave a child without a dad so he hopes that it will work for them in the future." Writing for The Guardian , Owen Gibson suggested that with the Christmas Day 2004 episodes EastEnders were attempting to reprise the trick that garnered the show its biggest ever audience in 1986 of 30.6 million, by gathering

52402-408: The relationship between Sharon and her parents, suggesting that teenage Sharon was suspended between childhood and adulthood. He reflected that Den frequently referred to her as "just a child", but that Sharon herself sought to assert her status as an adult, describing her parents as "immature" or "childish". In character dialogue, Sharon suggested that Den had tried to keep his wife Angie in the role of

52668-438: The revelation that her son Johnny ( Sam Strike / Ted Reilly / Charlie Suff ) is gay ; being raped by Mick's brother Dean Wicks ( Matt Di Angelo ); giving birth to a premature baby after falling down the stairs; suffering from bulimia nervosa ; discovering that Mick kissed their daughter-in-law Whitney Dean ( Shona McGarty ); revealing that she has secretly battled cervical cancer ; surviving an ambulance crash; perverting

52934-522: The rights to broadcast the show in the UK for two years. The Voice UK achieved good ratings for the BBC but ratings dropped towards the end of the first series and the second series. In 2013, The Voice UK was rescheduled to avoid a clash, and as a result, ratings have improved. In November 2015, it was announced that The Voice UK would be moving to ITV from 2017, especially because of the ITV plc ownership of franchise owner, Talpa Media . On 8 October 2013,

53200-468: 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 , before departing in January 2006. Dean's return was announced in February 2012, and she later made her on-screen return on 13 August 2012 in a special week of episodes. Dean took a temporary break from the show and departed on 9 January 2024, and Sharon returned on 1 April 2024. Sharon became prominent in

53466-409: The same between them." The episode returned to a model established by the first Den-and-Angie solo episode, with revelations and major character changes to an important relationship. Brake suggested that it gave Dean and Susan Tully (Michelle) the chance to demonstrate how much they had grown as actresses during their four years on the programme. Brake also claimed the episode was held in high regard by

53732-466: The same month the flashforward took place. Linda appears in animated form in a Children in Need sketch called Tom and Jerry: A Fundraising Adventure , broadcast during the 2014 telethon on 14 November 2014, along with Mick in The Queen Vic. In the sketch, cartoon cat and mouse duo Tom and Jerry visit several animated versions of BBC stars, tasked by Terry Wogan to raise cash. Linda is not voiced in

53998-545: The satellite and terrestrial resolution was increased to full HD . BBC One HD at launch did not offer regional variations, and therefore the channel could not broadcast during regional programming slots, most noticeably the local news programmes. The BBC Trust admitted that this was due to technical and financial constraints, but the BBC announced on 6 June 2011 that the national variations of BBC One Northern Ireland, BBC One Scotland and BBC One Wales, would become available from 2012. On 24 October 2012, Northern Ireland received

54264-559: The series as "a joyful, exuberant reinvention and a fine legacy from Ms Heggessey." Heggessey did later concede in a 2005 interview with The Independent newspaper that arts programming had suffered a cutback under her control of BBC One. However, she did respond to this omission following criticism from the Board of Governors of the BBC by commissioning programmes such as the arts documentary series Imagine... (2003–present) and A Picture of Britain (2005). On 14 February 2005 it

54530-498: The series as they wished to spend its budgets on new programming for the channel, but was forced to back down from public pressure and Doctor Who returned in September 1986. At the time Michael Grade and Jonathan Powell were blamed for the decision (Grade was the target of death threats ) but it was later revealed that the decision was taken due to the series running out of creative inspiration, making it impossible to find anyone (at

54796-412: The series in September 2003, after Heggessey had spent two years persuading the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide , to abandon their attempts to make a feature film version of the programme and allow it to instead return it to BBC One. The new version of Doctor Who (2005–present) debuted on 26 March 2005 and became a critical and popular hit, with Paul Hoggart of The Times newspaper describing

55062-415: The show's producers, directors, and writers, describing the actors' performances as "superlative". 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

55328-436: 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

55594-492: The six women were asked in for questioning. He summons all of the women to the Vic and asks Linda where she stabbed Keanu. After initially believing that Nish phoned the police on them, it is revealed that Nish falsified a story claiming that he killed Keanu and that he threatened Linda into blackmailing as part of the murder. This leads to Nish being arrested for the murder, leaving Linda in the clear. In November 2024, Bernadette confronts Linda and tells her that she will be going to

55860-660: The sixth of the top ten "unforgettable moments" of EastEnders . In a 2012 nationwide poll of 1,000 people published in Inside Soap , 'Sharongate' was voted as the greatest soap opera moment of the past 20 years. Letitia Dean decided to quit the role of Sharon in 1995, having played the character for over a decade. Dean was not the only original cast member to announce their departure that year; Susan Tully (Michelle Fowler) and Bill Treacher (Arthur Fowler) also quit, leaving just Wendy Richard (Pauline Fowler), Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale), and Gillian Taylforth (Kathy Beale) as

56126-475: The sketch. Along with Dyer, Bright was nominated for "Best On-screen Partnership" at The British Soap Awards 2014 for the relationship between Mick and Linda. However, they lost out to David Neilson and Julie Hesmondhalgh , who play Roy and Hayley Cropper respectively in Coronation Street . Kate White from Inside Soap was pleased to see Linda's backstory explored, saying "Now we know

56392-732: The stairs, causing her to go into premature labour. She gives birth to a healthy son, Ollie Carter (Jack Tilley). Linda confronts a delusional Dean when he insists on meeting the baby, believing that Ollie is his son. Mick discovers that he, Linda and Ollie share the same blood type, but Dean does not, meaning Dean cannot be the father. Linda and Mick agree they should marry soon. On her return home with Mick and Ollie, Linda snubs an apologetic Dean's attempt to shake her hand. When Linda and Nancy return from holiday, Linda learns that Lee has been suffering from depression, and she encourages him to take his medication. Elaine moves in temporarily, which initially causes consternation when she interferes with running

56658-512: The storyline, Phil persuades Sharon to leave Walford to stay in America, in an episode which aired in January 2006. Despite initial reports suggesting that Dean would only be taking a break from EastEnders and subsequent rumours indicating that Sharon would return for the birth of her child later in 2006, it was announced in June 2006 that there were no immediate plans for Sharon to return but that

56924-422: The storyline, Tom was shown to be keeping secrets from Sharon regarding his collapsed marriage, secrets that were unveiled by Phil; when Sharon confronted Tom, he admitted that he was still married, although he and his wife had split up. In July 2002, following the introduction of a new executive producer, Louise Berridge , it was announced that Tom was being written out of EastEnders . A spokesperson denied that

57190-484: The strategy of experimenting with the BBC One schedule. This he continued in January 2007, when he moved the current affairs series Panorama from its Sunday night slot back to the prime time Monday evening slot from which it had been removed in 2000, most likely in response to a demand from the Board of Governors of the BBC for the channel to show more current affairs programming in prime time. Fincham's judgement

57456-428: The thought of the police coming to arrest her. This prompts Linda to tell Elaine that she killed Keanu which leads to a falling out between them after Linda tells Elaine that she will put custody of Ollie and Annie to her if she gets arrested. They later make up and Elaine promises that she will be there for Linda no matter what happens. On Halloween, Nish finds out what happened at Christmas after Kathy slipped up before

57722-502: The time was on a hiatus. However, an EastEnders' spokesperson said "There is no link between Letitia's return to EastEnders and Jessie not being around at the moment. We have been working on plans to bring Sharon back for quite some time." They added viewers could look forward to seeing both characters on screen together later in the year. Dean returned to filming on 6 June 2012. Sharon's return storyline saw her fiancé John ( Jesse Birdsall ) kidnap her son Dennis Rickman Jnr following

57988-493: The time) who knew what to do with the series. On 9 September 1985, the long-standing children's programming block was overhauled and rebranded as Children's BBC , which gave it dedicated idents for the first time and had a live in-vision presenter, similar to rival ITV's Children's ITV block which had been running since January 1983. Previously the BBC had broadcast children's programming using BBC1's team of regular duty announcers. The launch presenter for this block, and thus

58254-659: The times she's been hurt, like when she was caring for [her dying mother] Angie, or when her fiancé Tom died. She's developed as a woman, and for her, their relationship ended when he 'died' while she was still a teenager. Everything has been turned upside down for her. She's feeling angry and resentful [towards] Den at the moment, but that's only because she loved him so much. He's going to have to tread so carefully with her—he's got some real making up to do in order to enable Sharon to trust him again." Despite initial animosity and hurt, Sharon eventually welcomes Den back into her life and allows him to return to live with her, resuming head of

58520-415: The top now and again!" Letitia Dean on Sharon's troubled home life (1986) Sharon was shown to share a particularly close friendship with Michelle Fowler in the serial. Kingsley suggested that Michelle was an "important steadying influence in Sharon's life. The two friends are like sisters and, like sisters, they sometimes fight." Following Den's supposed death in 1989, Sharon and Michelle's friendship

58786-424: The truth about Den's duplicity; it attracted 14 million viewers. Prominent in Sharon and Dennis's return arc was their marriage and involvement in uncovering Chrissie as Den's killer after Sam Mitchell ( Kim Medcalf ) was originally charged with the murder. The Rickmans' wedding was watched by over 10 million viewers, and the nuptials were scripted to coincide with the discovery of Den's body, which had been buried in

59052-466: The truth is revealed when the prostitute, who is revealed to be Cora's estranged daughter Rainie Cross ( Tanya Franks ), bumps into Ian's partner Denise Fox ( Diane Parish ) and reveals the truth. Denise visits Linda, struggling with the revelation, and Linda lies that she only just found out about Ian's actions. Ian however reveals the truth to Denise, who accuses Linda of attention seeking. One evening, Dean kisses Linda but she slaps him. Distraught over

59318-480: The upset that Mick's actions have brought her family, Linda leaves Walford to stay with Elaine in Watford. She returns, reconciling with Mick, before Sharon and Phil's wedding. When Sharon suggests that Dean's advances towards Linda were encouraged, both drunk, they have a bitter row in the pub. Then Sharon tells Nancy about the kiss, so Nancy accuses Dean and Linda of having an affair. Shirley flees from Walford after

59584-418: The usual way. Linda is delighted by Johnny's (now played by Ted Reilly ) return but saddened by Nancy's departure. Linda is devastated when Dean is acquitted but tells Mick she has become a strong person and that their relationship has become stronger. The Carters are later devastated when a pregnant Whitney suffers a miscarriage but are delighted when Lee and Whitney get married. The Carters are traumatised by

59850-442: The vast majority of children in the UK already tune in to CBeebies and CBBC to find their favourite BBC children's programmes. Far from being a 'cynical' move, we're just following where our audience has already gone." As part of the review in 2012 other changes were brought in, including: In 2012, the BBC out-bid ITV for the rights to air a British version of Dutch TV talent show The Voice . The BBC paid £22 million for

60116-417: The viewer-voted shortlist. Linda's pairing with Mick came in second place in the "Best Soap Couple" category at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards with 10.6% of the total votes. In a 2021 Radio Times poll, Mick and Linda were voted as the joint sixth "soap pub landlord", receiving 6% of the votes. In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Linda 21st on their ranked list of

60382-439: The wedding, leaving Dean upset. Mick asks Linda to comfort him, but, misunderstanding her reassurance and very drunk, Dean rapes her. She becomes very withdrawn, telling nobody and refusing to be intimate with Mick. Trying to get to the bottom of what is going on, he calls Linda's mother, Elaine, asking her to visit The Vic to help him understand her behaviour. Elaine makes some progress before leaving again. Mick theorises that Linda

60648-501: The word "The" and moved into the BBC logo. Each new campaign incorporating the theme retained the same animated sequence. In May 2007, Fincham decided to drop Neighbours , an Australian soap opera, from BBC One after 21 years on the channel, when its producers, FremantleMedia significantly raised the price they wanted the BBC to pay for it in a bidding war. Fincham commented that it was 'a big loss', but that BBC One would not pay 'the best part of £300 million'. Neighbours left

60914-442: 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

61180-467: The world!" Reflecting on her casting, Dean told the magazine, Woman , in 2005: "I was 16 when we started filming EastEnders and my contract was initially for eight weeks—none of us had any idea it would go on for so long. I nearly fainted when I saw Wendy Richard [who played Pauline Fowler ] for the first time, because she was a really big name and I was in awe of her. Anita Dobson who played Angie Watts , [Sharon's] mum, took me under her wing." In

61446-420: The years since Sharon's departure, the Queen Vic had remained in the Mitchells' ownership until Grant's mother Peggy Mitchell ( Barbara Windsor ) was forced to sell it. Discussing Sharon's return scenes, Dean said, "Her appearance in the Vic is fabulous, and provokes some great reactions. Peggy is astonished, speechless and horrified all rolled into one. It's landladies and their handbags at dawn." Sharon's return

61712-458: The £18 million salary that the BBC paid Jonathan Ross in 2006, although Ross's BBC One work—primarily consisting of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross —formed only part of his overall BBC commitment. The channel was named Channel of the Year at the 2007 Broadcast Awards. Following its rebrand in March 2002, BBC One launched The One to Watch campaign, during which animated blocks created

61978-583: Was "time for Den's princess to grow up". In 1993, Letitia Dean discussed the evolution of Sharon from teenager to adult: "She's grown up a lot. Once she got into her stride she got quite strong—not hard, but knew what she wanted." Matthew Bayliss, writing for The Guardian , suggested that Sharon developed into a character that was simultaneously "vamp and victim", comparing her to another popular soap opera character from ITV 's Coronation Street , Elsie Tanner ( Pat Phoenix ). In 1991, author Hilary Kingsley compared Sharon in adulthood to her mother Angie: "There's

62244-462: Was Angie's tipple, but I thought that was wrong. Her mother was on a dialysis machine which would have put Sharon off gin for life. She would either follow right behind her or she would make her mind up and say no. And since she had seen Angie in such a state, it really put her off." Sharon has been described as a "buxom femme fatale" and one of "life's survivors", who has had "many moments of emotional turmoil". Kingsley suggested that despite this, Sharon

62510-404: Was Lee's fault, causing another argument, although they make up and have sex. After a heart-to-heart with Whitney, Linda decides to return to Elaine, which angers Mick as Linda saw the state he was in and left anyway. Linda then sends Woody Woodward ( Lee Ryan ) to work in The Queen Vic as a bar manager. With Lady Di needing an expensive operation and mounting debts, Shirley convinces Linda to sell

62776-431: Was a fairly troubled teenager. Set apart from the other kids because Den and Angie sent her to private school rather than the local comprehensive, she was a bit of a loner. Spoilt rotten by both her parents, Den's 'little princess' was really a little madam." As the character progressed into her 20s, she underwent some changes. Colin Brake suggested that, following the discovery of Den's (wrongly identified) body in 1990, it

63042-444: Was a fantastic present. Sharon has a great story to tell, having been away for so long. She has some unfinished business to sort out—and has some demons to face as well. I've always held Sharon's character close to my heart. I always said: 'Never say never'. There's nothing worse than making a huge statement about never doing it again, and then going back [...] It was very exciting to be working with new cast members. But seeing members of

63308-528: Was a miracle. It's such a bittersweet time. The pain is overwhelming when Sharon sees her husband's coffin [...] Sharon knows that she has to carry on for the baby's sake—it's a part of Dennis she'll have forever, and she takes great comfort in that. As far as Johnny's concerned, though, she wants to see justice done—a job she entrusts to Phil. However, all he's interested in is getting Sharon away from Walford. He's genuinely worried for her welfare, but he's also petrified she'll discover his role in Dennis's death." In

63574-438: Was again called into question, this time by The Telegraph , for his decision to spend £1.2 million replacing the channel's 'Rhythm and Movement' idents , which had been introduced by his predecessor Lorraine Heggessey several years earlier, with the 'Circle' idents , a set of eight ten-second films, some of which were shot abroad in locations such as Mexico and Croatia. Fincham later found himself having to publicly defend

63840-499: Was always "disgusted" by her mother's addiction to the extent that she would not even smoke cigarettes, "so the fact that she's got this far in life and has now succumbed to an addiction is fascinating." Although paired romantically with Jack Branning ( Scott Maslen ) in 2012, Sharon's romantic history with Phil was continuously revisited: firstly when Phil and Jack competed for Sharon's hand in marriage, and secondly when Sharon kissed Phil despite having chosen to marry Jack. However, it

64106-480: 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

64372-447: Was announced that Dean would rape Linda. EastEnders bosses worked with charity Rape Crisis to develop the storyline. Bright said about the storyline that she "hoped that Linda's journey would change viewers' perception of rape", Di Angelo claimed that although the storyline will be "challenging", it was massively "important". The storyline aired over the autumn. Maria Friedman was introduced as Linda's mother, Elaine Peacock . Following

64638-530: Was announced that Lorraine Heggessey was to leave the BBC to take up the post of Chief Executive at production company Talkback Thames . She left on 15 April. Five months after her departure, BBC One was named "Channel of the Year" at the Edinburgh Television Festival , primarily on the strength of Heggessey's commissions such as Strictly Come Dancing and Doctor Who . Joining the channel as Controller in 2005, Peter Fincham oversaw

64904-456: Was confirmed that an upcoming storyline would see Linda battle with alcoholism . EastEnders revealed that it was working with Drinkaware for the story. The storyline began in November 2019 playing a central part of the year's Christmas and New Year episodes. It was announced in December that Linda would be featuring in a special episode centering around her alcoholism on New Year's Eve, with

65170-433: Was gay after his partner, Drew Peacock ( Paul Clayton ) is hired as a drag queen at the hen night. This leaves Linda distraught and leads to her fighting with Elaine who slaps her after exchanging harsh words. Linda was introduced as the wife of Mick Carter , played by Danny Dyer , the brother of established character Shirley Carter ( Linda Henry ), who has appeared in EastEnders since 2006. Luisa Bradshaw-White joined

65436-466: Was gay which her mother hid for years. Linda first appears when her partner Mick Carter 's ( Danny Dyer ) sisters, Shirley Carter ( Linda Henry ) and Tina Carter ( Luisa Bradshaw-White ), visit her mother Elaine Peacock 's ( Maria Friedman ) pub in Watford , where Linda and her family are living. They intend to ask Mick for a loan but Linda rejects them as Mick is not around. As revenge, Tina steals

65702-421: Was impregnated by Abi Branning 's ( Lorna Fitzgerald ) dog Tramp ; and her turmoil over her eldest son, Lee ( Danny Hatchard ) being in the army, and her supporting him through the grief for a lost comrade on his return to England. She was involved in a brief scandal where Dexter Hartman (Khali Best), Alfie Moon ( Shane Richie ) and Jay Brown ( Jamie Borthwick ) discovered pictures of her during her time as

65968-452: Was incredible [...] being able to reach that many people with your work is what makes EastEnders exciting." Reporter for The Guardian , Sally Vincent, has commented on Sharongate's success: "It wasn't so much the guilt-stacked, long-drawn-out business of Sharon 'n' Phil's helpless lust for each other—all that unseemly face-sucking while her hubby/his brother, the ape-like Grant, languished in gaol for trying to set fire to everyone—that broke

66234-547: 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

66500-418: Was made clear "Children's programmes are absolutely fundamental to the BBC and that is why we have protected investment in them in the light of cuts elsewhere." Children's programming on BBC One ended on 21 December 2012. The move was criticised by Teletubbies co-creator Anne Wood , who described the changes as "ghettoising children's programmes" and believe it was merely a cost-cutting measure. Wood said "On

66766-447: Was not severe and she recovered relatively quickly, but that Linda stayed away from Walford because she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer while caring for Elaine. Jack accompanies Linda to a check-up where she is told that there are no signs of cancer in her body but there is a chance it could come back, so she is unsure if she should tell Mick, but she does so. They go on holiday to rekindle their marriage and when they return, Linda

67032-423: Was not until late 2013 when scriptwriters reunited Phil and Sharon legitimately, Sharon having weathered being jilted by Jack at their wedding earlier that year. BBC One The channel was launched on 2 November 1936 under the name BBC Television Service , which was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution . It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until

67298-435: Was part of a large cast shake-up planned by new executive producer Treadwell-Collins in an attempt to improve ratings. Linda became landlady of The Queen Victoria public house and moved there with her family from her mother's pub in Watford. She has been compared to original landlady Angie Watts ( Anita Dobson ), and Bright has said that she had based her portrayal of Linda on Angie. In May 2016, Bright announced that she

67564-549: Was pregnant with her second child and would be taking maternity leave. Linda departed the series on 25 December 2016, but made two separate guest appearances in March and June 2017. She returned full-time on 7 August 2017. In March 2021, Bright announced her third pregnancy and departed six months later on 21 September 2021. Linda returned for two episodes, broadcast on 28 and 31 December 2021. She returned full-time on 4 April 2022. The character appeared in her 1000th episode on 12 October 2022. Linda's storylines include struggling with

67830-409: Was recovered in 1990 was misidentified as Den's; Den fled to Spain to escape the mobsters and allowed his family to believe he was dead until he was traced in 2003. Den's return aired in September 2003, with Den walking into Sharon's club "Angie's Den" (named after her parents) and uttering the greeting "Hello princess" to his daughter. Scriptwriter Sarah Phelps , who penned Den's return, has discussed

68096-448: Was reinvented in 2018 when Sharon began an affair with a much younger Keanu Taylor ( Danny Walters ). In her second stint, Sharon featured in storylines that included a feud with Phil and Grant's mother Peggy Mitchell ( Barbara Windsor ); the return of Den, thought long dead, bonding with his wife Chrissie Watts ( Tracy-Ann Oberman ) until it emerged that she killed Den in retribution for sleeping with Zoe Slater ( Michelle Ryan ); and

68362-455: Was relaunched on 18 February 1985 with a new look , new programming including Wogan and EastEnders , and a revised schedule to help streamline and maintain viewers throughout the course of the evening. Grade started to gear most programmes to either on the hour or half past the hour, while Panorama and Omnibus were both moved after the Nine O'Clock News . Grade was also determined to end

68628-417: Was responsible for the crash. As Janine attempts to escape to evade justice, Linda and Mick follow Janine to Dover . Linda phones the police on Janine but as she tries to escape after hurting Mick, Linda gets into the car and it crashes into the sea where Linda pleads to Mick to save Janine and their unborn baby. After saving Janine, Mick rushes back into the sea to save Linda, unaware that she managed to escape

68894-556: Was revealed a week after the Carters moved into The Queen Vic. While Mick portrayed the accepting father (a portrayal that was widely praised by critics ), Linda protested against her son being gay, and encouraged him to enter a relationship with his friend, Whitney Dean ( Shona McGarty ), who was obviously keen. This caused many arguments between mother and son. The argument eventually reached breaking point in June 2014, when Linda failed to support Johnny's plans to go to gay pride and caused him embarrassment by revealing his cowardice during

69160-563: 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

69426-621: Was swapped with the SD channel on Sky's EPG for HD subscribers. This was followed by the Welsh and Scottish variants on 10 December. On 24 March 2014, BBC One Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland HD launched on Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media outside the regions they were originally seen in. On 31 March 2016, BBC One HD in England moved from channel 141 on the Sky electronic programme guide to channel 115,

69692-429: Was tested by Sharon's discovery that her adored father had slept with her best friend Michelle when she was sixteen and that he was the mystery father of Michelle's daughter, Vicki. Sharon discovered this in a special two-hander episode written by Tony McHale , which aired in April 1989. In the episode, Sharon and Michelle spend an evening together drinking wine and reminiscing. After Sharon confesses to Michelle that, in

69958-490: Was the channel's most successful period in terms of audience share. On 30 December 1980, the BBC announced plans to introduce a new breakfast television service to compete with TV-am . They stated that the new show would be broadcast before TV-am but included the caveat that the new show would not launch until at least November 1981, whereupon new licence fee income could finance the necessary extension of broadcasting hours. On 17 January 1983, one year after originally planned,

70224-469: Was the focus of the Christmas Day 2004 episodes when Dennis and Sharon announce they have reunited despite Dennis being in a simultaneous relationship with Zoe Slater ( Michelle Ryan ). The fall-out, which sees Den persuading Zoe to tell Dennis she is expecting his baby, results in Sharon leaving Dennis. Discussing the storyline, Michelle Ryan said, "Den forces her to say that she's pregnant because he knows Dennis won't run away with Sharon if he thinks there's

70490-416: Was thrilled that Dean was returning and he could not wait to see Sharon on screen later in the year. Kirkwood had previously told a columnist for Inside Soap that in Sharon's absence Ronnie Mitchell ( Samantha Womack ) had filled the role of the "quivery lipped blonde" female. Tabloid newspapers claimed Sharon was returning to "fill the gap" left behind by Jessie Wallace 's character, Kat Slater , who at

70756-548: Was voted one of the top 100 TV moments of 2001 in a Channel 4 poll, and was chosen as the favourite soap comeback by almost one-third of viewers. The return arc saw Sharon reuniting with her former lover, Phil. Discussing this, Dean said, "[Sharon's] tougher and seems to know what she wants. Seeing Phil throws up vivid memories and strong feelings for Sharon. She's always had a deep affection for him". She added that because Sharon had grown and gained strength and independence while being in America, "she can handle pretty much anything

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