Letitia Dean
Dean in 2009
Born	Letitia Jane Dean[1] (1967-11-14)14 November 1967 (age 57) Potters Bar,England,United Kingdom
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1979–present
Known for	Role ofSharon Watts inEastEnders
Television	Grange Hill (1983–1984) Brookside (1984) EastEnders (1985–1995, 2001–2006, 2012–present) The Hello Girls (1996–1998) Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married (1999–2000) Strictly Come Dancing (2007)
Height	1.61 m (5 ft 3 in)
Spouse	Jason Pethers ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2008)​
Relatives	Stephen J. Dean (brother)

Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is a British actress fromPotters Bar,England. She is best known for her portrayal ofSharon Watts in theBBCsoap operaEastEnders. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again from 2012 onwards. For the role, she was awarded theBritish Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2022.

Her other television roles includeGrange Hill (1983–1984),Brookside (1984),The Hello Girls (1996–1998) andLucy Sullivan Is Getting Married (1999–2000). In 2007, she participated in thefifth series of the BBC dance competitionStrictly Come Dancing, finishing fourth. On stage, she starred in theWest End production ofHigh School Musical in 2008, and in the UK touring production ofCalendar Girls in 2010.

Dean was born inPotters Bar to parents Leslie (a tailor) and Ellie Dean, in acottage rented on the estate of the romanticnovelistBarbara Cartland, known as Camfield Place.^[2] Dean has two older brothers.^[3]

Dean's family moved to the village ofStoke Goldington, nearNewport Pagnell inBuckinghamshire, when she was three years old.^[3] She acquired a penchant for performing at an early age; both she and her older brother Stephen attended a local dance school, the Sylvia Mitchell School of Dance, and they also performed a dance act together on stage.^[4] This later prompted Dean's successful application to attend theItalia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts at ten years old, and later theSylvia Young Theatre School inMarylebone,London.^[5]

Dean began performing professionally at the age of 12, when she was cast as Pepper in the musicalAnnie at London'sVictoria Palace Theatre.^[3] A trained singer, she played the lead female, Sandy, in the musicalGrease, and also sang with a rock group called The Young Uns, who toured the country supporting stage acts such asBobby Davro andTom O'Connor.^[4][6]

Between the ages of 13 and 17, Dean appeared in numerous television programmes, including:Love Story;^[7]Tales Out Of School;^[7] theMatthew Kelly sitcomRelative Strangers;^[8]Grange Hill, playing a student named Lucinda Oliver (credited as Titia Dean);^[9] and the role of Dawn in theChannel 4 soap operaBrookside.^[10]

In 1984, Dean auditioned to play one of the original characters inBBC One's new soap opera,EastEnders; she was selected for an interview on the strength of a photograph alone.^[11] The creators ofEastEnders,Tony Holland andJulia Smith, were looking for a "bouncy, attractive, oddly vulnerable young woman" to play the part ofSharon Watts, and out of the various applicants they had seen, they believed that only Dean had all of those qualities.^[11] Dean lied about her roots to get the part. As the casting directors were only looking for realEast End actors, she falsely claimed that she was born and brought up inHackney, east London.^[12] The lie paid off and she got the part, clinching the deal because of her laugh, which Holland and Smith described as "the dirtiest in the world!"^[11] She debuted in the role in the show's first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985.

Dean's character Sharon, the troubled and spoilt adopted daughter of landlords"Dirty" Den (Leslie Grantham) andAngie Watts (Anita Dobson), has become one of the most popular and long-running characters in the serial.^[13] She featured in one of the soap's most popular storylines in 1994, alove triangle featuring Sharon, her husbandGrant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and his brotherPhil (Steve McFadden). The plot, nicknamed "Sharongate", gave the soap one of its highest episode ratings in October 1994 with over 25.3 million viewers.^[14] A desire to pursue other acting roles prompted Dean to leave the soap in 1995.

During her first stint onEastEnders, she forayed into singing with her fellowEastEnders castmate,Paul Medford (who playedKelvin Carpenter). A song penned for the pair as part of a plotline inEastEnders (known asThe Banned) prompted the BBC to release the song as a single. The song, "Something Outa Nothing", reached number 12 in theUK singles chart in November 1986.^[15]

Six years following her initial exit, Dean was lured back toEastEnders by producerJohn Yorke,^[16] reprising the role of Sharon from 2001 to 2006. In December 2004,Sunday Mirror reported thatexecutive producerKathleen Hutchison offered to double Dean's salary from £150,000 a year to £300,000 a year, to persuade her to remain in the show, making her one of the highest paid actresses in British soap.^[17] Dean's character left the serial again in January 2006. Her exit was announced in August 2005 and an officialEastEnders press report initially stated that she was only taking a scheduled break and was due back on set later in 2006;^[18] however, this did not happen, and in June 2006 the BBC denied press speculation that there were any immediate plans for her to return to the series.^[19]

In February 2012, producerBryan Kirkwood announced that Dean would make a second return toEastEnders, having been absent for a period of six years. She made her return on 13 August 2012 after fleeing from her wedding to her fiancéJohn Hewland, with her son,Dennis Rickman Jr. and Phil Mitchell. She is one of three remaining original cast members, along withGillian Taylforth andAdam Woodyatt.

Away fromEastEnders Dean has had various theatre and television roles. She starred in two seasons of the BBC dramaThe Hello Girls, set in aDerby telephone exchange in the 1960s; medical dramasCasualty andDoctors; theITV police dramaThe Bill; romantic comedyLucy Sullivan Is Getting Married, and theChannel 4 sitcomDrop the Dead Donkey as a weathergirl. She also starred in the 1995 filmEngland, My England, which told the story of the musician and court composerHenry Purcell.

On stage, she starred as Nurse Fay in theJoe Orton comedyplay,Loot, working alongside actorMichael Elphick. She also played aprostitute in the revival ofCharles Dyer's 1960s playRattle of a Simple Man at theAlexandra Theatre,Birmingham.

In 2007, Dean participated in thefifth series of the BBC celebrity dance contest,Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with the professional dancer,Darren Bennett.^[20] Dean and Bennett were voted out in the quarter-finals (week 10), one week before the semi-final. Commenting on her experience, Dean said "It's been incredible. I've got to thank [Darren Bennett] for all his patience, hard work, all the injuries. It's been wonderful."^[21] Dean was one of several celebrities who took part in the 2008Strictly Come Dancing UK arena tour. The tour began in January 2008 and visited various venues throughout the UK, with all the proceeds going to theChildren in Need appeal.^[22]

In April 2008, it was announced that she would be starring in the stage showHigh School Musical as Ms Darbus. Dean commented, "It's a lovely opportunity for me [...] It's something completely different to anything I've ever done – doing an American accent and playing this kind of character." The production played at London'sHammersmith Apollo from June 2008 until 31 August 2008.^[23]

In January 2009, Dean released a fitness DVD entitledLetitia Dean's Lean Routine. She joined the cast of the stage production ofCalendar Girls the same year, playing Cora (Miss July).

As well as television and theatre work, Dean regularly appears in seasonalpantomimes; she was reported to have a special clause in herEastEnders contract that permits her time off from filming to star in a pantomime each year.^[17] In 2001, she starred inSnow White at the Orchard inDartford; and in 2004, she starred inJack and the Beanstalk at theBirmingham Hippodrome, alongside British comediansJoe Pasquale andDon Maclean. In 2006, Dean appeared as the wicked witch inSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs atthe Deco,Northampton, taking over the role from herEastEnders co-star, Gillian Taylforth, who pulled out due to ill health.^[24] December 2007 saw her appear as theFairy godmother inCinderella, at theRegent Theatre,Ipswich. In December 2008, she appeared as theWicked Queen inSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Grove Theatre inDunstable, and she played the role again at theAshcroft Theatre inCroydon in 2009.^[25]

In 2004, Dean was nominated for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance atthe British Soap Awards.^[26] At the 2005Inside Soap awards, she was presented with the award for outstanding achievement as homage to her work inEastEnders. She was also nominated in the category of Best Couple (shared withNigel Harman).^[27] In 2022, Dean won theOutstanding Achievement award at the British Soap Awards.^[28]

Growing up in the public eye was reportedly hard for Dean, and the constant media attention on her appearance was something she found especially tough. Dean says her self-confidence was damaged during this time, and this, as well as back pain, contributed to her decision to get abreast reduction in her teens. By her 30s, she considered herself to be a lot more comfortable in her own skin^{[clarification needed]}, and far more relaxed about public interest than she used to be as a teenager, commenting: "I have stopped pleasing people – and I'm calmer and more self assured than I've ever been."^[29]

In 2001, Dean became engaged to jobbing actor Jason Pethers after knowing him for only a few months.^[29] They married in September 2002 at All Saints' Church in Marylebone. Her close friend andEastEnders co-star,Susan Tully, was abridesmaid at the wedding. Many of Dean's fellow castmates fromEastEnders attended the wedding.^[30] After five years of marriage, it was announced in 2007 that Dean and Pethers had separated because Pethers was reluctant to have children.^[31]

As well as acting, Dean is a keen singer (with amezzo-soprano voice) andtap dancer.^[32] She currently^[when?] lives in theBedfordshire village ofWootton.^[33]

In June 2022, when accepting an award at the British Soap Awards, she revealed that her father had died and she dedicated the award to him.^[34]

In 1997, Dean, along with Susan Tully, was involved with theThird World charityPlan International; they were sent to a remote village inSenegal to help highlight one of the organisation's aid projects, designed to bring running water to drought-hit areas.^[35]

• Letitia Dean atIMDb 
• Letitia Dean atAllMusic
• Letitia Dean discography atDiscogs

• 1967 births
• Living people
• 20th-century English actresses
• 21st-century English actresses
• British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement winners
• British soap opera actresses
• British film actresses
• English stage actresses
• English women singers
• People from Potters Bar
• Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School
• Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
• British television actresses
• Musicians from Hertfordshire
• Actresses from Hertfordshire
• BBC Records artists
• Actors from Hertsmere

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