Letitia Dean is an EastEnders icon – but it turns out she was once married to an actor who appeared on a rival soap.
The actress, 56, shot to fame playing the feisty Sharon Watts on the BBC show – making her debut in 1985. Since then, she’s become one a staple on the show and a firm-favourite with viewers.
The character has also had her fair share of dramatic storylines. From her flings with the Mitchell brothers to the sudden death of her adopted mother Angie Watts, Sharon’s time in Walford hasn’t been short of chaos and heartache.
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Over in the soap recently, she, and the rest of The Six, covered up the murder of her beau Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters). Fans will recall how Keanu nearly strangled Sharon to death before Linda Carter stepped in and stabbed Keanu.
Even though Keanu was no longer a physical threat, his death wasn’t the end of their torment. The rest of The Six women, Stacey Slater, Suki Panesar, Linda, Sharon, Denise Fox (Diane Parish) and Kathy Beale desperately covered up the grisly scene at the Queen Vic.
They then ended up hiding his body at the burnt out cafe, owned by Kathy. In a bid to stop him from ever being found, they poured concrete over his body and filled in the hole in the floor.
Shortly after Sharon fled the square to Australia – leaving the rest of the ladies on edge. However this week, Sharon makes her shock return.
Away from EastEnders though, Letitia lives in a rather private personal life. In 2001 though, she hit the headlines when it was revealed she was engaged to Jason Pethers. The actor is perhaps best known for portraying Rob Greening in Holby City.
The pair married in 2002 at Marylebone’s All Saints’ Church. But it wasn’t meant to be for the TV stars as they split in 2007.
The EastEnders star was taking part in series five of Strictly Come Dancing at the time of her split. And she still managed to make it to fourth place in the competition.
Jason’s mum Joan said the couple decided to split because Letitia wanted children, while her husband preferred to wait before watching their family grow.
She told The Mirror: “They both wanted children, but Jason wanted to wait until he could afford it. She had a lot more money than him. I think, like any man, he wanted to look after his wife.
“They were happy. It was no dramatic thing – they haven’t found someone else. I guess they just fell out of love for the time being.”
(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Meanwhile Letitia also opened up about her marriage breakdown in a different interview with the publication. She said: “I do not regret one minute of my time with Jay. I was in love – desperately in love – and I can’t reiterate enough how thankful I am that I did get married to that man.”
She then went on to note how as a couple “hopefully” you are able to “go down the same path together.” But according to Letitia, “many of us fork off in different directions.”
Letitia added: “I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Jason. But sometimes you just grow out of each other, maybe.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
