Sharon Anne Mitchell (also Watts and Rickman) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of EastEnders' original characters, appearing in the first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985. The character was conceptualised by Tony Holland and Julia Smith, the creators of EastEnders. Sharon was a teenager when the programme began: the adoptive daughter of Den and Angie Watts. Sharon remained a prominent character into the 1990s due to romantic pairings with brothers Grant (Ross Kemp) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). In a long-running storyline dubbed Sharongate, Sharon, married to Grant, has an affair with Phil. Grant's discovery of the affair remains one of EastEnders' highest viewed episodes. Dean quit the role in 1995 after ten